In the form of the bill we likewise observe a superior adaptation for general
purposes. The notch or emargination near the points of the mandibles is sufficiently
strong to assist the Thrushes in gaining a firm hold of their food ; but as
their nourishment consists, for the most part, of soft substances, it is not developed
into that formidable tooth which is seen in the Shrikes; while the superior length
of the bill enables these birds not only to capture food that is exposed, but also
such as is wholly or in part concealed just below the surface of the earth. The
Shrikes, by the aid of their formidable tooth, tear their food in pieces, like the
rapacious birds ; while the Thrushes exhibit the last indication of such a habit, by
beating their pFey either upon the ground or upon a stone,—thus adopting the
intermediate stage of preparation between devouring their animal nourishment by
piecemeal, and swallowing it in an entire state. But the food of the Thrushes is
not confined to insects: fruits of all kinds are equally acceptable > and thus they
again imitate the Conirostres in deriving support both from the animal and the vegetable world
The third striking peculiarity which Nature has bestowed more particularly on
the Thrushes is evinced in the sweetness, melody, and versatility of their voiee, in
which they may be said to surpass all other animals of the creation. The stillness
of night, and perhaps more poetic associations, may give to the song of the Nio-ht-
ingale a greater charm ; yet many will join us in awarding to the Song Thrush a
higher meed of praise. Both these, however, must yield to the American Mockingbird,—
the Orpheus of the feathered race, to whose powers the poetic pen of a
Wilson has done ample justice. Such are the most prominent characters of this family: its relations to the last remain to be stated.
The Edolianm, or Drongo Shrikes, as formerly remarked, are conspicuous for a
compressed bill, gradually arched from the base, where it is beset by rigid bristles
of unusual length. The feet likewise are short; while the tail, although greatly
forked in the typical species, is much less so in others , as, for instance, in the
Drongo Moustache of Le Vaillant (Ois. d’A fr., iv., pi. 169), where the bristles
* Mr. Selby, in his descriptive volume to the Illustrations of British Ornithology, gives the following interesting
information on the food of the Song Thrush : “ Insects and worms compose its food during summer, and the animal
that inhabits the Helix nemoralis is also a favourite repast; for this purpose it breaks the shell by repeated strokes upon
a stone; and numerous remains of these shells may be seen around particular selected stones, generally on some pathway
or bare spot of earth, where these birds and their congeners abound.”—i., p. 156. If simplicity of style, perspicuity of
arrangement, intelligible nomenclature, and originality of information, are thought essential requisites to any work on
British animals, Mr. Selby’s volumes will be the standard authorities in. this department of our Fauna. The price
of the.octavo edition,-which includes the whole of the letter-press, places this essential part reach of the most humble student.—Sw. Of his noble work within
are remarkably long*. Now the affinity which these Thrush-billed Shrikes bear
to the genus Trichophorus did not escape the observation of M. Temminck, who
first defined the latter ; and which group he accordingly places immediately preceding
Edolinus. The plumage, however, of the one being invariably black, and of
the former as invariably green, the absolute connexion between the two could not
be demonstrated until the discovery of some bird which united in itself a peculiar
structure, joined to other characters belonging to both these forms. Such a bird we
were fortunate in procuring from a most respectable dealer in Paris (M. Florence
Prévost). The formation of its wing clearly points it out as a bird of the Old World,
and it is labelled, “ Merle du Sénégal, non décrit.” Its bill approaches to
Trichophorus, (which is nearly that of Edolius upon a smaller scale,) and the
whole plumage is entirely black. There is, however, a peculiarity in the tarsi
which we cannot, at present, rightly comprehend, otherwise than by supposing that
Nature passes from the Edolianm to the Thrushes by means of a terrestrial bird,
in the same manner as she effects a junction between the Tyranninæ and the true
Fly-catchers, at the opposite passage out of the circle of the Laniadæ. In the
Merle de Sénégal, the tarsi, without being longer, are more slender than those of
Edolius or of Trichophorus, both of which, also, have the hind toe fully equal, or
even longer than the middle toe ; but, in our Merle, the middle toe, as in all birds
which frequent the ground, is by far the longest ; while the claws, in union
with such a conformation, are rather slender and somewhat less curved. There
is still, however, room for other intervening forms between Edolius and Trichophorus;
for we do not consider this bird as demonstrating their union, although
we are fully persuaded that the true passage from the Shrikes to the Thrushes lies
between these two genera.
It will be the object of the following pages to demonstrate that the groups of
the Merulidoe form three primary circles, composed of the following families'!" :—
* It is, no doubt, to an error or a fancy of the ignorant bird-stuffer who set up the specimen from which this .figure
was taken, that the bristles are represented as standing erect like horns ! The vagaries which these people, particularly
those of England, indulge in, deserve severe reprehension.
f In the system of Mr. Vigors the circle of Merulidoe is thus marked out : Urotomus, Myothera, Pitta, Conopophaya,
Cinclus, Chamoeza, Merula, Sphecotheres, Oriolus, Cossypha, Timalia, Petrocincla.