DICRURUS FORFICATUS 169 
forming a circle. ‘They are altogether Shrike-like in 
appearance. 
“T have seen this little bird attack with such fierceness 
a kite which hovered close to its nesting-place, as to make 
the latter beat a quick retreat. They have a curious habit 
of darting to the surface of a stream, striking it with their 
wings, and ascending to a bush on the opposite side; they 
keep this up in pairs, sometimes for twenty minutes, crossing 
and recrossing each other, probably catching flies or aquatic 
insects.” 
In Madagascar, writes Sir E. Newton, -“ After the 
Thrush, this I consider to be the commonest bird. In its 
habits it is a true Shrike. I obtained several nests; the 
most favourite position is a bough overhanging a river. ‘Three 
appear to be the normal number of eggs laid. A nest I have 
by me is composed of roots and the tendrils of some plant, 
and is woven neatly to the fork of a bough by spiders’ webs. 
The eggs are of a pale salmon.colour, with light lilac blotches 
and reddish brown spots, the latter marking blurred.” 
The Rev. W. Deans Cowan, in his ‘“‘ Notes on the Natural 
History of Madagascar,” writes: “In travelling through the 
forest of Madagascar nothing strikes one more than what 
appears to be the absence of bird-life. Now and again one 
hears the cry of the Centropus toulou, mostly on the 
outskirts of the forest. One passes the brilliant Couwa 
cerulea, making its way quietly through the thicket ; but that 
is the most that is generally seen or heard of the birds in 
the great forest. True, if we were to penetrate into the 
denser forest we might come upon the Afelornis pittoides 
or A. crossleyi, the Huryceros prevosti, the velvety Philepitta 
jala, or such birds as love the recesses and lonely shades 
of these silent woods. Suddenly, and often unexpectedly, the 
trees overhead become filled with crowds of birds, chattering 
