Indian Birds 



Not found in Punjab, Sind, Rajputana, Lower 

 Bengal, or the East Coast of the Madras 

 presidency. 



114. Xantholcema hcematocefhala : The Crim- 

 son-breasted Barbet, or Coppersmith. (F. 



1019), (J. 197), (+1.) 



An olive-green bird with very gaudy colour- 

 ing on the head. I quote the following de- 

 scription from Bombay Ducks : The bird 

 " always puts me in mind of a woman who 

 ' makes up ' very carelessly, who is not only 

 exceedingly lavish of the paint, but does not 

 understand how to shade it off gradually. The 

 general colour of the bird's plumage is greenish, 

 but on close inspection many greyish white 

 feathers are seen to be mingled with the green 

 ones. There is a daub of crimson on the 

 forehead and another on the throat. The 

 sides of the face are pale yellow. The legs are 

 coral red. The build of the bird is exceedingly 

 coarse." 



But the coppersmith is a bird that is usually 

 heard rather than seen. Its monotonous 

 metallic tonk, tonk, tonk, like the tapping of 

 a hammer on metal, is one of the most familiar 

 sounds of the Indian country-side. This cry is 

 heard only in the hot weather, and the warmer 

 158 



