GEOCOLAPTES OLIVACEUS. 187 
specimens from Mr. Henry Bowker from the Transkei, and from 
Mr. Arnott at Colesberg. Mr. H. Atmore has collected it at 
George, and Le Vaillant cites the George forests and the Gamtoos 
river as habitats for the species. Mr. Andersson also procured it at 
the Knysna ; it is found about Graham’s Town, and was sent to us 
by Mr. T. Atmore from Elands’ Post. Le Vaillant states that it lays 
four eggs marked with brown on a bluish ground, and Mrs. Barber 
informs us that it is the foster parent of Coccystes jacobinus. 
Adult male.—Olive-green above, with indistinct small transverse 
bars and a few diamond-shaped subterminal spots of paler olive 
yellow ; quills brown, externally olive near the base, the secondaries 
olive-brown, duller than the back, transversely barred with yellowish 
' white, the primaries externally spotted with yellow, notched on 
the inner web with white, the shafts brown; tail olive-brown, 
shaded with greenish, and crossed with six bars of yellowish, the 
tips of the feathers dull golden, the shafts golden brown; head 
greyish black, all the feathers tipped with scarlet, the occipital crest 
entirely bright scarlet ; lores yellowish, minutely spotted with black; 
ear-coverts whitish, streaked with black ; fore part of cheeks scarlet, 
forming a small moustache, the rest of the sides of the face and sides 
of neck yellowish white, thickly mottled with black, the feathers 
being black with a narrow whitish edging; entire under surface of 
body yellowish, white on the throat, thickly spotted with black, the 
spots rounded and very large on the breast, rather more diamond- 
shaped on the abdomen, the flanks barred with dusky black ; under 
wing-coverts yellow spotted with black like the breast; iris hazel. 
Total length, 8°5 inches; culmen, 1:10; wing, 4°15; tail, 3-2; 
tarsus, 0°9. 
Adult female.—Similar to the male, but haying the head black 
minutely spotted with white, the occiput only scarlet. 
Fig. Malherbe, Monogr. Pic. ui. pl. 95. 
167. GEocOLAPTES OLIVACEUS. Ground Woodpecker. 
Colaptes olivaceus, Layard, B.S. Afr. p. 239. 
[This singular bird presents a remarkable instance of the adapta- 
tion of creatures to the localities wherein their lot is cast. Though 
belonging to the Woodpecker family, it never pecks wood, but bores 
its way into the banks of rivers, sides of hills, or the walls of mud- 
buildings, in search of its prey, and for a home for its young. It 
