Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XVI.djvu/14

 6 TRONDHJEM TRONDHJEM, or Throndlyeiii. See DRONTHEIM. TBOOPIAL (Fr. troupiale), a name given to several species of the icterince and agelaince, subfamilies of American conirostral birds, in some respects resembling the starlings of the old world, and in others coming near the finch- es ; they have the nine primaries of the finches, but the bill is larger, straight, the base with- Common Troopial (Icterus vulgaris). out bristles, and the tip without a notch. The name is derived from their habit of associating in large troops. In the icterinm the bill is gen- erally longer than the head, straight and sharp- pointed ; wings long and pointed, and tail usu- ally wedge-shaped ; toes moderate and formed for perching. The prevailing colors are yel- low or orange and black; they are generally called orioles in North America, and a well known species has been described under BAL- TIMORE BIRD ; hang-nest is a name derived from their habit of suspending the nest from the extremity of slender branches. The com- mon troopial {icterus vulgaris, Daud.) is about 10 in. long, with a straight bill ; back and abdomen yellow; head, neck all round, breast, and tail black ; a white band on the wings ; feathers of throat elongated and pointed ; it is a native of northern South America and the West Indies, sometimes coming to the south- Cassican (Cassicus). ern United States. They move in flocks, some- times mingled with other species, and show a great partiality to the neighborhood of man ; they 'are excellent fliers, and equally at home on the ground or in trees ; they are loquacious at all seasons ; their flesh is excellent. There are several other species in Mexico, Texas, and TEOPIO BIRD Central America. The orchard troopial (/. spurius, Bonap.) very much resembles the Bal- timore oriole in the pattern of its colors, the orange red of the latter being replaced by dark chestnut, the tail entirely black and more grad- uated, and the bill slenderer and more curved. The only other genus of the icterince which can be mentioned here is cassicus (Cuv.), so called from casiis, a helmet, the bill rising on the' forehead in a crescent shape ; nostrils basal, naked, pierced in the substance of the bill; third and fourth quills longest, and tail long and graduated ; tarsi and toes strongly scaled. There are about 20 species, peculiar to tropical America, living in the forests and also near human habitations, in vast troops ; they eat fruits, berries, insects, and larvro. The nest is most ingeniously woven by both sexes, made of fibres and dried grasses, of a cylindrical or gourd-like form, and sometimes 3 ft. long ; the lower part is hemispherical, the opening near the top, and the fabric suspended from the ends of slender twigs of high trees, out of the reach of monkeys and snakes ; many nests are made on one tree, and sometimes those of different species together. They are docile in captivity, and learn to whistle and to articulate words; they are generally black, contrasted with bright yellow, especially to- ward the tail. In the subfamily agelaina the bill is stout, short, conical, nearly straight, and sharp-pointed ; tarsi as long as the middle toe ; toes long and slender, and claws long and curved. Some of the birds of this subfamily have been described under BLACKBIRD, BOBO- LINK, and Cow BIRD, species respectively of the genera agelaius (Vieill.), dolichonyx (Swains.), and molothrus (Swains.). TROOST, Gerard, an American chemist and geologist, born in Bois-le-Duc, Holland, March 15, 1776, died in Nashville, Tenn., Aug. 14, 1850. He was educated at the university of Leyden, and in 1809 was sent by Louis Bona- parte, king of Holland, on a tour of scientific observation in Java. The capture of the vessel by a privateer interrupted this undertaking, and in 1810 he settled in Philadelphia. He was one of the founders of the academy of natural history, and its first president from 1812 to 1817. In 1814 he established the first alum works in the United States; and in 1825, having held for a short time the professorship of chemistry in the college of pharmacy in Philadelphia, he joined Robert Owen's com- munity at New Harmony. In 1828 he was appointed professor of chemistry, mineralogy, and geology in the university of Nashville, and in 1831 geologist of the state of Tennessee. He published reports on the geology of Tennessee, and memoirs on geology and mineralogy. TROPjEOLUM. See NASTURTIUM. TROPIC BIRD (phaeton, Linn.), a genus of web-footed oceanic .birds, constituting the family phaetonidce. They have a long, strong, pointed bill, broad at the base, slightly curved, without nail and the edges finely serrated;