The Turdidit', or Chats, Hobins, Thrushes, Dippers, and Accentors, form a very large family of the Passeres. The only character
which links all the species together is the mottled or squamated
plumage of the nestling. In this character the Turdidce agree
with the Muscicapidce, but they differ from this family in' having
long or moderate tarsi and in having the nostrils and base of the
upper mandible quite free from all hairs. The only exception to
this latter feature appears to be in Zoothera, in which genus the
frontal hairs are developed and reach over the nostrils. The long
tarsus of the birds of this genus, however, will prevent them from
being confounded with any of the Flycatchers. In some few genera,
especially liuticilla and Pralincola, the shafts of the feathers of the
forehead are somewhat elongated and the webs disintegrated, but
these cannot be considered hairs nor do they lie over the nostrils
as is always the case with the Muscica-pidas.
The Tgdidæ are found over nearly the whole globe and their migratory instincts are generally very strong.
The Turdidce may be divided into five subfamilies, characterized partly by habits and partly by structural characters.
Tarsus smooth ; rictal bristles present ; habits Muscicapine, the insect-food captured by sallies from a fixed perch Saxicolince, p. 57.
Tarsus smooth, with hardly an exception[1]; rictal bristles present : habits terrestrial, the insect-food captured on the ground. lluticillime, p. 81.
Tarsus smooth ; rictal bristles present : habits terrestrial and arboreal, the species being both insectivorous and frugivorous .... Turdince, p. 120.
Tarsus smooth ; rictal bristles absent : habits aquatic; eggs unspotted white Cindince, p. 161.
Tarsus scutellated ; rictal bristles present : habits terrestrial ; eggs unspotted blue. . Accentorina?,>A65.
Subfamily SAXICOLINÆ.
The Saxicolinee or Chats form a natural section of the Thrushes very nearly related to the Flycatchers and with many of their habits. The Chats feed entirely on insects, which they capture generally on the ground from a fixed perch, such as the summit of a stone, a stalk
of grass, or a branch of a bush, and then return at once to their post of observation. The characteristic habit of the Chats is the frequent movement and expansion of the tail. The majority of this subfamily are migratory, and they have a very marked seasonal change of plumage caused by the abrasion of the margins of the feathers in the late autumn or early spring. The sexes usually differ very much in colour.
- ↑ The only exception I know of is Thamnobia.
