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Show 274 AVES. EuLABEs, Cuv. b. ·d f th'ls genus are closely allied to those of the preceding The u s o . '1 d Their beak is nearly that of a Thrush; t~e1r ~1ostr1 s are :oun oannde. smooth. Tll e·i r d'u s tinguishing mark consists m broad str1ps of naked skm· on eac 11 si•c l e of the occiput ' and a bald spot on the cheek. Lm· nreus h as con f o unded two species of them under the name of Gracula religiosct.( 1) . . . E . ~·n cl z' eus, Enl · 268 , the species of India, IS the s1ze of ,a Thrush; black, with a white spot near the base of the pn· mari·e s. 1'11e J1'. 'eet ' beak ' and bald parts of the head, yellow. , E. javanicus, Vieill. Gal. 95, has a broader beak, the co~mts· sure extending higher up, more hooked at the end,_ and Without a notch-consequently, it should come after Colaris, Cuv.; but in every thing else it is precisely similar to the other and par· ticularly in the strips of bare skin about the head.(2) or all birds, this one is said to imitate most completely the language of man. GRACULA, Cuv.(3) Is another genus allied to the Thrushes. The species inha~it Afri~a and the countries bordering on the Indian Ocean. Their.beak ts compressed, very little arcuated, and slightly _emarginate; Its com· missure forms an angle like that of the Starhng. The feathers on the head are almost always narrow, and there is a naked space round the eye. They have the habits of Starlings, and like them, pursue insects in flocks. One species is occasionally seen in Europe, Turdus roseus, L.; Pastor roseus, Meyer; Merula rosea, Naum. 63; Enl. 251; Vaill. Afr. A brilliant black; back, rump, scapu~ lars and breast of a pale rose; feathers of the head narrow, an Phil. reticule (Melliph. reticulata~, lb. 2;-the Ph. a joues blanches (M. leucotis ), Col. 435;-Phil. Dume:rilii, Voy. de Duperr. pl. xxi, and perhaps the White headtd [xo3, Ruppel, Av. 4. . N.B. The CnEADJON or Pt·e a· per u1e1to ques •ts t h e genus A NTHOCUJE RA. ofSwamso.n, to which he joins the Merops ph1·ygius, &c. The long and slender billed 7h11 e · dons, such as the Certhia cucullata, Vieill., form the genus MYZOM:ELA of Swams~n. (1) This appellatiqn of religious was only given to it on account of a..pecu .ar trait in its character, 'related by Bontius (:Med. Ind. or. p. 67,) and foretgn to 115 natural habits. I have made it my generic name by translating it into Greek. (2) Nothing c:Ln possibly be more perplexing to methodists than this difference between the be:Lks of two such similar birds. (3) Vieillot has changed this name into that of CRIDOTBER:&s, Galer. 148. PASSERINJE. 275 lengthened out into a tuft. It is of great use in warm climates, by destroying Grasshoppers. ( 1) Another species, Paracliscea tristis, Gm.; Gracula tristia, Lath. and Shaw; Gracula gryllivora, Daud. Enl. 219, has become celebrated for similar services rendered to the Isle of France. It feeds, however, on every thing, builds on the Palms, and is very docile. Its size is that of a Thrush; brown, blackish about the l1ead; a spot near the tip of the wing; the lower part of the abdomen and the tips of the lateral tail quills are white.(2) (1} Since my first edition was published, I have satisfied myself of the certainty afthe generic affinity of this species with the Gr:Lcula, Cuv. (2) It is difficult to imagine how Linn reus was induced to make it a Bird of Paradise. To this genus also belong the Gracula cristatella, Enl. 507 :Lnd Edw. 19, which can hardly be considered a variety of the common one;-the Porte lambeaux, Vail!. Afr. pl. xciii, and xciv, which is the Gr. carunculata, Gm., or the Gr. larvata, Shaw, or the Sturnus gallinaceus, Daud. ;-the Martin brame, Turdus pagodarum, Vail!. Afr., 95, and Vieill. Gal. 148. The first T. malabaricus, the T. ginginianua, the T. dominicanus, Enl. 627, 2; the Martin gris de Fer, Vaill. Aft·. 95, 1, and the Sturnua sericeus, Gm. also belong to it, as well as some new species. I also 1•efer to it, conjecturally, the Turdus ochrocepltalus, Lath. (Sturn. ceylanicus, Gm.) Drown, Ill., xxii. N.D. We cannot ascertain what type was taken by Linna:us and his followers for their genus Gn.a.cULA. Linna:us first formed it in his tenth edition of seven very discordant species, viz. 1, religiosa, Eulabes, C.; 2, fetida, which I suspect to be the Colnu, that is to say allied to Ampelis; 3, barita, and 4, quiscala, which belong to Cassicus; 5, cristatella, which is a Gracula, Cuv.; 6, saularis, or rather solaria, which is a straight-beaked Shrike, and the same bird as T. mindanensis, Enl. 627, 1; finally, 7, .lltthis, which is a Thrush. In the 12th ed. he added the Gracula calva, and placed the common gracula, Cuv. among the birds of Paradise. Gmelin, in imitation of Pallas, added a xanthornus (Gr. longirostra. )· • He also placed there the porte.lambeaux (Gr. carunculata), still leaving the common one llllong the Birds of Paradise; finally, he placed there the Gr. cayennensis, which ~a Creeper. M. Latham has transferred to it the Gr. tristis, the Col. nu (Gr. nuda) and one of my Philedons (Gr. icterops). t Daudin has placed some species after the said Gracula which in fact resemble it, and two of which Gmelin had left among the Thrushes (Turdus pagodarum and malabaricus). Finally, Shaw has put the finishing touch to the matter, by transferring to the genus in question three Baritre, (his Gr. atrepera, varia and tibicen,) and adding to them the Talapiot, which is a ?reeper or a Nuthatch (Gr. picoides). Genera, thus formed, certainly excuse the il~ humour of the enemies of systems, if they do not justify it. See the Mem. of )1. Ltchtenstein, A cad. of Berlin, 1817. • I do not know the Gracula sturnina of Pallas. t Neither do I know the Grac. melanocephala and viridu of Latham; but I suspect they also belong to my Philedons. |