Resemhlance of South African Birds. 9 



hood of Grahamstown I also noticed this fact with reference 

 to C. pectoralis, which seems to be the commonest species of 

 the bush region. My friend Mr. Robert Ivy hns also 

 repeatedly noted the remarkable assimilative coloration of 

 this bird, and photographed a female on its eggs on the 

 ground, a reproduction of which is given herewith. The 

 bird is nearly in the centre of the picture. I also show a 

 photograph of a young Nightjar on the ground amongst the 

 forest debris ; the resemblance even here is extraordinary. 



Families PiciD^ and CAPiTONiDiE. 



Amongst the Woodpeckers and Barbets — birds all more or 

 less of a coloration which, although often conspicuous enough 

 in the open, lends itself decidedly to the reverse amongst the 

 twigs and branches of its home — I have found the Cardinal 

 Woodpecker {Detidropicus cardinalis) when clinging to a 

 tree-trunk to be almost invisible. This is still more marked 

 in regard to the S.A. Wryneck {Ipia; rujicollis), whose 

 mottled brown and grey plumage so closely assimilates to the 

 colours of the tree-trunks on wliich the birds feed. This is 

 also true of the Fied Barbet (Irichohcma leucomelas), but to 

 a less extent, as this bird has more wJdte in its plumage. 



Famil}^ Musophagid^. 



These birds — all more or less of a green tint and denizens 

 of thick forests — are bound to be protectively coloured. 

 Writing of the KnysnaLourie (Tiiracus corythaix), Mrs. Bar- 

 ber, that excellent lady-naturalist, says : — "The favourite food 

 of that superbly arrayed bird, the Lory, are the berries of the 

 wild vine. Like the plumage of the Lory, the foliage of this 

 climber varies considerably in its shades of green, and the 

 berries alter in colour as they ripen, from light red to crimson, 

 and ultimately to almost a black colour, while the twining stems 

 of the plant are of a pale grey or white. These colours being 

 the same as the Lory, blend and harmonize with them ad- 

 niirably, rendering the bird protection from her foes. This 

 climber, with its long twining branches, covers large patches 



