The SWALLOW WAGTAILS (Enicurus) are large and powerfully-built birds, inhabiting India and the Malay Islands; they are easily distinguished from their European congeners, by their comparatively strong beak, more rounded wing, in which the secondary quills are not prolonged, and their robust feet. The beak is of moderate size, strong, straight, broad at its base, furnished with a keel at its culmen, and gently curved at its extremity, which is slightly incised; the toes are armed with very hooked claws, the fourth and fifth, sometimes the fifth and sixth, exceed the rest in length. The extremity of the tail is so deeply forked that the centre feather is not more than one-third as long as those at the exterior.
All the species of Swallow Wagtails with which we are acquainted inhabit mountain regions, and are numerously met with in their favourite resorts among the rocks. They are always found in the vicinity of streamlets or waterfalls, into which they frequently wade. In their habits they resemble other members of their family, and, except after the breeding season, live alone or in pairs.
THE MENINTING.
The MENINTING (Enicurus Leschenhaulti, or Enicurus coronatus) is black upon the upper part of the body, neck, and breast, and white upon the crest and under side; the black wings are decorated with a broad white stripe, the outer tail-feathers are pure white, the rest black, broadly tipped with white; the beak is black, and the foot yellow. The length of the body is about ten or eleven inches. The Meninting is an inhabitant of the Malay Islands, where it frequents the mountain regions, and is usually met with near shallow lakes or streams, at an elevation of from sixteen hundred to four thousand feet above the sea. Bernstein tells us that he saw one of these birds on the Pangerango, at an altitude of ten thousand feet, but this must be regarded as a very unusual occurrence. In disposition this species is gentle and timid, but, if unmolested, will allow a stranger to approach without testifying any alarm, merely flitting a few paces farther off should the intruder come too near the spot on which it is perched. When excited the Meninting raises its crest, repeatedly jerks its closed tail upwards, and then, spreading it like a fan, slowly lowers it. Its voice resembles that of the White Wagtail. The nest, which is invariably placed upon the ground at no great distance from water, is frequently made in a small hollow in the earth, this being lined with moss, upon which a layer of half-decayed leaves is arranged to form an elastic bed for the young family. The eggs are of a dull greenish or yellowish white, thickly marked with faint red, yellow, or light brown spots; these often form a wreath at the broad end. We have never found more than two eggs in a nest. The young are tended with great devotion by their parents, who, should danger be at hand, frequently betray the presence of their brood by uttering a gentle, long-sustained note of distress. The Meninting subsists upon worms and insects, seeking its food amongst the plants that border its favourite streams. It is very partial to water, and frequently wades therein when pursuing its prey.
The ACCENTORS (Accentores) may be regarded as forming the connecting link between the true Singing Birds and the strong-beaked granivorous races, more especially the Larks. They are recognisable by their powerful body, moderate-sized or long wing, in which the third or fourth quill exceeds the rest in length, as also by their short, broad tail, strong foot, armed with powerful toes, and much-curved claws. The conical awl-shaped beak turns inwards at its margins, and the nostrils are covered with a skin; the plumage is lax, and formed of feathers of a relatively large size; the sexes are alike in appearance, but the coloration of the young differs considerably from that of the adult birds. Only two species of Accentors can properly be regarded as European, the rest inhabit Asia, and are generally seen hopping over the ground or flying very low, in search of the insects, berries, or delicate seeds upon which they subsist; they never frequent lofty trees, or even tall shrubs, except during the breeding season, when the males occasionally perch upon low branches, whilst pouring out their, in most cases, very agreeable song. As winter approaches some species wander southward, while others merely quit the bleakest and most exposed peaks for their rocky fastnesses. Incubation takes place early in the spring, and two broods are generally produced in the course of the summer. Their nests are carefully and neatly built of moss and hay, and lined with some soft and elastic materials. The eggs, from three to six in number, are of greenish hue.
THE MENINTING (Enicurus coronatus).