The AMERICAN CROSS-BILL, L. Americana, resembles the preceding, and has generally been considered identical with it; there is no doubt, however, that it is distinct. It is seven inches long; the male is red, passing into whitish beneath. It feeds on the seeds and buds of trees, and is a northern bird, but breeds in a few instances as far south as Pennsylvania.

Other species are as follows: the PARROT CROSS-BILL, L. pityopsittacus, seven inches and a half long; general color tile-red, with dusky streaks below. It is somewhat larger than the common cross-bill, but resembles it in its habits. It is occasionally seen in England and France. The EUROPEAN WHITE-WINGED CROSS-BILL, L. bifasciata, is six and a quarter inches long; brickred, orange, and grayish-brown above; reddish-orange beneath; a rare species.

The AMERICAN WHITE-WINGED CROSS-BILL, L. leucoptera, is generally of a crimson-red, with wings and tail black, the former having two white bands; length six inches. It is a northern species, rarely moving farther south than Northern New York. This has been long deemed identical with the preceding, but it is no doubt a distinct species.

THE PHYTOTOMINÆ OR PLANT-CUTTERS.

THE CHILIAN PLANT-CUTTER, P. rara.

These birds are distinguished by having the margins of their mandibles finely serrated; the bill is short, conical, and stout, as in the bullfinches. They are found only in the temperate regions of South America; the typical species, Phytotoma rara, is a native of Chili. They frequent the wooded parts of the country, and feed upon buds, fruits, and herbage, which they cut away with their bills, and thus often do great damage when they visit the cultivated grounds. The amount of the injury is greatly increased by the circumstance that the birds mischievously cut off quantities of buds, fruits, &c., for the mere pleasure of throwing them down; and for this reason the peasants wage a constant war with them, which, according to Molina, at the time he wrote, was rapidly diminishing their numbers. They also occasionally feed on insects. Their cry, consisting of rara, rara, rara, is said to be excecdingly disagreeable, resembling the noise made by grating the teeth of two saws together.

This family includes several remarkable groups, as the Bower-Birds, Grackles, Beef-Eaters, Tree-Starlings, Pastors, Meadow-Larks, Crow-Blackbird, Baltimore and Orchard Orioles, CowBlackbird, Red-Wing Starling, &c. In their general characteristics we may include an elongated and compressed bill, wings long and more or less pointed, the toes long and strong, especially the hind one; they feed on insects, worms, fruits, and seeds; they are generally gregarious; are docile and tractable in captivity, and exhibit some of the peculiar sagacity of the crows.

THE PTILONORHYNCHINÆ, OR BOWER-BIRDS, OR GLOSSY STARLINGS.

These birds are peculiar to the eastern hemisphere. The majority, including the Choucaries and Pirolles, are found in India, Australia, and the intervening islands, but Africa also possesses a few species belonging to the genus Juida. They inhabit the hot regions of that continent, where they fly in large flocks, feeding principally on fruits, and often attacking the gardens. and vineyards, to which they do great damage. They also devour insects and worms, and are sometimes seen perched on the backs of cattle, searching for the parasitic insects among the hair. They are generally showy birds, with a metallic luster upon their plumage, are rather larger, than the common starling, and have a much longer tail. They nestle in rocks and holes of trees, and lay five or six eggs.

The Bower-Birds of Australia belong to the genera Ptilonorhynchus and Chlamydera. These are remarkable for the habit of making a sort of bower, which has nothing to do with their nidification, but merely serves as a sort of playing-ground, in and around which they assemble for amusement! They inhabit the forests, and the bower is placed under the shelter of some large tree. Mr. Gould describes the construction and use of that of the SATIN BOWER-BIRD, P. holosericeus—Kitta holosericeus of Timminck, the Kitte Velouté of the French—in the following words: "The base consists of an extensive and rather convex platform of sticks firmly interwoven,

on the center of which the bower itself is built; this, like the platform on which it is placed and with which it is interwoven, is formed of sticks and twigs, but of a more slender and flexible description, the tips of the twigs being so arranged as to curve inward and nearly meet at the top; in the interior of the bower the materials are so placed that the forks of the twigs are always presented outward, by which arrangement not the slightest obstruction is offered to the passage of the birds. For what purpose these curious bowers are made is not yet, perhaps, fully understood; they are certainly not used as a nest, but as a place of resort for many individuals of both sexes, which, when there assembled, run through and around the bower in a sportive and playful manner, and that so frequently that it is seldom entirely deserted."

A still more extraordinary structure of the same description is formed by the Spotted BowerBIRD, Chlamydera maculata, an inhabitant of the interior of Australia; it is thus described by Mr. Gould. The bowers "are considerably longer and more avenue-like than those of the satin bower-bird, being in many instances three feet in length. They are outwardly built of twigs, and beautifully lined with tall grasses, so disposed that their heads nearly meet; the decorations are very profuse, and consist of bivalve shells, crania of small mammalia, and other bones. Evident and beautiful instances of design are manifest throughout the bower and decorations formed by this species, particularly in the manner in which the stones are placed within the bower, apparently to keep the grasses with which it is lined fixed firmly in their places; these stones diverge from the mouth of the run on each side, so as to form little paths, while the immense collection of decorative materials, bones, shells, &c., are placed in a heap before the entrance of the avenue, this arrangement being the same at both ends." Mr. Gould adds, in evidence of the labor that must be bestowed by the birds upon the construction of these apparently useless assembly rooms, that he frequently found them at a distance from any river, so that the shells and small stones employed in their fabrication must have been transported from a considerable distance. It appears also that the birds collect no other bones than those which have been bleached in the sun; and as it is certain that as they feed almost entirely upon fruits and seeds, these remains of other animals cannot be regarded as relics of their victims.

The birds of this group are found in India and the Indian Isles, where they inhabit the jungles. Genus GRACULA: Gracula.-To this belongs the MINO-BIRD, G. religiosa—Eulabes Javanus of Viellot; Mainatus Sumatranus of Lesson, and Minor Grackle of Bechstein; this is twelve inches long; the color is a deep velvety-black; a white space in the middle of the wing; bill and feet yellow; behind the eye spring fleshy caruncles of a bright orange-color, and extend beyond Cuvier's genus of

*The genus Grackle, as now restricted by most naturalists, includes only the present group. this name included many others.

the occiput. It is found in Java, Sumatra, and the great Eastern Islands. Insects and fruits form its food; it is easily tamed, and learns to whistle and talk with facility. It is fond of cherries and grapes. If a cherry be brought and shown to it, and not given to it immediately, it will cry like a child. It will also sing and chatter like a parrot. With the natives it is a special favorite; it is sent to China in great numbers; it is also sometimes brought to Europe and America, and is kept as a pet in cages. Marsden says that it has the faculty of imitating human speech in greater perfection than any other of the feathered tribe: Bontius tells the following story: there was, when he was in Batavia, an old Javanese woman, the servant of a Chinese gardener, who kept one of these birds, which was very loquacious. Bontius was very anxious to buy it, but this the old woman would not listen to. He then begged that she would at least lend it to him that its picture might be taken, a request which was at last granted with no very good grace, the ancient Mohammedan dame being under great apprehension that Bontius would offer the abomination pork to her beloved bird. This he promised not to do, and had the loan of the Mino, which kept continually saying, "Orang Nasarani Catjor Macan Babi." This, being interpreted, means, “Christian Dog, Eater of Pork;" and Bontius came to the conclusion that the unwillingness of the old woman arose not only from the fear of her bird being desecrated by an offer of swine's flesh, but also from the apprehension that he or his servants, irritated by its contumelies, would wring its neck. M. Lesson gives an account of one he saw at Java which knew whole phrases of the Malay language. The Javanese call this bird Meo and Mancho; another species Eulabes Indicus, is said to exist, of the size of the European blackbird.

THE BUPHAGINÆ OR OX-PECKERS.

This group includes only a few species of birds, inhabiting the warmer parts of Africa, and belonging to the genus BUPHAGO. The best known is that of the COMMON OX-PECKER or BEEFEATER, SO called from its habit of perching on the backs of cattle, and extracting the larvæ of the bot-flies, by which those quadrupeds are commonly infested. The French call it Pique Boeuf; the scientific name is B. Africana. Singular as the diet we have mentioned may seem, it is said to constitute the principal nourishment of these birds, and the bill is certainly peculiarly adapted for gently squeezing the parasites out of the tumors caused by their presence. The cattle are said to allow the birds to perch upon them without any signs of unwillingness, which is indeed the case in respect to several other species which devour the insects found there. The Common Ox-Pecker is a small bird, about eight or nine inches in length; its plumage is reddish-brown above and yellowish-white beneath; the legs are brown and the bill yellowish, with the tips of both mandibles red. It is generally seen associated in small flocks of seven or eight individuals, and is exceedingly shy.

THE STURNINÆ OR TRUE STARLINGS.

The True Starlings are for the most part inhabitants of the eastern hemisphere, only the genus Sturnella belonging to America. In these the bill is usually elongated, rather slender, and tapering, the wings and tail rather short, the toes long and stout, and furnished with acute claws.

Genus STURNUS: Sturnus.-This includes the COMMON STARE or STARLING of Europe, S. vulgaris-Etourneau of the French-a well-known, handsome, sprightly bird, often tamed, and as it can be taught to whistle tunes and articulate a few words, it is a favorite pet. It nestles in holes of rocks and buildings, and in hollow trees; the nest is composed of twigs, straws, grass, and roots; the eggs are four, of a pale blue tint. It is eight and a half inches long, of a black color, with violet and green reflections, and spotted with buff. After breeding time, the starlings assemble, often in immense flocks, and roost among the reeds in fenny districts, sometimes crushing them down by their weight, like grass after a storm. They are common in Europe, and we often see them mentioned as familiar birds in English books. They are stationary, except that in severe winters they move for a short distance southward. They have particular haunts, where they assemble in vast multitudes. From October to March, many thousands of them roost in a mass of thorn-trees in the Zoological Gardens of Dublin.

Genus PASTOR: Pastor.-This includes the ROSE-COLORED PASTOR-Martin Roselin of the French-P. roseus, resembling the starlings, and, like them, found living in the vicinity of cattle and

sheep, and frequently mounts on their backs to find the insects imbedded in their hair and wool. It is a great destroyer of locusts, and on that account is held almost sacred in some parts; found in Asia, Africa, and Southern Europe. The Pastor tristis is a closely allied species, found in the Philippine Islands, and having been transported thence to the Mauritius by the colonists, has destroyed nearly all the insects of the island.

Genus PHILESTURNUS: Philesturnus.—This includes the CARUNCULATED PHILESTURnus, P. carunculatus, a New Zealand species, brown above and dirty white below. It is very bold, and a great babbler.

Genus STURNELLA: Sturnella.-This includes one of our handsomest and most familiar birds, the MEADOW-LARK—in Virginia the Old Field-Lark—S. Ludoviciana, ten and a half inches long; body above varied with chestnut, deep brown, and black; neck and breast of a bright yellow, with a large cravat of black. It is migratory, coming to us in summer, and breeding in the meadows as far north as 56°. Its nest is carefully concealed beneath a tuft of grass, being arched over level with the ground. The eggs are from four to five, and white, spotted. It lives on seeds and insects. It is a shy, suspicious bird, and being very alert and swift of flight is shot with some difficulty. It is tough, but is esteemed for the table. It has none of the docility of the European starling, but has a tender and plaintive song during the breeding season, usually uttered at morning and evening from the top of some tall tree. The S. neglecta inhabits Western America. Genus QUISCALUS: Quiscalus. This includes the COMMON CROW-BLACKBIRD, Q. versicolor