Encyclopaedia Britannica > Volume 15, NIC-PAR

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824
HYXOTO-
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Iiaracters
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aradm
O R N I T H
tlful ill Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, ami Lancashire. It
is local, and very gregarious.
Ultramarine finch.—Blue; bill white; legs red. Size
of a canary bird. Inhabits Abyssinia, and sings well.
Gen. 85. Phytotoma.
Bill conical, straight, serrated ; nostrils oval ; tongue
short, and obtuse ; feet four-toed.
{ . ^ara phytotoma, or four-toed plant-cutter.—Bill
thick, half an inch long, and toothed on each side like a
saw ; jrides brown ; body ash above ; paler beneath ;
qmll and tail feathers spotted with black ; tail round¬
ed ; hind toe shorter than the fore ones. Inhabits Chili,
where it is not uncommon. Has a rough voice, and
utters at intervals, the syllable ra, ra, very distinctly^
leeds on vegetables, digging and cutting about their
roots with its bill as with a saw, and thus making great
havock in gardens. Builds in lofty trees, in retired si¬
tuations.
Gen. 86. Muscicapa, Fhj-catc/ier.
$30
ijrarnm.
83*
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S32
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Pi ate
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‘bricollis,
, S34
Papilla
Bill nearly triangular, notched on each side, bent in at
the tip, and beset with bristles at the root; toes in
most cases divided to their origin.
a- The ^ds °f tI,.Is genns 1, ve 011 insects, particularly
Hies. Of 92 species, two only inhabit Britain.
Paradise fly-catcher, or pied bird of Paradise.—
Crested ; head black ; body white ; tail wedged ; two
middle feathers very long ; head, neck, and chin green¬
ish-black ; back, rump, throat, and body white be¬
neath ; wing coverts and quill feathers black, edged
with white ; tivo middle tail feathers inches long •
legs lead-coloured. Eight inches and a quarter long.
Ot tins species there are several varieties. Inhabits
Asia and Africa.
lorked-tailfly-catcher.—Tail very long and forked ;
body black ; white beneath. Fourteen inches lono-.
Inhabits Canada and Surinam.
Soft-tailed fly-catcher.—Brown ; ferruginous be¬
neath ; throat of the male blue ; tail long, wedged, with
loose webbed feathers. Inhabits New Holland, being
found about Sidney and Botany Bay, in marshy places,
abounding with long grass and rushes, which afford it a
hiding place, and where, like the bearded titmouse, it is
supposed to make its nest When disturbed, its flight
is very short; but it runs on the ground with great
swiftness. This singular bird, which is but three inches
long, is well represented in the fourth volume of the
Linnsean Transactions.
Dwarf fly-catcher.—Straw-coloured beneath ; head
and neck rufous, spotted with black; feathers of the
back and wing coverts cinereous; edged with greenish ;
quill feathers black, edged with gray ; tail black and
short. Hardly three inches long. Inhabits Cayenne.
P urple-throatedfiy-catcher.—P>\-ac\s.-, chin and throat
with a large purple red spot. Twelve inches long.
Inhabits woods in South America, is gregarious, feeds
on fruits and insects, and often associates with the tou¬
can.
Pied fly-catchcr.—Black above ; under parts, spot
on the front, and shield on the wings, white ; lateral
tail feathers white without; bill and legs black 3 tail
823
O L O G Y.
coverts spotted with white. Female brown ; white be¬
neath, and wants the frontal spot. About the size of a
linnet, and nearly five inches long. There are three or
four varieties, and the young birds at first resemble the
female. It is local, and by no means plentiful in this
island, affecting wild and uncultivated tracts of furze.
According to Dr Latham, it builds in some hole of a
tree, not very near the ground, making a nest of a few
fibres, mixed with moss, and laying six eggs.
Chattering flycatcher.—Green; yellow beneath ; Viridis.
belly and vent whitish ; eyebrows and spot under the
eyes whitish; tail brown. Seven inches and three
quarters long. Haunts unfrequented places in Caroli¬
na ; is very shy, and flies with its legs extended. 835
Azm e fly-catcher.—Blue; hind head and breast Cisrulea,
with a black spot; belly and vent bluish white; quill
and tail feathers dusky-blue. Five inches long. In¬
habits the Philippine islands.
Fan-tailed fly-catcher.—Olive above, ferruginous Flabetlife-
beneath ; eyebrows, chin, throat, sides of the neck, and»’«-
lateral tail feathers white; middle tail feathers, head,
and collar black. Six inches and a half long. Inhabits
New Zealand. Flies with its tail expanded like a
fan ; and is easily tamed. g ,s
Flack fly-catcher.—Totally black; bill, head, and Nigra.
legs dusky black. Inhabits Society islands. S39
Active fly-catcher.—Olive-brown ; whitish beneath
quill and tail feathers black, and edged with olive-
brown. Four inches and a half long. Inhabits Ca¬
yenne. Is continually hunting after insects, which it
picks out from under the bark of trees. , g40
Spotted fly-catcher.—Brownish whitish beneath; neck Grisolc..
longitudinally spotted ; vent pale-rnfous ; bill black,
whitish at the base ; inside of the mouth yellow; head
laige, brownish, and spotted with black; back mouse-
coioured ; wings and tail black ; the former edged with
white; chin spotted with red; legs black. About the
size ot the tit-lark ; length five inches and a half. In¬
habits Europe. I his bird visits us in spring, and de¬
parts in September. It frequents orchards and groves,
and will make its nest on the limb of some fruit-tree
nailed against the wall, or in a hole, sometimes in out¬
buildings, on the end of a beam or rafter, and at other
times against the body of a large tree, on the stump of
a decayed branch. i he nest is formed of bents, moss,
and such materials, interwoven with spiders webs, and
lined with feathers. The female lays four or five eggs,
not much unlike those of the redbreast, but rather less,
and the rust-coloured spots more distinct, and not so.
much confined to the larger end. Its food seems to be
entirely winged insects, though it is said to be particu¬
larly fond of cherries, probably from the circumstance
of its frequenting the cherry tree for the sake of flies,
that are attracted by the fruit. As soon as the young
birds leave the nest, they are led by the old ones to
some neighbouring wood or grove where insects abound;,
and where they may be seen darting in every direction
in pursuit of flies, and frequently returning to the same
station. I he note of this species is a simple weak
chirp, not frequently used till after the young are fled,
so that the bird, though not uncommon, is not readily
discovered.
Desert fly-catcher.—Body ferrnginous and sooty ;
wings and tail blackish; bill yellowish. Inhabits the
deserts of .Arabia, /
Gen,