THE FLUTE BIRD.
The Flute Bird (Gymnorhina tibicen) is a species of Crow, about sixteen and a half inches in length. Its plumage is principally black, but the nape, lower part of the back, lower tail-covers, and the undermost row of the upper wing-covers are white; the eyes are reddish brown, the beak brownish grey, and the feet black. According to Gould, these birds are very numerous in New South Wales, where they form a most attractive feature in the fields and gardens, enlivening the landscape with their variegated plumage, and delighting the ear with their peculiar tones as they pour forth their song of greeting to the rising sun. They seem to prefer clear open country, planted with groups of trees, as their usual residence, and for this reason they are but seldom seen upon the coast. Their food consists principally of grasshoppers, which they devour in enormous quantities. The period of incubation, in accordance with the inverted seasons of the southern hemisphere, commences in August, and lasts until January, each pair breeding twice in the year: the nest is round and open, formed of twigs, and lined with some softer material. The eggs of the Flute Bird are unknown, but Gould describes those of a very similar species, which he tells us are of a dirty blueish white, often shaded with green, and marked with zig-zag brown streaks of various shades. When in confinement these birds are extremely violent and revengeful; should anything annoy them they will erect their feathers and spread their wings and tail after the fashion of a Game-cock, and are so quarrelsome that they frequently engage in furious combats with much larger birds. Some species are eminently distinguished by the flexibility of their voice, and all are capable of imitating any tunes they may happen to hear.
The BELL MAGPIES (Strepera) differ from the Flute Birds in the formation of their beaks, which are much longer, slenderer, and more delicately arched; the upper mandible is armed with a powerful hook at the tip, and furnished with conspicuous teeth on its margins.
THE BELL BIRD OR BELL MAGPIE.
The Bell Bird (Strepera graculina) is of a beautiful blue black; the roots of the primary wing-quills, from the fourth to the eighth, the tip of the tail, and the lower tail-covers, are white, thus giving their plumage the effect of being piebald, the tail appearing entirely white, with the exception of a regular patch of black across its terminal margin; the eyes are of a beautiful yellow, the beak and legs black. In length this species does not exceed seventeen inches. The Bell Bird, like the Flute Bird, is an inhabitant of New South Wales, where it is distributed widely over the face of the country, occasionally appearing upon the coast, but preferring, at least during the breeding season, well watered valleys, abounding in trees; in such localities it also finds its principal supply of food, which consists of berries, fruits, and seeds. When either upon the ground or amongst the branches, these birds are usually seen in very small parties, and but rarely in pairs or large flocks: they live principally in trees, and, though quite at their ease upon the ground, seldom come down to disport themselves upon its surface. Their flight is quite unlike that of our Crows; when in the air their movements are extremely sweeping and majestic, but cannot be sustained for any length of time. Whilst on the wing they utter a most peculiar resounding cry, from which they derive their name. The nest is large, round, and very open, formed of twigs and lined with moss and grass. With the appearance of the three or four eggs that constitute their brood, we are entirely unacquainted. The settlers of New South Wales hunt the Bell Magpie, as they do the Flute Bird, on account of its flesh, which is regarded as a great delicacy. Very few of this species have as yet reached Europe alive.
THE BALD-HEADED CROW.
The Bald-headed Crow (Picathartes gymnocephalus) is an extremely peculiar and very rare member of this family, inhabiting Sierra Leone, and we believe entirely confined to that country, but we cannot speak with any certainty on this point, as naturalists are still quite unacquainted with its habits. This species would seem to form a connecting link between the Ravens and the Vultures, birds between which there is usually but little similarity. The beak of the Bald-headed Crow is comparatively weak, but slightly curved, and covered at its base with a cere in place of the bristles that are generally so characteristic of the Raven tribe. The wings are powerful and rounded, the tail long and graduated, and the feet high and furnished with strong toes. The head is entirely bare, and the throat, like that of the Vulture, overspread with bristly or down-like feathers. The plumage is of a brownish grey above and white beneath; the wings and tail are reddish brown, the bare or sparingly covered neck red, the beak black, and the feet yellow. According to Gray, this bird is about fifteen inches long, the wing measures rather more than six inches, and the tail six inches and ten lines.
The TREE CROWS, or JAYS (Garruli), are distinguished from the Ravens by their blunt short beaks, with or without a hook at the extremity, their weak feet and very short rounded wings, long graduated tails, and rich variegated plumage, which is generally very soft and flocculent. Unlike the members of the preceding family, the various species of Jays pass the greater part of the day in flying from tree to tree in their favourite woods, seldom coming to the ground, and still more rarely congregating in large flocks. Owing to the comparative shortness of their wings, their flight is unsteady, and they are therefore incapable of attaining to any considerable height, or of hovering in or whirling through the air; still more inelegant is their mode of progression on the ground, it being nothing more than a ludicrous attempt at a hop: upon the trees, however, they are quite at their ease, and some even exhibit unusual facility in climbing. In the perfection of their senses they are in no way inferior to the family above described, but their intelligence is not nearly so great, and they must be rather considered sly than clever; indeed, in many points they resemble the Shrike, possessing all the murderous cruelty and rapacity of that bird, without any of the courage and boldness that seem to palliate the atrocities committed by Ravens. They will mercilessly destroy and plunder the nests of other birds, and eat almost any animal or vegetable food, frequently doing great damage by their raids upon orchards, fields, and gardens, thus bringing down upon themselves the vengeance of man. In their habits during the period of incubation they also differ widely from the preceding family, inasmuch as they never build associated together in large numbers, but quite apart from each other; their nests, moreover, are small, and the brood is usually composed of from five to seven eggs. When tamed, some of them are capable of imitating words, and of learning to whistle tunes, but they are extremely troublesome, owing to the numberless petty thefts and annoying tricks in which they delight.