TTIK KGVPIIAX ( OUCAL. WO 



fable boliov(xl and repeated by a crediili)us people at the Cape, and that it is erroneous to 

 believe that tlie bird seeks to draw men after i( for the purpose of sliaring its plundered 

 sweets ; the fact is, that it calls not the man, but that the latter knows, by attending to 

 the cry of the honey-guide while searching for its natural food, that it will be sure, ere 

 long, to find the stores of the industrious insect. ^Vccording to Bruce, the i/ioror, for so 

 tliis singular species is sometimes named, occurs in Abyssinia ; and he, too, throws 

 discredit on Sjxirman's statement, his own being but ill received by not a few. However, 

 Sir John ])arrow, a careful and accurate inquirer, though not a professed naturalist, 

 confirms it by stating, that people in the interior of the south of Africa are too well 

 acquainted with llie moroc to have any doubts, either as to the bird itself or its singular 

 instinctive habits. 



THE EGYPTIAN COUCAI,.* 



This bird nui}' be taken as a specimen of the laik-heoled cuckoos. They are characterised 

 by a strong and slightly cur\-ed beak, and especially by the claw of the inner of the two 

 hind toes being long, straight, and pointed, like the hind claw of the lark. Tliey appear 

 to be solitarj' and recluse in their habits, feeding on insects, larvre, and even small 

 reptiles, and breeding in the holes of trees. 



Tlie Egj^tian concal is about fifteen inches in length. The feathers of the head and 

 neck are stiff in their texture, and of a polished metallic greenish line. The upper surface 

 is of a greenish brown, passing intp rufous brown on the upper tail-coverts. The tail is 

 of a shining steely green, and the under surface is generally white. This bird is common 

 in Egypt ; it is called linii-lioit by the Arabs, from its note, which is a repetition of those 

 syllables. 



* Ccntvopiis jl'jgji)tius. 



