File:The illustrated natural history (microform) (1863) (20451199748).jpg

Title: The illustrated natural history (microform)
Identifier: cihm_50038 (find matches)
Year: 1863 (1860s)
Authors: Wood, J. G. (John George), 1827-1889
Subjects: Birds; Natural history; Oiseaux; Sciences naturelles
Publisher: London : Routledge, Warne, and Routledge
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S L E A' D E R - BI L L E D B 111D S. UPUPIDil^, OR IIOOrOES. The Inrgo jj;ronp of liirds wliicli nre termed Tkxuirostral, or Slender-billed, rilMavs possess a Ioii.l;- ami slender lieak, soinetiiiies curved, as in the creepers, hoopoes, and niaiiv linniniino' birds, and sometimes straight, as iu the nuthatch and other humming birds The feet are furnished with lengthened toes, and the outer toe is generally connected at the base with the mid(Ue toe. The lirst family of the Tenuirostres is called after the hoopoe, and termed Upupidip. In all tiiese birds tlie bill is curved thioughout its entire length, long, slender, and sharjily pointed. The wings are rounded, showing that the birds are not intended for aerial feats, and llie tail is rather long. The legs are short, ind the claws strong and decidedly curved. As .several of the i'aniilies endirace a great number of species, h ha.s been thought advisable to separate them into sub-faniilie.s, for greater convenience of reference and more precision of arrangement. The first sub-family is that of the I'lunie I'.irds, or Epimacbina:>, containing some very beautiful species, all of e.xoli' birth, and inhabiting Australia, New Holland, New (iuinea and the nei-libiuiring islands. In these l)iids the long and slender bill is cloven as far as the eyes, the nostrils are jtlaced at its base, and coveri'd with soft silken plumes, and the thumli-tde oi' "hallux" is of consideralile length and very strong, evidently for the )>urp(.sr (if aidin.u the birds in the j)uisuit of their prey. Tlie fourth (piill-feather of the wing is nx'Merally the longest. The rxH.dins, nr Kin.K-Ibiil), is, according to Could, the mo.st gorgeous of all the Australian birds, allhou-h the full beauty of the creature is not at first .sight so .strikiu" as that of the jiarrots or othrr ,t;iiud>-plumaged birds, and needs to be .seen by a favourable light licfore the full ghuy of the colouring can be made out. In size the Jtiilo-l'.ird is eipial to a large iii,i;e(ui, and in .spite of its beauty it is not very often seen, as it is retiiing in its habits, and seems to be coidined to a very limited range of country. As far as is at jiresent kn(jwn. it is fcnind only in the thick "hush" of the south-eastern poi'tions of Australia, and even there a)ipears to be a very local bird. It is no wanderer, never flying to any great distance from it.s home, and ))rocurino- its food in the near vicinity of its nest. For lengthened flight, indeed, it is singularly incapacitated by tlu' shortness and rounded form of the wings, which is a never-failinir characteristic of weakness in th.' Ilight and want of sustaining power. While in its native woods it si'pms never to make more use of its wings than is needful for the purpose of conveyino- it from one tree to another. ^ The habits of this bird are very like those of the common creeper of England, for it is generally seen upon the trunks and larg(> branclu's of trees, runninrj nimbly %und them in a s))iral cours(>, and extracting the imsects on M-hich it feeds from the "crevices and recesses of the bark. Although in many instances, some of which have already been mentioned, the two sexes are. clothed in very different plumage, there are few species where the distinction IS so great as is the case with th(> Rifle-Bird. In the male bird, the upper part of the bo(ly IS deep velvet-black, with a tinge of purjde in a cro.ss light,and the breast, ah(hmicii and under parts are of Hie same velvety hu(>, but diviM'sificd with a fine olive-green, wliiih stains the edges of each feather. The crown of the head and the throat aiv covered with a multitude of remarkiljly little patches of the most Imlliant emerald-grei'n, glanein" Mith a lustrous metallic sheen that equals the well-known emerald feathers" of the hunnnnm- bird, and is in vivid contrast with the velvet-l)lack of the Imdy. The tail is bl W! th the excojition of the two ci'iitral feather" nearly as gorgeous as tlio,-^e of the head and neck. The bill is black hich are of a rich metallic Luecn,

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