. Reptiles and birds. A popular account of the various orders; with a description of the habits and economy of the most interesting. . ibed among European birds—Stunius vulgaris, Fig. 201 (the Com-mon Starling) and StiLimus imicolor (the Sardinian Starling), which isblack, and without spots, with the anterior feathers very long, tapering,and drooping from the base of the neck. It is also found in Algeriaamong the rocks, where it builds. It passes the winter on the Africancoast of the Mediterranean, in company with the Common ; Its flesh is bitter, and consequently unpleasant to the
. Reptiles and birds. A popular account of the various orders; with a description of the habits and economy of the most interesting. . ibed among European birds—Stunius vulgaris, Fig. 201 (the Com-mon Starling) and StiLimus imicolor (the Sardinian Starling), which isblack, and without spots, with the anterior feathers very long, tapering,and drooping from the base of the neck. It is also found in Algeriaamong the rocks, where it builds. It passes the winter on the Africancoast of the Mediterranean, in company with the Common ; Its flesh is bitter, and consequently unpleasant to the taste, so when 486 REPTILES AND BIRDS. sought after it is on account of its docility, and for the ease withwhich it is taught to speak. Tlie Orioles {Xanthoniis) have the bill broad at the base, nearly-conical and pointed ; the upper mandible has the dorsal line slightly-arched, the ridge narrow, the sides flat and sloping. They arechiefly American birds, and have considerable resemblance in formand habit to the European starlings. Like them they are sprightly,light, and very rapid on the wing, and they live together in large. Fig. 202.—The Baltimore Oriole. flocks throughout the year, feeding on seeds, berries, and especiallyinsects, and frequently committing ravages on cultivated fieldsand orchards. Some of this genera exhibit remarkable industryand skill in the construction of their nests, particularly the Balti-more Oriole (Yphantes balti??iore, Fig. 202), which constructs akind of purse, about a yard in length and a foot in diameter,the mouth or entrance being placed sometimes at the upper ex-tremity, sometimes on the side. Naturalists have subdividedthem into many smaller groups or genera, the most importantbeing the one here described, and which may well be taken as anexample. The Beef-eaters {Buphagns africa?ta, Fig. 203) owe their name to THE BEEF-EATERS. 487 a singular habit they have of lighting on the backs of ruminatingmammalia, and picking off the insects or
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectbirds, booksubjectrep
