bushes and stumps, by the margins of the waters which form their usual resting-places when watching for their prey, but it is said that they can upon occasions cling to perpendicular surfaces; as, however, the foot is not adapted for adhering to a vertical surface for any length of time, they are in constant and active motion.

Moist localities are generally resorted to by the Hoopoe, in the neighbourhood of woods and thickets, and the banks of rivers, especially those which are occasionally flooded. There it may be seen upon the ground, busily searching for its favourite insects, chiefly coleopterous, and the spawn of fishes and reptiles. It may sometimes be seen, Mr. Selby observes, hanging from the branches of trees, in search of the insects that chiefly dwell on the under sides of the foliage. It builds in the holes of decayed trees, but when these situations cannot be obtained, will make use of the crevices of walls and rocks. The nest is formed of dry grass, lined with feathers or other soft materials; and it lays four or five eggs of a greyish-white, spotted with hair-brown.

The length of the Hoopoe is more than a foot, the extent of the wings more than a foot and a half, and the weight about three ounces. The most remarkable external characteristic of the bird is its crest, consisting of two rows of orange feathers, tipped with black, extending backwards along the head, capable of being elevated or depressed, and giving a sprightly air to the bird. The head, neck, and breast are brownish-red, the upper part of the back greyish-brown, and the hinder part barred with black and white; the under parts of the bird are white, with longitudinal

streaks of brown. The wings and tail are black, the former with five regular white bars on each, and the latter with a chevron of white, the angle directed to the body of the bird. Its flight through the air is by leaps, or undulatory, and, to appearance, performed with considerable labour; but from the long migrations which it makes, it must be capable of long continuance. The engraving represents the bill of Epimachus magnificus, the Splendid Epimachus, which has the bill of Upupa and Promerops, with the scaly or velvet feathers covering the nostrils,

as in the Birds of Paradise. The plumage is extremely brilliant, and the flank feathers of the male are elongated and fringed. Sonnerat says that there does not perhaps exist a more extraordinary bird than the Grand Promerops of New Guinea. It is four feet in length, from the extremity of the bill to that of the tail. Its body is delicate, slender, and, although it is of an elongated form, appears short and excessively small in comparison with the tail. To add to the singularity of this bird, Nature has placed above and below its wings feathers of an extraordinary form, and such as one does not see in other birds; she seems, moreover, to have pleased herself in painting this being, already so singular, with her most brilliant

*Feathered Tribes of the British Islands.

colours. The head, the neck, and the belly are glittering green; the feathers which cover these parts have the lustre and softness of velvet to the eye and to the touch; the back is changeable violet; the wings are of the same colour, and appear, according to the lights in which they are held, blue, violet, or deep black, always, however, imitating velvet. The tail is composed of twelve feathers, the two middle are the longest, and the lateral ones gradually diminish; it is violet or changeable blue above, and black beneath. The feathers which compose it are as wide in proportion as they are long, and shine both above and below with the brilliancy of polished metal. Above the wings, the scapulars are very long and singularly formed; their barbs are very short on one side, and very long on the other. These feathers are of the colour of polished steel, changing into blue, terminated by a large spot of brilliant green, and forming a species of tuft or appendage at the origin of the wings. Below the wings spring long curved feathers, directed upwards; these are black on the inside, and brilliant green on the outside. The bill and feet are black.

Birds of Paradise.

CONIROSTRES.

WITH the Promeropida we closed that tribe of birds the members of which are exclusively organized for feeding upon the minute insects which infest the flowers of plants and trees, or for imbibing, by means of their filamentous tongue, the nectar of the flowers, and we now enter that which contains birds of the most opposite characters to those we have just been considering-birds whose individual faculties and organization are more varied or perfect than those of any other tribe; who feed indiscriminately upon insects, fruits, and vegetables; who perch upon slender sprays, and walk upon the ground with equal facility; and some of whom are the largest and the most extraordinary birds in appearance of the whole order. The bill exhibits a considerable firmness of structure and is more or less conical in its form; the notch in the upper mandible is very slight, and the tip is rarely hooked; in some of the species it is beautifully adapted for the fracture of the hardest seed-stones, or for extracting the seeds from the most concealed recesses. The feet, in almost every instance, have three toes in front and one behind, and are of strength sufficient to become available instruments of progression upon the ground or amongst the branches of trees.

By Mr. Swainson, the five primary divisions of this tribe are considered to be the families Corvidæ, Sturnida, Fringillida, Musophagidae, and Bucerida,

though the first and second are considered by him and Mr. Vigors as the two typical groups, on account of their more perfect and varied faculties; if the conic form of the bill is the peculiar character upon which the order is founded, it follows that those birds which exhibit this character in the highest degree of development must be arranged as the typical group. It is stated by Mr. Swainson, that the bill of the Fringillide is most typical in this respect; we have therefore considered that family as the most typical group. According to their natural affinities, then, the other families will assume the above arrangement, which we will now endeavour to show.

That the Paradise Birds, which we include in the family Corvida, exhibit a strong affinity to some species of the Promeropida is generally acknowledged; indeed, Mr. Swainson considers them as belonging to the tenuirostral tribe, and immediately to succeed that family. The form of their bill and feet, however, together with their general organization, induced Baron Cuvier to arrange them with the Crows, and they have generally been considered by ornithologists as belonging to that family.

The general character of the Corvida are, the bill strong, more or less compressed or flattened on the sides, sharp and trenchant in the cutting edges, slightly curved towards the point; commissure straight; nostrils covered or defended by incumbent bristles or feathers. Feet strong, with three toes directed forwards and one backwards; the three front toes divided to their bases. Wings in general long and pointed; the second and third quills are, however, shorter than the fourth one,