THE DRONGOS. 33 
the best of things which has given him such a wide 
range, for he is found all through Africa south of the 
Sahara and east of India and Burma he goes to South- 
ern China. He is not a songster, but some of his notes 
are very pleasant; he begins them at daybreak before 
most birds, although he is at the same time very late in 
going to roost. 
The hens of the species are remarkable for laying eggs 
of two quite different types, either pale salmon-colour 
with brownish-red spots or pure white without any spots 
at all. I presume the white spotting, which certainly 
distinguishes the young birds, must appear after they 
leave the nest, for I never saw a nestling with it. 
Although it would be cruel and absurd to cage so active 
and common a bird as this, especially as his habits render 
him an undesirable companion for other species, yet a 
hand-reared nestling King-Crow would probably make a 
very nice pet to fly about at large, and would protect 
the young poultry by driving off the crows and kites. 
Tue Buimras orn Racket-TaAILED Dronco (Dissemurus 
paradiseus).—This is the only one member of the Drongo 
family which is at all commonly kept in confinement and 
it is certainly a most interesting pet. It is about twice 
as large as the King-Crow, with a strong crow-like bill, 
a crest of narrow feathers rising from the forehead and 
gracefully curving back, a ruff of hackles round the neck, 
and each outer tail-feather of a remarkable length, up to 
more than a foot and a half. Most of this is bare shaft, 
there being only about a couple of inches of webbing at 
the tip, like a tassel. The rest of the tail is of quite 
F, GAB S 
