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Show 306 AVES. OxYRYNoHus, Tern. The conical and pointed beak ofXanthornus, but it is shorter than the head. . . The species known, Oxyr. jlammzceps, T.; 0. cnstatua, Swains. Ill. III, 49; Col. 125, has a partly red tuft on the head, like several of the Tyrants. The DAoNrs, Cuv.-PrT-PITs, Buff. Resemble Xanthorni in their conical and short beak. They con· nect that subgenus with Regulus. The species known, Mot. cayana, L.; Enl. 669; Vieill. Gal. 165, is a small blue and black bird. [See .llpp. XXII of .11m. Ed.l STURNus, Lin. The Starlings only differ ft·om the Xanthorni in having a beak that is depressed, especially near the point. S. vulgaris, L.; Enl. 75; Naum. 62. (The Common Starling.) Black with violet and green reflections, every where spotted with white or fawn colour. The young male is of a brown grey. It is found in great numbers throughout the whole of the eastern continent, feeds on insects, and is of use to cattle by relieving them from their attacks. It flies in large and crowded flocks, is easily tamed, and may be taught to sing and even to speak. It leaves France in winter. Its flesh is disagreeable.(!) We can find no sufficient character to enable us to distinguish (1) Add the Sturnus unicolor of the south of Europe, Tern. Col. 3; Vieill. Gal. pl. xci;-St. capensis, Enl. 280, from which the St. contra, Albin. m, 21, does not differ, but which is from the Indies, and not from the Cape;-St. militaris, En!. 113;-St. ludovicianus, Enl. 256, the same as the .!llauda magna, Gm. Catesb.l, 33, or the Stournelle a collier, Vieill. Gal. pl. xc, and Wils. III, xix, 2;-the Etour· neau a camail rouge ( Oriolus ruber, Gm.) Sonner. Nouv. g. pl. lxviii, or .llmblyram· phus tricolor, Leach, Zoo I. Miscel. pl. xxxvi; a beautiful species from the steppes of Buen.os Ayres, and not from India, as stated by Sonnerat. N.n. The St. cinclus forms, as we have seen, a genus allied to the Thrushes; the St. sericeus, Brown, III, 21, is rather a Gracula, Cuv.; the St. collaris is the same as the Fauvette of the Alps ( accentor ). The St. carunculatus should, I think, go along with Philedon. The species of Osbec, Hernandes, &c. are not well authenticated; as to those of Pallas, it is to be regretted that we have no figul·es of them. The Stournes of Daudin must be replaced with the Thrushes, or the Philedons, and his Quiscales, partly with tlie Gracula:, Cuv. and partly with Cassicus. Daudin, generall! speak· ing, completed the confusion of this genu&, sufficiently entangled by his prede· cessors. PASSERINJE, 307 from the Conirostres with certainty and precision, th~ different genera of the family of the Crows, aU of which have a similar internal structure and external organs, only differing in a (generally) greater size, which sometimes enables them to hunt small birds : their strong beak is most commonly com. pressed on the sides. These genera are three in number, the Crows, Birds of Paradise, and the Rollers. CoRvus, Lin. The Crows have a strong beak, more or less laterally flattened, nostrils covered with stiff feathet·s, which incline forwards. They are very cunning, their sense of smell is extremely acute, and they have, generally, a habit of purloining articles totally useless to them, such as pieces of money, &c., and even of hiding them. We more particularly call CRows or RAvENs, the large species whose beaks are the strongest in proportion, and in which the ridge of the upper mandible is the most arcuated. Their tail is either round or square. C. corax, L.; Naum. 53, 1; Vaill. Afr. pl. 51.(1) (The Raven.) Is the largest of the Passerinre which inhabit Europe. Its size is equal to that of the Cock. Its plumage is entirely black, the tail is rounded, and the back of the upper mandible arcuated near the point. It is a more solitary bird than the other species, flies well and high, scents carrion at the distance of a league, aud feeds also on fruit and small animals. It sometimes carries off poultry, builds on the tops of high trees or rocky cliffs, is easily tamed, and may be taught to speak tolerably weii. It appears to be found in every part of the globe. In the north its plumage is frequently varied by a mixture of white (Ascan. Ic. Nat. pl. viii); it is then the Corvus leucopltreus, Temm., Vieill. Gal. Joo. C. corone, L.; La Corneille; Enl. 495; Naum. 53, 2.(2) (The Carrion Crow.) A fourth smaller than the Raven; the tail more square, and the beak less arcuated above. C. frugilegus, L.; Le Freux; Enl. 484; Naum. 55. (The Rook.) Still smaller than the preceding, with a straighter and more pointed beak. The circumference of the base of the lat- (l) N.B. Enl. 495 appears to be nothing more than a 0. corone, and 483 a :ng R~ok. M:. Temminck thinks that the quoted fig. of Le Vaillant is a partic-spec• es peculiar to Africa, which he names C. montanus. ' th ( 2 ) M. Temminck thinks there is a difference between the Crow of .Europe and at of the Cape {Vaill. 52,) which he calls r:. seget11m. |