122 Dr. Heuglin on new or little-known Birds 



*& 



frequent woodland districts. In tlie lower 'Deka'* appear 

 P. saltii, P. vieillotii, and P. undatits. I have also myself observed 

 a species of Barbatula in the Dallager valley in Abyssinia, at an 

 elevation of from 5000 to 6000 feet above the level of the sea ; 

 its appearance there, however, is very unusual. 



With the exception of the Traclujphoni, the CapitonidcB are 

 not shy birds, though quiet and solitary, and always keeping to 

 the high trees and bushes. The Trachyphoni are frequently 

 seen in the plains, and although also shy, are of a much more 

 lively and wandering nature than the Pogonorhynchi and Barba- 

 tul(B. The note of the Trachyphoni is loud and very melodious ; 

 they run (though in a different manner from Woodpeckers) up 

 and down the trunks of trees, feeding upon insects, berries, and 

 fruits, as they hop from branch to branch. Their flight is short, 

 but rapid ; their course consisting of a series of numerous undu- 

 lations. I never saw any of the species of this group on the 

 ground. I am not acquainted with the mode of propagation of 

 these birds, except that Trachyphonus margaritatus builds in holes 

 of trees, and lays white eggs, usually from four to six in number. 

 In the months of October and November I have often seen half- 

 fledged young ones of this species clustering together, in the 

 peculiar way that may be observed in some of the European 

 genera [Parus, for instance), and sitting on the smooth side of 

 the small branches, chirping as they await their parents. With 

 raw flesh and hard and soft-boiled eggs I have kept some of 

 them a long time in confinement. 



The Capitonidce of N.E. Africa are not exactly migratory, 

 though they appear at the time when the Sycamores {Ficus 

 sycomorus) are ripe in countries where they are not generally 

 met with. 



I now give an account of the species known to me, and add 

 descriptions and figures of some new ones. 



* The * Deka' in Abyssinia is the term which inchides the mountainous 

 country from an elevation of GOOO feet upwards to the Snow-region. The 

 vegetation of the ' Deka ' is distinguished from that of the low-lying 

 ' Kolla' by its evergreen foliage. The Kolla is the region of Bamboos and 

 different sorts of forest-trees, whose leaves fall in the early spring, and are 

 replaced at the beginning of the rainy season. 



