Birds of Gazuhind. 101 



141. Campophaga nigra. Black Cuckoo-Shrike. 



Rh., P. Occasionally noted on the Kurumadzi iu August^ 

 where, far from being shy, the males were exceedingly bold 

 in their demeanour, perching in Drongo-like fashion high in 

 the branches of the larger trees and conspicuous alike by 

 their glossy blue-black sheen and the loudness of their note, 

 which in winter is a bold " clmp, chup ! " uttered at frequent 

 intervals. I have had only one opportunity of observing a 

 female, but should her retiring behaviour on that occasion 

 be at all characteristic of the sex in general, T should say 

 that here is a double case of mimicry, the female being as 

 well served by her Cuckoo-like habits and plumage as is 

 her mate by the likeness both of his coloration and of his 

 demeanour to those of the redoubtable " General of the 

 Birds. '^ At the same time I found the males to be very 

 wary and difficult of approach, and it was only after con- 

 siderable trouble that I succeeded in securing a specimen. 

 Actually the bird is readily distinguishable, even at a 

 distance, from either Drongo by the squareness of its tail. 

 I noted it at Maruma in September, and in the same mouth 

 in one of my Eucalypt plantations near Chirinda, again 

 hearing its call in the forest several times in March and 

 April. And in the middle of November, in travelling from 

 my camp on the Kurumadzi to Mount Singuno, I noticed 

 it several times sitting on prominent branches and 

 uttering a loud mellow " Chiwu-chiwu chiwi-chiwi-chiwi- 

 chiwi chiwu-chiwu, &c.,^'' again bold enough in manner but 

 unapproachable. 



The length of my male in the flesh was 7' 7 inches, and of 

 the female 7'75 ; her feet were sepia (black in male). The 

 stomachs contained a grasshopper and the remnants of 

 other insects, and (of the female) nineteen small green 

 caterpillars. 



142. Graucalus pectoralis. Grey - throated Cuckoo - 

 Shrike. 



Rh., P. This bird when insect-hunting in the thorns or 

 other trees always strikes me as presenting a very quaint and 



