Chapter XXII: Introduction (21)

Of this group, or the true singing birds, the anatomy is even less worked out than that of the _Suboscines_, and consequently the relationships are in many cases extremely doubtful. The _Hirundinidae_ stand distinctly apart, with no other Families near them, though some similarity of habits, and possibly of structure, may be recognised in certain _Muscicapidae_ (especially if _Artamus_ be included among them), and to a less extent in a few _Sturnidae_; yet almost as much resemblance may be perceived in some _Tyrannidae_, which (not being Oscinine) can have no affinity to the _Hirundinidae_. The likeness is therefore probably one of analogy only, and, if so, of no taxonomic value. Here again it must be stated that the _Oscines_ hardly attain more than the rank of a Family, and that in the Passeriformes the Families have not the same value as in the foregoing Orders.

The _Alaudidae_ are generally recognisable by the casing of their metatarsi (p. 496), but in other respects they seem to shew an affinity to the _Motacillidae_ (_Anthinae_) on the one hand, and to the _Fringillidae_ on the other. The wing-characters, on which reliance was formerly placed, prove to be wholly untrustworthy.

As to the rest of the "Families" of _Oscines_, it is impossible to indicate their probable relations by placing them in sequence, or even at present to group more than a few of them with any degree of assurance. Some have not yet been defined at all, and few of them sufficiently for anyone to be confident as to their limits. Thus in the _Muscicapidae_ hardly any two systematic ornithologists will agree as to which genera should be included and which excluded. If restricted to Old World forms, there is still no defined boundary between them and the _Campephagidae_, while there is perhaps even less distinction between them and the _Sylviidae_ (or _Sylviinae_, if these last be included among the _Turdidae_). Moreover, by some taxonomers the _Mniotiltidae_ have been referred to the _Muscicapidae_, and though there is an obvious distinction between them in the number of the primaries, the instance of the _Alaudidae_ (already mentioned) shews that this may be of very slight importance.

Some other "Families" may perhaps be grouped with less risk of error. The _Troglodytidae_, _Certhiidae_, _Sittidae_ and _Paridae_ are possibly such; but the limits of the last-named are {495}certainly not laid down, and it would be hard to give a good reason either for admitting or refusing to admit into it genera like _Liothrix_ or _Chamaea_, while the puzzle is still greater in regard to some forms from Australia and New Zealand.

The two latest writers on the subject, Dr. Gadow and Professor Newton, abstain from offering any scheme of Classification of the _Oscines_, the latter limiting himself to the declaration, already expressed by the late W. K. Parker, that the Corvidae should stand as the highest group. As regards their predecessors it will be enough here to enumerate the "Families" in the order in which they were arranged by Dr. Stejneger[279] in 1885, and Dr. Sharpe[280] in 1891; the scheme of the last author, however, being reversed to harmonize with the plan of the present volume, in which the lower groups are assigned priority. The _order_ of Dr. Stejneger, which is based on both anatomy and morphology, is that subsequently followed, but his Families are not invariably adhered to.

DR. STEJNEGER. DR SHARPE.
_Alaudidae._ _Hirundinidae._
_Motacillidae._ _Muscicapidae._
_[H]Enicuridae._ _Campophagidae._
_Timaliidae._ _Pycnonotidae._
_Leiotrichidae._ _Timeliidae._
_Muscicapidae._ _Mimidae._
_Turdidae._ _Troglodytidae._
_Cinclidae._ _Cinclidae._
_Troglodytidae._ _Turdidae._
_Chamaeidae?_ _Sylviidae._
_Mimidae?_ _Vireonidae._
_Hirundinidae._ _Ampelidae._
_Campephagidae._ _Artamidae._
_Dicruridae._ _Laniidae._
_Ampelidae._ _Regulidae._
_Artamidae?_ _Paridae._
_Laniidae._ _Zosteropidae._
_Vireonidae?_ _Dicaeidae._
_Paridae._ _Nectariniidae._
_Oriolidae._ _Meliphagidae._
_Paradiseidae._ _Certhiidae._
_Corvidae._ _Mniotiltidae._
_Sturnidae._ _Motacillidae._
_Meliphagidae._ _Alaudidae._
_Nectariniidae._ _Fringillidae._
_Dicaeidae._ _Coerebidae._
_Certhiidae._ _Tanagridae._ {496}
_Coerebidae._ _Ploceidae._
_Mniotiltidae._ _Icteridae._
_Tanagridae._ _Oriolidae._
_Ploceidae._ _Dicruridae._
_Icteridae._ _Eurycerotidae._
_Fringillidae._ _Eulabetidae._
_Sturnidae._
_Ptilonorhynchidae._
_Paradiseidae._
_Corvidae._

As regards structure, the _Oscines_ have one posterior incision or fenestra on each side of the sternum; the furcula is U-shaped; the tongue is variable, as is the syrinx (pp. 13, 21, 22, 467); the nostrils may be pervious or impervious; an after-shaft is nearly always present, though comparatively weak; down occurs sparingly on the blind young, and is absent, or only found on the unfeathered spaces, in adults. The primaries number ten or eleven; the secondaries nineteen, twenty, or even more; the rectrices normally twelve. The form of the bill, wings, and tail are discussed under the different Families; the metatarsus exceptionally is smooth in front, but is ordinarily scutellated, while behind it is smooth and generally compressed, except in the Alaudidae, which, having it scutellated posteriorly, are termed scutelliplantar, as opposed to laminiplantar (with one horny growth behind). The hallux is the strongest toe.

Of fossil forms of Oscines, Osteornis (_Protornis_) of the Lower Eocene of Glarus in Switzerland may be Passerine; _Palaegithalus_ (Sylviinae) and _Laurillardia_ (Sturnidae) have been found in the French Upper Eocene; _Palaeospiza_ (Fringillidae) in the Oligocene of Colorado; _Motacilla_, _Turdus_, _Lanius_, _Corvus_, _Fringilla_, and _Loxia_ in the French Miocene or in the Breccia of Italy; _Scolephagus_ and _Corvus_ in the Pliocene of Oregon; _Palaeocorax_ in the Chatham Islands; an extinct _Foudia_ (Fringillidae) in Réunion.

Fam. I. ALAUDIDAE.–The Larks inhabit the Palaearctic, Indian, and Ethiopian Regions, only one genus (_Otocorys_), with many races, being found in America, and one (_Mirafra_) in the Australian Region. Of the former, _O. peregrina_, occurs as far south as Bogota, while the latter is found in Australia and Flores. _M. hova_ is peculiar to Madagascar, _M. javanica_ to Borneo and Java, _Spizilauda_ deva to India. _Alauda arvensis_, the Sky-Lark, and _Lullula arborea_, the Wood-Lark, alone breed in Britain: but _Otocorys alpestris_, the Shore-Lark, is a regular winter-visitor {497}to our shores; while _Galerita cristata_, the Crested Lark, _Calandrella brachydactyla_, the Short-toed Lark, and _Melanocorypha sibirica_, the White-winged Lark, occur occasionally. The Sky-Lark has been introduced into Long Island, N.Y., Australia, and New Zealand.

The bill is long and curved in _Certhilauda_ and _Alaemon_, shorter and slender in _Alauda_, similar but more robust in _Galerita_, abbreviated and conical in _Calandrella_, _Pyrrhulauda_, and _Melanocorypha_, and extraordinarily stout in _Rhamphocorys_, with a gap between the maxilla and mandible. The metatarsus is elongated, and may be more slender as in _Certhilauda_, or stouter as in _Galerita_ and _Melanocorypha_; the hind-claw is generally much lengthened and straight, but may be short and curved, as in _Calandrella_, _Pyrrhulauda_, and _Alaemon_. The wing varies much in length, many forms having the outer primary almost aborted, though in _Mirafra_ and elsewhere it is of fair size; the inner secondaries are nearly as long as the primaries in _Calandrella_. The tail is moderate or short, and may be rounded, nearly square, or emarginate. The normal coloration is light-brown with darker longitudinal streaks, the under parts being whitish and frequently spotted anteriorly; desert forms, however, often have uniform pale buff or rufous plumage–for example, _Galerita isabellina_ and _Ammomanes_. _Melanocorypha yeltoniensis_ is nearly black in the male; others of the same genus have a black gorget; the black-cheeked _Rhamphocorys_, _Alaemon alaudipes_ and _Melanocorypha sibirica_ exhibit white wing-patches; while _Otocorys_ has a projecting black tuft on each side of the occiput, black cheeks, lores, and bands on the crown and breast, the {498}rest of the face and throat, or even the lower parts, being yellowish. _Tephrocorys cinerea_ and _Mirafra apiata_ have a rufous crown and breast respectively. _Pyrrhulauda_ is chiefly black below, and varies above from grey to chestnut, relieved by black and white. Ordinarily the sexes in Larks are similar. Crests are not uncommon.

_Certhilauda_, _Alaemon_, and _Ammomanes_ inhabit deserts or arid plains, _Alaudula raytal_ frequents sandy islets, and _Otocorys_ often selects uplands; but most forms only require open country, being chiefly ground-birds and seldom found near woods. _Lullula_, however, loves heaths and the outskirts of copses, and _Mirafra_ bushy spots. Larks often flock together, and are not usually shy, since they will even enter villages; the desert species are particularly quick runners, while the flight is exceptionally weak in _Ammomanes_, _Calandrella_, and some others, though as a rule sufficiently strong. Perching is not an uncommon habit, _Lullula_ and _Mirafra_ habitually settle on trees or tall bushes, and several forms squat to avoid detection. In general dusting takes the place of washing. The food consists of insects and their larvae, seeds, worms, small molluscs, crustaceans, or even berries. Most Larks soar while uttering their pleasing trills, and plaintive calls are often heard; _Lullula_ has a more flute-like song, _Pyrrhulauda_ utters a shrill chirp. _Galerita cristata_ and _Melanocorypha calandra_ imitate other birds successfully when caged. The cup-shaped nest of bents, lined with finer grasses, fibres, or hair, is placed in herbage or in some depression in the soil–wool, cotton, rags, or even sticks being exceptionally added; but two or three species of _Mirafra_ build a domed structure, occasionally placed on bare rocks or roofs of houses. The eggs are generally whitish, closely spotted or zoned with purplish-grey or brown; some specimens, however, are thickly freckled with yellowish or marked with reddish. The number varies from two in _Pyrrhulauda_, and about three in _Ammomanes_, to five, six, or even seven. Both sexes incubate in some cases, while two or more broods are often reared in the season. Thousands of Sky-Larks are netted annually for the table.

Fam. II. MOTACILLIDAE.–This group comprises the Sub-families _Motacillinae_, or Wagtails, and _Anthinae_ or Pipits. The bill is thin and more or less elongated, with a slight notch, the culmen being decidedly curved in _Oreocorys_. The metatarsus is very long in Wagtails, variable but shorter in Pipits; it is usually slender, with the hind claw well developed and slightly {499}curved; though it is stout, with very long hallux, in _Macronyx_, _Xanthocorys_, and _Neocorys_. The wing is commonly elongated and pointed, with the inner secondaries reaching nearly to the end of the primaries, but it is shorter and more rounded in some species of _Anthus_. The tail is very long in Wagtails, but moderate in Pipits, being generally somewhat emarginate.

Wagtails range over the Old World, but are lacking in Australia and Polynesia; two species extend to the extreme north-west of America, one is accidental in Greenland, and one is restricted to Madagascar. Pipits are almost cosmopolitan, though not found in Polynesia; only two forms, however, inhabit North America, while one is peculiar to New Zealand, and another to Australia; _Anthus bogotensis_ is exclusively Andean, _A. antarcticus_ occurs in South Georgia, _A. bertheloti_ occupies Madeira and the Canaries.

Wagtails are generally black and white, grey and white, grey with yellow breast (or even head), greenish with yellow lower {500}parts and greyish or black heads, or almost entirely yellowish. Most Pipits are brown above, with dark streaks, and light edges to the feathers, and are buff, whitish, or rufous below, with triangular brown spots. The outer rectrices are usually more or less white, as are sometimes part of the others. _Limonidromus_, however, is an olive-brown Wagtail with two black crescentic marks below, _Anthus chloris_ a Pipit with a yellow patch on the breast. _A. rosaceus_ has yellow axillaries; _A. tenellus_, has the wings, tail, cheeks, and under surface chiefly yellow, with a black pectoral band. The curious genus _Macronyx_, to its mainly brown coloration adds orange, yellow, or pink lower parts with a black gorget, while it shews a marvellous resemblance in other respects to _Sturnella_ (p. 580)–_M. crocea_ to _S. magna_, _M. ameliae_ to _S. defilippii_. The bill and feet are usually black in Wagtails; the former is brown, with paler mandible and yellowish gape in Pipits, where the feet are brown, yellowish, or reddish. The females are duller, and in the Motacillinae the young are usually browner.

Wagtails frequent streams and stagnant waters, as in the case of the Pied, White, and Grey Wagtails, _Motacilla lugubris_, _M. alba_, and _M. melanope_; or they haunt fields of corn and meadows, as in the Blue-headed and Yellow Wagtails, _M. flava_ and _M. raii_. All the above breed in Britain, but the White and Blue-headed species rarely. The Grey and the Yellow Wagtails both have yellow breasts, but the former has a grey, the latter an olive, back.

Pipits prefer open places with rough herbage, as for instance the Meadow-Pipit, _Anthus pratensis_; rocky shores, as the Rock-Pipit, _A. obscurus_; or open parts of woods and banks, as the Tree-Pipit, _A. trivialis_. These nest commonly with us, while the Red-throated Pipit, _A. cervinus_, the Tawny Pipit, _A. campestris_, Richard's Pipit, _A. richardi_, and the Water-Pipit, _A. spipoletta_, visit us occasionally. Flocks are rarely seen, but a few individuals often congregate on the sea-beaches in winter; the flight is easy, though jerky, and not protracted; that of Wagtails being distinctly undulating. _Neocorys_ soars like a Sky-Lark, and the Tree-Pipit in particular hovers above his perch while singing. The songs of the last-named, and of _Motacilla vidua_ are more Finch-like; that of _Neocorys_ Lark-like; those of other species shrill, and less frequent than their repeated call- or alarm-note of chit-chit (Pipits) or chis-sic (Wagtails). The food consists of seeds, insects, worms, small molluscs and crustaceans, usually procured upon the ground, {501}Wagtails hunting for flies round cattle, and being very commonly seen wading. Pipits make their nests almost entirely of grass, _Anthus correndera_ and _A. rufulus_ occasionally adding an overarching cover; Wagtails use moss, grass, and roots, with a bedding of hair and feathers. The four to six eggs are bluish white or brownish, with grey, blackish, or brown spots in the Pied Wagtail and its similarly coloured allies, yellowish-white with yellowish and greenish-brown markings in others of the Sub-family; in Pipits they are commonly greyish or yellowish-white with brown and grey mottlings, sometimes covering the whole shell; while in the Tree-Pipit they vary from grey with dark brown spots and streaks to reddish-white, with rich brown, claret-colour, or bright red markings or close frecklings. A black line or two is a common feature throughout the Family. Wagtails choose for nesting sites ledges of rocks, crevices, holes in trees or walls, tops of pollarded willows, stony banks, or–in the Yellow Wagtail group–hollows in the soil among herbage. Pipits prefer the ground, or even spots shaded by trees, as in the Tree-Pipit.

Fam. III. HENICURIDAE.–The Fork-tails, a group of doubtful affinity, generally placed near the Motacillidae, extend from the Himalayas and the hills of South and West China to Burma and the Great Sunda Islands, one of the species–some dozen in number–reaching Samarcand westwards. They are black and white birds, with stout, straight, and usually elongated bills, long, strong metatarsi without scutellation, moderate rounded wings, extraordinarily long forked and graduated tails–except in _Henicurus scouleri_, where the shape is square and the feathers short–and well-developed rictal bristles. The outer pair of rectrices are white. _H. ruficapilla_ has an orange-chestnut crown and hind neck, nearly the whole back being chestnut in the female; that sex of _H. velatus_ has a brown head; two species have the upper parts spotted with white, and two the back slate-coloured. Several of them have crests. The bill is black, the feet whitish. These active unsuspicious birds haunt forest-streams or hill-torrents, and hunt for molluscs, insects and their larvae, near or in the water. They often wag the tail when perched on stones or branches. The large nest is formed of fibres, roots, and moss, and is placed on rocks or tree-stumps; the three or four eggs are greenish-white, with scattered brownish spots.

Fam. IV. TIMELIIDAE.–In this Old World assemblage are {502}included by Dr. Sharpe[281] many genera rather referable to the Turdidae, Pycnonotidae, Troglodytidae, and Paradiseidae; but the Family may be taken to contain most of that author's _Crateropodes_ and _Timeliae_,[282] the Tit-like _Liotriches_, and perhaps _Clitonyx_, _Chaetobias_, and _Myiophoneus_. The whole question, however, is very doubtful, and no decision can yet be arrived at. The supposed diagnostic points are the rounded wings curved to fit the body, the lax, soft plumage, the comparatively large outer primary, the similarity of the unspotted females and young, and the Thrush-like bill. This bill, however, may be very strong and hooked, as in _Myiophoneus_ and _Gampsorhynchus_; stout, deep, and wide, with festooned maxilla, as in _Paradoxornis_; similar but smaller, as in _Chleuasicus_ and _Suthora_; short and blunt, as in several of the _Liotriches_; extremely elongated, slender and decurved, as in _Pomatorhinus_; or extraordinarily so, as in _Xiphorhamphus_. It is not infrequently notched. The metatarsi are typically strong or even clumsy, and vary considerably in length; in _Liothrix_, however, they are slender; while _Cholornis_ has only two anterior toes (p. 10). The tail, often broad and much graduated, may be very long, as in _Sibia_, or no longer than the upper coverts, as in _Oligura_; the rectrices being obliquely truncated in _Siva_, curved outwardly in _Liothrix_, and frequently pointed or somewhat spiny. Elongated rictal bristles are not uncommon; several species have crests, that of _Grammatoptila_ being exceptionally large; rigid shafts occur in the head- and mantle-feathers of _Acanthoptila_, on the forehead in _Dumetia_, _Timelia_, and _Chaetops_; hair-like plumes decorate the back of _Macronus_; the inner secondaries are much produced in _Cinclorhamphus_; the cheeks are bare in _Aethocichla_.

The sexes are commonly alike, the plain rufous coloration being often relieved by black, white, and grey; _Liothrix_ and _Clitonyx_, however, shew tints of red or yellow; _Myiophoneus_ of purple, blue, and black, and in some cases maroon; _Brachypteryx_ of indigo. _Hyperergus_ is partly olive-green, while _Trochalopterum chrysopterum_ and _T. phoeniceum_ exhibit respectively golden and crimson hues, not to mention other instances.

Many of the forms are found from the Indian Region to New Guinea, New Caledonia, and New Britain, one reaching Fiji and two New Zealand; others occur in the Ethiopian countries, whence a species of _Argya_ extends to Morocco and Tripoli, and {503}a second to Arabia and the Jordan. _Crossleyia_, _Bernieria_, _Mystacornis_, _Xanthomixis_ and _Oxylabes_ are peculiar to Madagascar.

Most members of the Family inhabit woods near water with thick undergrowth, or more rarely stony hills, scrubby gullies, and rocky torrents; _Cinclorhamphus_ haunts grassy plains; _Crateropus kirki_ prefers reeds. The majority are decidedly terrestrial, skulking warily among the bushes and grass, either singly or in small companies, while some are inquisitive and active. The flight is low, short, undulating, and laboured; but the birds hop and climb well, bounding over the ground or clinging to the trees. The Japanese and Chinese "Hill-Robin" (_Liothrix lutea_) and its allies are more arboreal, as are _Paradoxornis_, _Suthora_, and so forth. _Orthonyx_ is said to dance like a Lyre-bird (p. 493). Many species scratch up the soil or dead leaves in search of insects and their larvae, which, with seeds, constitute the chief food; fruit, however, or even small reptiles, crabs, worms, and molluscs are occasionally eaten. The tail is often carried erect; _Cinclosoma_ rises with a whirring noise; _Cinclorhamphus_ hovers in the air. Several members of the Family are comparatively silent, _Sittiparus_ and _Alcippe_ twitter, _Stachyridopsis_ utters clear, bell-like tones, _Timelia_ slowly repeated cries, _Myiophoneus_ a fine whistle; but usually harsh chattering or screaming noises alternate with chuckles, croaks, clucks, or a laughing chorus. _Psophodes_ is called the "Coach-whip bird," from its notes ending like the crack of a whip. The habits of _Clitonyx_ are said to resemble those of the Meliphagidae. The nest is commonly a rough structure of leaves, moss, herbage, and the like, often lined with roots, which is placed in low trees, bushes, reeds, grass, holes in trees, or banks, by _Garrulax_, _Argya_, and _Turdinus_; in crevices of rocks, by _Chaetops_; or on crags near torrents, by _Myiophoneus_. It may consist of somewhat softer {504}materials, frequently bedded with fur, wool, or feathers, as in _Crateropus_, _Paradoxornis_, and _Trochalopterum_–several pairs of the last-named occasionally using the same tree; or it may be a domed mass of grass, leaves, bark, and moss, situated on or near the ground, as in _Timelia_, _Orthonyx_, _Pomatorhinus_, _Pellorneum_, and _Rhopocichla_. _Lioptila_ and some of its nearest allies build a mossy cup, adorned with cobwebs, in high firs or other trees. The eggs of _Crateropus_ and _Argya_ are deep greenish-blue, glossy and spotless; those of _Garrulax_ are similar, or pale blue or white; those of _Dryonastes_ light blue; those of _Pomatorhinus_, _Stachyris_, _Orthonyx_, and _Xiphorhamphus_ white; those of _Paradoxornis_ whitish, with yellow-brown and purple markings. The ground-colour is frequently greenish-blue, olive, brown, salmon, creamy, or white, and shews scattered or dense spots, streaks, freckles, blotches, or even hieroglyphics, of reddish, purplish, chocolate, olive, grey, or occasionally black. The coloration, however, is by no means constant in each genus, while the number varies from two to five or six. The Australian Pomatorhini fashion large domed nests, after the manner of Magpies, of twigs lined with bark and feathers, and add a spout-like entrance, while several are commonly found at the ends of the branches of the same tree; their buff or purplish eggs, clouded with brown and purple, and streaked with black hair-lines, number from four to ten.

Fam. V. PYCNONOTIDAE.–The Bulbuls, often included among the Timeliidae, have a fairly long bill, usually somewhat stout and curved, which is Finch-like in _Spizixus_, very long and thin in _Phyllostrephus_, and so forth. The maxilla is generally notched, being minutely serrated in _Andropadus_, and decidedly hooked in _Tricholestes_, _Aethorhynchus_, and _Trichophoropsis_; while strong or weak rictal bristles are ordinarily present. The abbreviated metatarsi lack scales in several genera. The wings are normally short, rounded, and concave–though more pointed in _Hypsipetes_ and _Irena_ (if these really belong to the Family), _Hemixus_, _Alcurus_, and _Ixocincla_ or even long in _Tylas_–the secondaries are much elongated in _Aethorhynchus_. The tail is sometimes square or graduated, but is commonly rounded, being rarely forked, as in _Hypsipetes_; in _Irena_ and _Micropus_ the coverts are much lengthened, while they nearly equal the rectrices in _I. crinigera_. Crests occur frequently, the constituent feathers in _Alcurus_ being obtuse, in _Criniger_ long and pointed, in _Otocompsa_ somewhat recurved. {505}Most of the Family are characterized by long, fluffy rump-plumage and conspicuous nuchal or dorsal hairs, the latter reaching their highest development in _Tricholestes_. The feathers hide the nostrils in _Irena_ and _Spizixus_; _Poliolophus_ has a yellow circumocular wattle, and several species of _Pycnonotus_ possess fleshy eyelids of black, red, or grey.

The usual coloration is olive-brown, olive-green, or olive-yellow, commonly with wholly or partially yellow, white, greyish, or even orange, rufous, and buff under parts; _Hypsipetes perniger_ is entirely black, _Micropus melanoleucus_ black with white wing-spots, and many species are mottled with yellowish or white. _Trachycomus_ has a yellow cap of decomposed bristly feathers; while elsewhere the head or the throat is often more or less black, brown, chestnut, grey, and rarely yellow or white. The tail and rump may be rufous, yellow, or orange, occasionally barred with black; and white or yellow markings frequently adorn the wings. _Otocompsa_ shews crimson or scarlet ear-tufts, and crimson or yellow under tail-coverts; certain species of _Pycnonotus_ have the latter scarlet, orange, or yellow; _Rubigula_ has loose, stiff, scarlet plumage on the throat, and an orange under surface. _Chloropsis_ is green and yellow, relieved by orange, blue, purple and black, and exhibits a conspicuous blue, purple, or emerald shoulder-patch, except in _C. cyanopogon_ and _C. flavipennis_; _Aegithina_ and _Aethorhynchus_ are green, black, and yellow; while _Irena_ (the Fairy Blue-bird) is either brilliant turquoise, with black wings, tail, and under parts, or purple-blue, varied by cobalt above, with or without a black mantle and under surface. The bill and legs range from brown, black, or plumbeous, to coral red, orange, yellow, or whitish. The sexes are similar, except in _Aegithina_, _Aethorhynchus_, _Chloropsis_, and _Irena_.

From their headquarters in the Indian and Indo-Malay countries, the Pycnonotidae extend to China, Hainan, Formosa, and the Moluccas, _Hypsipetes_ even reaching Japan; they also occupy the whole Ethiopian Region, with Madagascar and the neighbouring islands. To these latter _Ixocincla_ and _Tylas_ (p. 533) are peculiar; while _Pycnonotus_, _Criniger_ and _Xenocichla_ inhabit both of the above Regions, and the first is found from Morocco to the Cyclades, Rhodes, Cyprus, and Palestine.

Bulbuls are gregarious arboreal birds of feeble flight, rarely seen upon the ground, where they move with awkward shuffles or short hops. The majority are sociable, and frequent gardens, {506}orchards, forests, and low jungles; they feed chiefly upon fruits, including berries and seeds, but also upon insects, which _Aethorhynchus_, _Aegithina_, and _Chloropsis_ in especial seek among the leaves and branches of the trees. The ordinary note is a mellow cheerful whistle, becoming a pretty song in such species as _Pycnonotus haemorrhous_, and _P. xanthopygus_, the Ceylon and Palestine Nightingales; chattering and chirping sounds are, however, often heard, while _Criniger_, _Phyllostrephus_ and _Hypsipetes_ habitually utter reiterated jarring or croaking cries, particularly when roosting in company. The flimsy, or occasionally bulky, nests of twigs, fibres, grass, moss, and cobwebs are placed in low trees, bushes, creepers, or bamboo-clumps; _Aegithina_, _Chloropsis_, and _Irena_ generally laying two or three white or greenish eggs with brown streaks or spots, and the remaining forms from two to four, of a pinkish white or salmon colour, with markings of various reds and purples. The nest of _Iole_ is suspended by the rim like that of an Oriole. The Perso-Arabic Bulbul of poets is probably _Daulias hafizi_, a true Nightingale.

Fam. VI. MUSCICAPIDAE.–The Old World Flycatchers are a group of somewhat vague definition, _Hemipus_ appearing closely allied to the _Laniidae_, _Cryptolopha_ to the _Sylviinae_, _Lioptilus_ to the _Timeliidae_. Connexion with the _Turdinae_ is implied by the more or less spotted plumage of the young, though the metatarsus is usually scutellated anteriorly. Typically the bill is broad and flat, with stiff rictal and prominent nasal bristles; it is extremely wide, with the culminal ridge strongly developed in _Machaerorhynchus_, _Myiagra_, _Bias_, and _Smithornis_; _Sisura_ has it longer and more slender; _Chelidorhynx_ short, with a pronounced hook; and the diminutive _Smicrornis_ exceptionally small; while many species have it much less robust. The feet, usually weak, may be stronger, as in _Chloropeta_; the wings, ordinarily elongated and pointed, and especially so in _Hemichelidon_, are at times abbreviated and rounded, as in _Niltava_, whereas the secondaries in _Platystira_ and _Newtonia_ nearly equal the primaries, of which the outer is very short. The tail is also short in _Diaphorophyia_, but is usually moderate or long, and frequently much graduated, as in _Rhipidura_ (Fantail), _Elminia_, and _Terpsiphone_, the males of the last having the two median feathers twice the length of the body. _Terpsiphone_, _Cyanomyias_, _Bias_, _Trochocercus_, and so forth, have fine crests, shorter in the female; while fleshy wattles, round or {507}above the eye, of scarlet, blue, or yellow, are found in _Terpsiphone_, _Zeocephus_, _Diaphorophyia_, _Platystira_, and _Arses_. The bill is sometimes reddish or blue, and the inside of the mouth green or yellow, as in certain Birds of Paradise.

The males of our summer visitors, the Spotted and Pied Flycatchers, _Muscicapa grisola_ and _M. atricapilla_, are respectively brown with whitish under parts streaked with dusky, and black and white; the hen-bird being similar in the former case, but in the latter olive-brown, with the frontlet, wing-patches, and lower surface buff instead of white. _M._ (_Erythrosterna_) _parva_, which is brown with grey head, and has a reddish-orange fore-neck that becomes rufous in the female, occurs accidentally in Britain. _Platystira_ is glossy bluish- or greenish-black above with white markings, and white beneath with a black pectoral band, the female having greyer upper parts, and sometimes a maroon chest; _Erythromyias_ is black and white, with an orange-rufous breast or back; _Pseudogerygone_ is olive-green, brown, or grey above–dark crimson in _P. rubra_–with an admixture of black, buff, rufous, yellow, or white, and has similar or yellow tints below; _Chasiempis_ is brownish, relieved by black, white, and bay; _Culicicapa_ is greenish-yellow with a bright yellow lower surface, the head being grey in one species. The hen-bird in these four genera, where known, resembles the male. That sex of _Niltava_ is blackish or purplish, varied with rich cobalt, especially on the neck, the under parts being orange-rufous or purplish-grey; the female is chiefly olive, often with a blue or lilac neck-patch. _Malurus_ commonly shews a fine mixture of blue, purple, and velvety-black, with a little brown and white; one of its members is chiefly brown, but has a blue tail, and a lilac crown with black centre; a second is vermilion, black and brown above, and black below; a third has crimson in the place of vermilion; a fourth is bluish-black and white. The hen-birds are mainly brown, often with a blue, or even a green, tail. _Piezorhynchus_ has two metallic black species, while _P. chrysomelas_ is orange-yellow and black; _Metabolus_ is almost white, with black face and throat; and lastly, _Terpsiphone_ (or _Tchitrea_), well known on Chinese and Japanese screens and fans, contains several long-tailed and finely crested white birds, with glossy greenish-black head and throat, and with black markings on the wings and tail in _T. paradisi_, the Paradise-Flycatcher. The female is rich bay above, with similar head, but grey cheeks and throat. In {508}other species the males are said to be maroon, cinnamon, chestnut, blue-grey, or glossy-black above. _T. mutata_ of Madagascar may be dimorphic. Nuchal collars, elongated silky flank-feathers, and spots or stripes below, are not infrequent in the Family.

Flycatchers are common in the Ethiopian, Indian, and Australian Regions; and several species are Palaearctic, four or five reaching Europe. Most of them are migratory, the Spotted Flycatcher nesting northwards to Tromsö and Archangel, the Pied Flycatcher nearly as far. They love wooded districts, and _Gerygone_ even gloomy forests; while they are usually silent and solitary, feeding on little but insects, which are habitually caught upon the wing with an audible snap of the bill, though also procured upon the boughs or by darting to the ground. The graceful, undulating, or zigzag flight, and the sudden dash into the air, followed by a quick return to the perch, are especially characteristic, as is a frequent quivering of the wings and tail; _Rhipidura motacilloïdes_ is Wagtail-like in habits; while _Sisura inquieta_, the "Grinder" of Australia, runs along the river-sides, or hovers like a Kestrel, making a grinding sound in the air, whence it descends vertically to secure its prey. Other species of _Rhipidura_ pick flies off cattle, and rise and fall perpendicularly in the air, opening the fan-shaped tail or tumbling completely over. _Malurus_ runs quickly, or bounds along with rapid hops. Most Flycatchers are tame, but several are pugnacious; _Lanioturdus_ is stated to be gregarious; _Parisoma_ creeps about thick bushes; {509}_Smicrornis_ clings to the branches like a Tit; _Niltava_ and other forms eat berries and the like in late summer; _Eopsaltria_ and _Gerygone_ are very fond of insect-larvae. The voice is usually faint, but is harsh in _Terpsiphone_, _Smithornis_, and _Batis_, croaking in _Piezorhynchus_ and _Lanioturdus_; _Sisura_ whistles; _Gerygone_, _Malurus_, and our Pied Flycatcher, have pleasing Redstart-like songs; while that of _Microeca_, which often soars aloft when singing, is said to resemble the strain of the Chaffinch. The neat nest, usually formed of grass, moss, leaves, bark, fibres, or hair, and not infrequently decorated with lichens or cobwebs, is placed in low forks or cavities of trees, if not among creepers or outgrowths on banks, _Terpsiphone_ preferring higher situations. _Gerygone_ builds a covered pear-shaped structure, with or without a protecting porch, of like materials, lined with fur or feathers, and suspends it in shrubs; _Malurus_ and _Smicrornis_ make rounder fabrics; while that of _Ochromela_ is somewhat similar, but is composed of grass and ferns, and usually placed in low vegetation. The eggs, in number from two to six, are greenish- or buffish-white, with red, brown, or rarely grey, spots and blotches; exceptionally they are uniform light blue, as in _Muscicapa atricapilla_; white, as in _Chelidorhynx_; apple-green, green-blue, or whitish, with reddish-brown, yellowish, or lilac markings, as in _Eopsaltria_; or white, with red or purplish spots, as in _Malurus_, _Chasiempis_, and _Gerygone_.

Fam. VII. TURDIDAE.–This group is here divided into five Sub-families, (1) _Turdinae_ or Thrushes and their allies; (2) _Myiodectinae_; (3) _Sylviinae_ or Warblers; (4) _Polioptilinae_; and (5) _Miminae_ or Mocking-birds. The first and third of these are often considered separate Families, but they are so closely connected by the Saxicoline and Ruticilline forms that they can hardly lay claim to such rank, while the _Accentorinae_ and _Regulinae_ of certain authors seem unnecessary. The _Miminae_ shew some affinity to the Wrens (_Troglodytidae_).

Sub-fam. 1. _Turdinae._–In this section the bill is usually rather long and stout, being notched but hardly curved, with few, if any, basal bristles; it is somewhat hooked in the so-called genus _Geocichla_–where it is much lengthened in five species, and abbreviated in _G. princii_; large, broad, and arched in _Turnagra_ (a doubtful member of the Family); comparatively short and slender in _Sialia_, _Ruticilla_, _Erithacus_, _Saxicola_, and so forth; more robust in _Accentor_. The metatarsus is long in _Catharus_, _Calliope_, and _Notodela_, but {510}is usually moderate, being particularly strong in _Geocichla_, _Nesocichla_, _Zoothera_, and _Turnagra_; in _Saxicola_, _Erithacus_, and _Daulias_ it is at once slender and elongated. Generally the anterior scales are fused together, forming an ocreated covering (p. 10), but the opposite sometimes occurs, as in _Accentor_, _Nesocichla_, and _Thamnobia_. Typically the wing is fairly long and broad, with abbreviated outer primary, the next feather being emarginated in some species of _Myrmecocichla_; but in Dr. Sharpe's group Thamnobiae,[283] it is generally abbreviated and more rounded, in _Sialia_ it is pointed. The tail may be long and wide, as in _Turnagra_, or comparatively short, as in _Monticola_ and _Pratincola_, but is usually of medium length; it is normally square or rounded, though emarginated in _Sialia_, and much graduated in _Copsychus_ and _Cittocincla_, while in _Cossypha natalensis_ it has pointed feathers. _Turdus_ (_Geocichla_) _varius_, _T. horsfieldi_, and _T. hancii_ have fourteen rectrices.

The coloration is ordinarily plain black or brown, more or less varied with grey, white, rufous, or chestnut, occasionally in the form of a collar; many Thrushes, moreover, exhibit the characteristic white breast spotted with brown. The bill is frequently orange or yellow. As examples of the genus _Turdus_ we may take our native Blackbird, Mistletoe- and Song-Thrushes _T. merula_, _T. viscivorus_, and _T. musicus_; our summer visitor the Ring-Ousel, _T. torquatus_; our winter immigrants the Redwing and Fieldfare, _T. iliacus_ and _T. pilaris_; the American "Robin," _T. migratorius_; and the Ground-Thrushes ("_Geocichla_,") with their light patch under the wing. The sexes are commonly alike, but black or grey males have usually brownish females. A bushy crest occurs in _Catharus_.

Of some ten Rock-Thrushes (_Monticola_), _M. saxatilis_ occurs exceptionally in Britain. It has a cobalt and blackish-blue head, neck, and upper back, a nearly white mid-back, brown remiges, chestnut lateral rectrices and lower surface. _M. cyanus_ is almost entirely blue. The browner hens are generally spotted and barred below. _Cochoa viridis_ is green and black, with blue-green under parts, and blue on the head, tail, and wings; _C. purpurea_ has the bright colours replaced by purplish-brown and lavender; _C. azurea_ is mainly rich blue, becoming purple below. The females are duller. Blue-birds (_Sialia_) are bright blue, often with chestnut breast or back, the males being the most brilliant; _Grandala caelicolor_ is indigo, with blackish wings and tail.

{511}

In _Saxicola_ (Wheatear) the rump-region is white, except in some seven species, where it is entirely or partly chestnut or buff; the plumage exhibits various combinations of jet black, chestnut, brown, grey, and white, the black shewing especially upon the breast, quill-feathers, throat, lores, or ear-coverts. The females may be similar to the males or browner. _Pratincola rubetra_, our Whinchat, is mottled with brown and buff above and is buff below, having a superciliary streak and wing-bar of whitish; _P. rubicola_, the Stonechat, is blacker on the back, and has the head and throat black, but the breast rufous, while the hen lacks the black head. Other species have white rumps or tails, and the breast or even most of the plumage black. _Oreicola_ has three black members with white under parts; _Myrmecocichla_ eight, which are grey or brown, relieved by black, white, and buff. The Australian and Pacific Robins (_Petroeca_), of very doubtful affinity, are blackish or greyish, with scarlet or pink breasts, and some white above; one having a red head. Our Redstart, _Ruticilla phoenicurus_, is grey, with brown wings, chestnut breast, rump, and lateral rectrices, black face and throat; the hen being brownish above and buff below, with less brilliant chestnut tints. The Black Redstart is dark grey, with brighter rufous rump and tail, black lower parts, {512}and a white wing-patch; brown replacing the grey and black in the female. Some species are blacker above, one has a chestnut back and no black throat, another has both rump and tail black, and three have blue on the forehead and crown, one of these again having a white gular mark. _R. moussieri_, linking the Redstarts to the Chats, is black, with orange-rufous rump, tail, and lower surface, a white alar spot, and white extending from the forehead to the face. The Robin,[284] _Erithacus rubecula_, needs no description; the Persian _E. hyrcanus_ hardly differs; the similar Japanese Robin, _E. akahige_, has a grey belly; the Corean _E. komadori_ is orange-chestnut above, black and white beneath. The Blue-throat, _Cyanecula suecica_, is brown, except for a white superciliary streak, bay tail-coverts, and a bright blue throat with a central rufous spot, to which succeed black, white, and rusty bands, and a whitish belly. _C. wolfi_ lacks the gular spot, _C. leucocyana_ has it white. _Calliope camtschatcensis_, _C. pectoralis_, and _C. tschebaiewi_, are brown or dark grey, with grey or black breasts, white abdomens, some black and white on the face, and glossy scarlet throats. _Daulias luscinia_, our summer visitor the Nightingale, and the larger eastern _D. philomela_ are russet-brown in both sexes, with redder rump and tail, and whitish lower parts. _D. hafizi_ of Persia is intermediate (_cf._ p. 506).

Our Hedge-sparrow, _Accentor modularis_, is brown streaked with blackish, and shews bluish-grey on the head, throat, and breast; but the Alpine Accentor, _A. collaris_, which rarely visits Britain, has a white throat spotted with black, and flanks mottled with chestnut; while their congeners exhibit rufous lower parts or pectoral bands, black throats, or whiter wings and tails. _Ephthianura_ is grey, brown, black and white above, with the crown, rump, and breast crimson in one species and yellow in two; {513}of the latter one has a black mark on the breast, as has a fourth form with a white lower surface.

In the Thamnobiae the sexes are alike, or the females duller. The colour, as in _Callene_ and _Copsychus_, may be dull blue and cobalt, purplish- or bluish-black, or bluish-grey, often with white rump; or, as in _Cossypha_ and _Thamnobia_, grey, brown or blackish, with orange-chestnut or rufous rump, tail, and abdomen. Stripes of black and white often adorn the face, the ruddy hue occasionally tinges the breast, nape, or wing, while a blue alar patch or a white head occur exceptionally. _Cittocincla_ is intermediate in coloration; _Alethe_ is chiefly chestnut or rufescent-olive above, but grey and white or creamy buff below, with orange crown in two cases. _Turnagra_ has brown upper parts with reddish tail, and the lower surface either grey with white throat, or whitish with dusky stripes; _Cichladusa_ is similar, or has buff under parts, with black spots and gular crescent. All the above frequently exhibit white on the wings or tail. _Lamprolia_ is velvety-black, with blue spangles on the head and neck, and white rump-region; _Tarsiger_ is either blue above, varied with black, white, olive, or yellow, and with more or less orange below, or lacks the blue entirely. _Aedonopsis_ and _Phaeornis_ are brown, with grey and white under parts.

In the Turdinae the young are constantly spotted, as opposed to the Sylviinae.

Sub-fam. 2. _Myiodectinae._–These birds differ from the _Turdinae_ in their short, somewhat depressed bills, and strong rictal bristles. _Myiodectes_ and _Cichlopsis_ are in both sexes fairly uniform brown, grey, or blackish, with a grey lower surface, and occasionally chestnut or orange throat and belly; one species of the former, however, is cinnamon, with black head and under parts, and a white band across the cheeks.

Sub-fam. 3. _Sylviinae._–Besides the typical Warblers are here included most of Dr. Sharpe's groups _Bradypteri_ and _Cisticolae_,[285] but not, of course, the American "Warblers" (_Mniotiltidae_). They differ from the Turdinae in being smaller, with the bill usually weak and slender, though it is very stout in _Rhopophilus_ and _Arundinax_; a few genera shew strong rictal hairs; while _Regulus_ has the nostrils covered by one or more peculiar bristly feathers. The metatarsus is sometimes scutellated anteriorly; the wings are comparatively {514}short and broad. The tail, which in some twenty genera contains but ten feathers, varies from square to rounded, being rarely emarginated, but not uncommonly graduated, as in _Locustella_, _Cisticola_, and elsewhere; it is much lengthened and widened in _Laticilla_, broad and soft in _Bradypterus_, and so forth. In _Sphenoeacus_, _Dromaeocercus_, and the still longer-tailed _Stipiturus_ the rectrices are spiny with curiously decomposed webs; in _Orthotomus_ the median pair are elongated during summer in the male; in _Sylviella_ the rump-feathers nearly hide the tail itself.

The usual coloration in both sexes is plain greyish or brown, with rufous, buff, white, or yellowish lower parts, and frequently spots, stripes, and streaks. Many forms, however, shew more or less black or red hues, often in the form of a cap; others, as _Cryptolopha_, _Habrornis_, _Tickellia_, and _Phyllergates_ exhibit brilliant yellows and greens, relieved by grey, black, chestnut, and white; _Orthotomus_ and some species of _Prinia_, _Hapalis_, and _Euprinodes_ are hardly duller; while _Phylloscopus_, _Acanthopneuste_, _Regulus_, _Hypolais_, _Neornis_, and _Acanthiza_ vary from yellow-green to brown and buff above. _Regulus_, _Phyllergates_, and certain members of _Cisticola_, have red, orange, or yellow crowns; _Acanthiza_ has scaly frontal feathers; the male of _Stipiturus_ a blue throat; _Myiomoira_ is black and white, with a yellow and orange breast in one case; _Stiphrornis_ has an orange throat in two; _Leptopoecile_ shews a blue wash on the rump and lower surface.

Sub-fam. 4. _Polioptilinae._–The Gnatcatchers, with the sole genus _Polioptila_, have very slender bills, moderate rictal bristles, metatarsi scutellated anteriorly, shortish wings, and graduated tails. They are blue-grey above, with black rectrices, externally marked with white; and are greyish or white below. White shews occasionally on the wing, and some males have black heads.

Sub-fam. 5. _Miminae._–The American Mocking-birds have fairly long bills, which are little decurved except in _Harporhynchus_, but are frequently notched, and bristly at the gape. The metatarsi are usually strong and distinctly scutellated in front, though more slender in _Oreoscoptes_ and _Melanoptila_, and sometimes quite smooth in the latter and _Galeoscoptes_; the wings are shortish and rounded, with well-developed outer primary; the tail is rather long and is generally broad and much graduated, but is narrower and squarer in _Oreoscoptes_. The usual coloration is dull brown, rufous, and grey, varied by white on the remiges and rectrices, and by an occasional {515}black cap or chestnut vent; _Melanoptila_, however, is uniform purplish- or bluish-black, _Rhodinocincla_ rosy or rufous below in the male and female respectively, with superciliary streak to match. _Oreoscoptes_, _Mimus_, _Cichlherminia_, and _Harporhynchus_ often shew spots beneath and _Donacobius_ dusky bars, _Mimus trifasciatus_ has a dark chest-band.

The Turdidae occupy the whole globe, being characteristically, though not invariably, migratory.[286] Of the Turdinae, Thrushes abound in the Neotropical Region, and–if we include the Ground-Thrushes–are common in the Ethiopian, Indian, and Australian, but the Palaearctic and Nearctic are poorly supplied: Chats, Robins, Redstarts, Nightingales, Hedge-sparrows, and their nearest allies are mainly Palaearctic, Ethiopian, and Indian; though _Sialia_ reaches America, _Pratincola_ Celebes, and _Petroeca_ Samoa. _Nesocichla_ is restricted to Tristan da Cunha, _Turnagra_ to New Zealand, _Phaeornis_ to the Sandwich Islands; while Madagascar possesses peculiar forms both of this Sub-family and of the Sylviinae. The last-named, however, are chiefly Palaearctic, and visit the southern Old World in winter; yet two species of _Acrocephalus_ breed in Australia, _Miro_ and _Myiomoira_ occupy New Zealand, _Tatare_ and _Psamathia_ are Polynesian, one species of _Phylloscopus_ reaches Alaska, _Regulus_ occurs thence to Panama, and so forth. The Polioptilinae and Miminae inhabit North and South America; the Myiodectinae range from the more western United States to Bolivia and Brazil. Of the last groups several forms are confined to the Antilles, and of the Miminae three to the Galápagos.

Thrushes inhabit wooded country, and reach an altitude of twenty thousand feet in some latitudes; they feed chiefly on the ground, where they hop about scratching or searching for worms, molluscs, and insects. Snails are habitually cracked on some favourite stone by the Song-Thrush, and fruit is also eaten. The strong rapid flight is undulating and frequently low, but flocks cover vast distances on migration; Ground-Thrushes are naturally more terrestrial and resident, while the solitary Rock-Thrushes haunt stony hills, rocks, and ruins. This Sub-family comprises some of our very finest songsters, the Song-Thrush or Mavis vying with the Nightingale, which gladdens both day and night, and the Blackbird uttering delightfully mellow notes; but chirping sounds and harsher screams are common. _Phaeornis_ {516}sings prettily. The typical Turdine nest is a massive cup of grass, cemented with mud and inlaid with finer herbage; but other materials are constantly added, while mud, dung, or rotten wood constitutes the lining in the case of the Song-Thrush, and occasionally elsewhere. It is usually placed in trees or bushes, but not infrequently in cavities in trunks, walls or rocks, and sometimes on the ground in heather, banks, and so forth. The eggs may be greenish or bluish with reddish-brown or purplish spots and streaks, or glossy blue with or without black or brown markings; Rock-Thrushes have them light blue with faint stains, or pinkish with rusty freckles, _Turnagra_ whitish with black-brown spots.

As regards the Saxicoline and Ruticilline forms attention should be drawn to the jerky, flitting flight, the "chacking" alarm-note and the rarer song of our Wheatear, the similar habits of our Stonechat and Whinchat, not to mention other allied forms; as well as to the pleasant notes of Redstarts, Redbreasts, Blue-throats, and Hedge-sparrows, and the common habits of hopping, flirting the tail, and drooping the wings. The nests of Chats consist of grass and moss, often lined with hair, feathers, or fur, and are usually placed in holes of various descriptions, or in rough herbage; the four to seven blue, greenish, or even whitish eggs being spotted or zoned with rufous, except in a few instances, such as our Wheatear, where markings are rare. Deserts and stony or furzy flats are favourite haunts. _Petroeca_ adds bark, fibres, cobwebs, or lichens, and chooses sites in forks, or holes in trees and walls; the greenish or buffish eggs being marked with purplish, brown and grey. _Cyanecula_ and _Nemura_ select hollows in marshy spots, building with moss, grass, and leaves, like Robins; but the former, instead of reddish-white eggs with rufous spots, has them olive-coloured or dull greenish with faint rusty markings, as have the Nightingales, which place their fabric of oak or beech leaves on the ground or in low shrubs. _Copsychus_, _Cossypha_, _Catharus_, and _Thamnobia_ nest as Robins do, in holes in banks, trees, or walls, and have similar eggs; Redstarts deposit five or six, which are light blue or white and very rarely spotted, in a structure of grass, moss, roots, hair, and feathers, placed in cavities of trees or masonry; _Tarsiger_ and _Notodela_ prefer hollows in banks and rocks, and lay blue and salmon-pink eggs respectively. _Hodgsonius_ and _Larvivora_ also have them blue. _Chimarrhornis_ and _Rhyacornis_ nidificate like Redstarts, but their eggs are greenish-white with rufous or yellowish spots; the shy {517}_Cittocincla_ haunts thick woods, and deposits four oily-green eggs, with brown and purplish spots and dashes, on a bed of leaves and grass in holes in trees; the unsuspicious _Sialia_ utilizes cavities in stumps or buildings, the nest and its contents resembling those of a Redstart. The breeding habits of the Hedge-Sparrow need no description, and those of the Alpine Accentor differ little, except that rocky sites are chosen.

In the above section the number of eggs varies from four to seven. The flight is feeble as compared with that of Thrushes, most species feeding chiefly upon the ground and being more insectivorous, though Redstarts and Chats will take insects on the wing.

The habits of the active Sylviinae are much more uniform; they seldom fly far, except on migration, and a few flit about like Wrens; while _Amytis_, _Stipiturus_, _Sphenura_, and some species of _Aedon_ run, or hop among the herbage, with upturned tail. They frequent trees, bushes, long grass or reeds, seldom flocking as does _Regulus_, and live on insects and their larvae, small molluscs and fruit, the first-named being either caught in the air or sought upon the leaves and branches. The song is usually clear and sweet, though often plaintive, metallic, or whistling; the Willow- and Wood-Warblers (_Phylloscopus_) trill: the Black-cap and Garden-Warblers (_Sylvia_) have beautiful songs, as well as grating alarm notes; the Cataract-bird (_Origma_) runs along rocky water-courses emitting shrill cries; the Reed- and Sedge-Warblers (_Acrocephalus_), the skulking _Cettia_, and other marsh- and grass-frequenting forms, utter more or less jarring sounds, generally from some bush, whence they quickly drop to cover; while the Grasshopper-Warblers (_Locustella_) have a peculiar cricket-like note.

The nest may be a thin or fairly substantial cup of grasses, bed-straw (_Galium_) and the like, occasionally lined with hair, and placed in bushes or rank herbage, as in the Black-cap, Garden-Warbler and White-throats (_Sylvia_); or a firmer structure, including wool, moss, feathers, reed-flowers, or even lichens, built on the ground, in shrubs, in sedge, or between reed-stems, as is the case in _Locustella_, _Acrocephalus_, _Aedon_, and _Hypolais_. _Phylloscopus_, as well as some African and many Indian and Australian members of the Sub-family, fashion a round ball of grass and a little moss, lined with finer grasses, hair, down, or feathers, and generally place it close to the earth; _Regulus_ hangs a cup of moss and spiders' webs, bedded with feathers, below the end of a conifer or other {518}branch, or even builds it in creepers. Savi's Warbler (_Locustella luscinioïdes_) makes a Rail-like nest of broad grass-blades (_Glyceria_) in sedges, _Myiomoira_ one of bark, grass, wool, moss, and fibres in holes in trees, _Miro_ a similar fabric on their branches, _Acanthiza_ a domed hanging structure of like materials, _Origma_ a ragged pendent mass of moss and roots, lined with fur or feathers, under rocks. _Orthotomus_ (Tailor-bird) and some species of _Franklinia_, _Prinia_, and _Cisticola_ stitch together the edges of a leaf or leaves to sustain their nest of grass, cotton, wool, and hair.

The number of eggs is generally from three to six, but as many as twelve are found in _Regulus_. The colour is buffish-white with brownish and violet-grey spots in Savi's Warbler; pinker with delicate red-brown freckling in the Grasshopper-Warbler; rich red-brown in _Cettia_ and _Chthonicola_; similar or varying to blue, green, white or pinkish, with or without red or brown spots, in _Prinia_–even in the same species; little different in _Cisticola_; bronzy-brown in _Pyrrholaemus_; white or purplish with dark markings in _Sericornis_; white in _Origma_ and _Cryptolopha_. In _Sylvia_ the eggs are greenish- or yellowish-white with olive, brown, green, or reddish spots; in _Acrocephalus_ they are decidedly greener; in _Aedon_ greyer with brown and dull violet markings; in _Phylloscopus_ and _Acanthiza_ white, usually with dark red or purplish spotting; in _Hypolais_ lilac-pink with blackish or brown blotches or streaks; in _Regulus_ white, freckled or entirely suffused with yellowish or ruddy dots.

_Myiodectes_ frequents woods and thickets, and has somewhat Thrush-like habits; the voice is powerful, clear and metallic; while the food consists chiefly of berries, though insects are hawked for in the air. The nest, placed on bushes, stumps, banks or rocks, is made of sticks lined with soft materials, or of twigs, roots, and moss, and contains from three to six eggs, not unlike those of the Redbreast.

_Polioptila_ haunts tall trees or shrubs in pairs or small companies; the habits are restless, the flight is quick, the food consists of gnats and so forth, commonly captured on the wing. The purse-like nest is felted with bark, fibres, and down, and decorated with lichens; it is woven to boughs, stems, or creepers, and contains four or five greenish- or bluish-white eggs, marked with red-brown, lilac, and grey.

Of the Miminae, _Mimus polyglottus_ is the Mocking-bird in {519}chief; the natural song being rich, varied, and powerful, and the imitations ranging from the yelp of the Eagle to the noises of the farm-yard. It is found from the United States to Mexico and the Antilles, where in isolated trees, hedges, or brambles it makes a bulky platform of rough twigs to support the cup of roots, wool, and so forth, which contains the four to six pale greenish-blue–or rarely buffish–eggs, with brown and purplish markings. The movements are energetic but graceful, the flight Thrush-like; the food consists of insects, often taken in the air, and fruit. _Mimus modulator_, the "Calandria," of Argentina, Brazil, and Bolivia, feeds chiefly on the ground, and can hardly be said to mock, though _M. triurus_ of the same countries does so. _Galeoscoptes carolinensis_, the Cat-bird, besides an attractive song, utters clucks, whistles, and mewing sounds; it feeds chiefly on insect-larvae, and deposits from three to five deep greenish-blue eggs in a nest of twigs, bark, and plant-stalks lined with grass. _Oreoscoptes_, of the North American sage-brush districts, resembles _Mimus_ in its habits, nest, and eggs, but is no mimic; nor, it may be added, are the shy Thrashers (_Harporhynchus_), which commonly haunt arid situations, placing their large, flattish nest of coarse twigs, leaves, fibres, bark, grass, and moss, lined with softer materials, in low trees or thorny scrub. Their three to six eggs are white, bluish, greenish, or buff, with yellowish, purplish, or red-brown spots or specks, those of the more terrestrial _H. crissalis_ being uniform pale greenish-blue. _Donacobius_ frequents reeds, but possibly does not belong to this group; _Melanoptila_ has a harsh or mewing note, and lays blue eggs, as does _Melanotis_.