144 CHATTERERS. 



its common name in Bengalese, as we are told, signifies "the beloved of seven 

 damsels." 



The typical species is 



The Braceleted Caterpillar-eater {Ptilogonys armillatus). 



Sub-Family V. 



THE DRONGO SHRIKES, DICRURIN/E. * 



General Characteristics.— Bill of various lengths, broad at the base, with the cul- 

 men more or less keeled and curved to the tip, the sides compressed ; the nostrils 

 usually concealed by short compact plumes, and the gape furnished y/ith strong 

 bristles ; the wings long, with the fourth and fifth quills generally the longest ; the 

 tarsi and toes short and strongly scutellated. 



The Drongos are inhabitants of India, its Archipelago, and the 

 continent of Africa. They are usually seen singly, in pairs, or in 

 small parties, perched on some elevated spot or upon the backs of 

 cattle when grazing. From these stations they watch passing in- 

 sects, and when they observe one, give rapid chase after it, some- 

 times returning to the same perch to await the approach of other 

 victims. Some are said to hunt in small parties, though at a dis- 

 tance from each other; others fly from tree to tree at a great eleva- 

 tion, making swoops after insects in their progress. They show 

 much courage in attacking birds far superior to themselves in size, 

 and their great speed of flight enables them to attack and retreat 

 with ease and safety. Some species, when about to seek a new 

 locality, congregate in hundreds during the evening, and all roost 

 together in bamboo and other thick jungles. All kinds of insects 

 fall a prey to their beaks. These birds have almost always black 

 plumage and longish forked tails of only ten feathers, being one 

 of the very few groups of the singing birds in which these are 

 fewer than the normal number twelve. The bill varies much, being 

 short and depressed in some, lengthened and curved in others. 

 They are capable of strong, rapid, vigorous, but not sustained 

 flight, and usually feed almost entirely upon insects, which they 

 capture on the wing, or pick up from the ground, or occasionally 

 collect from leaves and flowers. Their legs are short and their 

 feet only formed for grasping. Some live in the open country or 



* Six, dis, double; ovpd, oura, a tail: having a forked taih 



