File:The genera of birds (19170596062).jpg

Order II. PASSERES.
Tribe IV. Controstres.
The fourth Family,
FRINGILLIDiE, or Finches,
contains a numerous series of small, and for the most part showy, birds, that have the Bill short,
thick, strong, and more or less conic, without emargination at the tip, but generally angular and thick
at the base.
The first Subfamily,
PLOCEINjE, or Weavers,
have the Bill strong and conic, with the culmen projecting on the forehead and arched to the tip,
which is entire ; the Wings somewhat rounded, with the first quill remarkably short ; the Legs and
Toes robust, and strongly scaled ; and the hind toe strong, and nearly as long as the middle toe.
Textor Tcmm.*
Bill more or less long, conic, broad at its base, laterally compressed, with the basal portion of the
culmen advancing on the forehead (in some seasons swollen), and curved towards the tip ; the
lateral margins sinuated, and the gonys long and ascending ; the nostrils basal, lateral, naked, and
pierced in the substance of the bill. Wings somewhat rounded, and reaching a little beyond the base
of the tail, with the first quill very short, and the second nearly equalling the third and fourth, which
are the longest. Tail moderate, and rather rounded. Tarsi equal in length with the middle toe,
robust and strongly scaled. The lateral Toes equal, but all short and strongly scaled ; the hind toe
equalling the inner, and the claws strong and curved.
Inhabitants of Africa, both North and South, and always found in company with buffaloes, on whose backs they
are seen perched, seeking the insects, &c, that live thereon. They also perform the important office of a sentinel
while these animals are feeding, and if the herd are put to the rout, always follow it.
1. T. Alecto Temm. PI. col. 446. 2. T. erythrorhynchus A. Smith, 111. S. Afr. Zool. pi. 64. — Bubalornis niger A. Smith; Dertroiiles
albirostris Swains. 3. T. dinemelli Horsf.
HYPHANTORNIS.f
Bill as long as, or shorter than, the head, conic, broad at the base, laterally compressed to the tip,
with the culmen broad, smooth, and rounded, advancing in a point on the forehead, and the lateral
margins slightly angulated at the base, and straight towards the tip ; the nostrils basal, exposed, oval,
and pierced in the substance of the bill. Wings reaching a little beyond the base of the tail; the
first quill very short, the second equalling the sixth, the third, fourth, and fifth of nearly equal
length, but the fourth rather the longest. Tail rather short, even or slightly rounded at the end.
Feet and Toes strong. Tarsi as long as the middle toe. Lateral Toes equal in length ; and the claws
strong and much curved.
Inhabiting the vast continent of Africa, living more or less in society on trees, in the neighbourhood of marshes and
rivers. Their food consists of seeds and coleopterous insects. As the breeding season advances, they generally con-

• The exact date of this genus is unknown, but it was certainly proposed long before 1831, when M. Lesson established his Alecto:
  

it must be anterior also to Bubalornis A. Smith, 1836; and Dertroides of Mr. Swainson, 1837.
f This name is established in the place of Ploceus, as improperly given to this genus by modern authors, but which I have employed in