STARLINGS. 



genus Buphaga, or ox-peckers, so called on account of their habits of frequenting 

 the backs of the cattle in order to extract the grubs which infest the ruminants. The 

 Swedish naturalist, Anderson, who traveled in South Africa, has the following note on 

 the habits of the southern 'beef-eaters' (Z>. africauus), as they are sometimes called: 

 " The arrival of these birds is announced by a sharp cry ; and the next moment they 

 may be seen in a little flock descending fearlessly on and amongst the cattle, which 

 are at first much alarmed, and run about in wild confusion, just as they do when 

 troubled with gadflies ; but these apprehensions are soon dispelled, and exchanged for 

 sensations of evident pleasure, as the ox-peckers run over their backs, sides, and bel- 

 lies, like woodpeckers upon trees, except when an ox, by an occasional jerk or sudden 



FIG. 265. Buphagus erythrorhynchus, ox-pecker. 



twist, appears to indicate that the flaws of the bird have caused something like pain 

 by touching some spot where the skin of the animal happens to be tender." The ac- 

 companying cut shows the northern species, B. erythrorhynchus^ in full activity. 



Finally, we will have to say a few words about the hill-myna (Graculajavana), 

 figured on the plate facing page 516. The hill-mynas are strictly confined to the Ori- 

 ental region, and are common in India. They are well-known birds, gregarious as 

 most starlings, and easily tamed ; like the European starling they can be taught to 

 repeat words very distinctly. Their color is black, with purplish reflections, and their 

 head is adorned with some curious flattened yellow wattles. The Indian species was 



