Page:Natural History, Birds.djvu/120

Rh of the Horticultural Society. A Flycatcher built in his stove several successive years. He observed that the bird quitted its eggs whenever the thermometer in the house was above 72°, and resumed her place upon the nest again, when the thermometer sunk below."

The eggs are four or five in number, of a greyish-white hue, marked with pale orange-brown spots.

The beak in this Family is more stout in proportion to its length than in the preceding, approaching, especially in the form of the lower mandible, to that of the Conirostres; the upper mandible is, however, somewhat broad at the base, flat, with the superior edge more or less angular and ridged, and the tip distinctly notched. The feet are usually stout, with the outer toe united to the middle one, as far as, or beyond the first joint.

The species composing this Family, though not very numerous, are of various forms, and are widely scattered over the globe. Many of them are distinguished for the soft and silky character of their plumage, and for the brilliant colours with which it is adorned; and not a few for unusual appendages, either to some of the feathers, or to the skin of the body. They feed principally on berries, and other soft fruits; occasionally also on insects.