DESCRIPTION, DISTRIBUTION, HABITS 



tail coverts and lower part of the back cobalt-blue. Abdomen 

 greenish-blue. Iris reddish-orange. Skin round the eye black. 

 Bill and legs dark brown with a greenish tinge. 



Lengthy 9.0 ; tail, 2.75 ; wing, 6.0. 

 The female resembles the male. 



Distrihiitmi. — From Bechuanaland and the Transvaal, 

 through the eastern part of Africa to Abyssinia. 



Habits. — Meyer's parrot associates in small flocks or pairs. 

 It is common in the upper parts of South Africa in the thorny 

 bush and along the wooded banks of streams. It builds its nest 

 in a hole in a "tree. Meyer's parrot is often seen in aviaries. 



Ground Woodpecker {Geocolaptes oUvacens). (Vol. II., 



p. 7HO 



Description. — Male : olive-brown above with narrow white 

 cross-bars, especially on the v/ings. Head ashy-grey. Rump 

 light crimson. Tail olive above, golden-yellow below, with 

 whitish bars; the feathers are pointed and tipped with red. 

 Throat dull white bordered with grey, the feathers of which 

 are tipped with crimson. Breast dull olive tinged with crimson, 

 chieflv on the lower part. Abdomen olive with whitish bars. 

 Iris white. Bill and legs black. 



Lengthy 11.5 ; tail, 3.6 ; wing, 5.2. 



The female has no red on the cheeks, but otherwise re- 

 sembles the male. 



Distribution. — Cape Province, Natal, Transvaal. 



Habits. — The ground woodpecker, as its name implies, 

 lives on the ground, and is usually met with on the slopes 

 of bare, rock-strewn hills. It associates in small parties of 

 6 to 10 or a dozen individuals. They pair off on the 

 advent of the breeding season. Their roosting places are 

 crevices and holes amongst the rocks. They nest in holes in 

 banks. The holes are tunnelled by the birds, and they vary 

 in depth from about 2 ft. to several feet. In a depression at 



