ZYGODACTYLI 



123 



close at hand, it sounds as if it was some distance off. It is usually 

 heard during the midday hours. The Narina lives chiefly on insects 

 though it is said to eat fruit also ; the Woodwards state that they 

 have seen these birds pursue and catch insects on the wing, and 

 have found beetles and caterpillars in their stomachs. 



Levaillant states that they nest in a hole in a tree, where they 

 lay four rounded eggs, white with a rosy tinge, as owing to the fragile 

 and delicate nature of the shell the yolk shows through ; incubation 

 lasts twenty days, and the young are batched in a very advanced 

 condition and are able to follow their parents at once. 



The Woodwards are the only modern observers who appear to 

 have investigated the nesting habits of the Narina ; they confirm 

 Levaillant but do not mention the precocious nature of the newly- 

 hatched young. 



The skin of this bird is very thin and delicate and the feathers 

 are very loosely attached to it, so that it is a most difficult bird to 

 preserve, moreover if exposed to light the bright red colour of the 

 under parts quickly fades. 



Mr. Jules Verreaux states that the red colouring matter like 

 that of the Touracos, is easily washed out by water, and that during 

 wet weather it fades to a pale pink ; but that the rich red colour 

 soon reappears when the plumage of the bird again dries. 



2Dd 



3rd 



Isfc 



4 th 



Fig. 40.— Left foot of Campothera smithi. Toes numbered, x J-. 



Suborder V. ZYGODACTYLI. 



Second and third toes anteriorly, first and fourth posteriorly 

 directed ; flexor perforans digitorum leading only to the third digit. 



