CHANNEJj-BILL. — Scytftrops Nova: Holtandke. 



rainy weather or the presence of a hawk. In either instance, the bird utters a series of 

 vigorous yells, wliich are well understood by those who have studied its habits. 



Although one of the migrators, it is slow and heavy of wing. Apparently, it is not 

 easily ta:ned, for Mr. Gould mentions an instance where one of these birds, was wounded 

 and kept alive for two days, during the whole of which time it vefosed to be reconciled 

 to captivity, screaming and pecking fiercely at its cage and captor. Its food consists ot 

 the seeds of the red gum and peppermint, and it also feeds upon beetles, phasmidte, and 

 other large insects of the land which it frequents. 



It is a very handsome and elegantly coloured bird. The head and breast are grey, and 

 the spaces around the eyes and nostrils are scarlet. The back is a deep greyish green, 

 each feather being tipped with black, so as to give that portion of the bird a boldly mottled 

 aspect. The under parts are white tinged with buff, and faintly barred with greyish 

 brown. The long tail has the two central feathers black to the very tip, and the others 

 are barred witli black and tipped with white. Both sexes are alike in their colouring ; 

 the chief difference being that the female is smaller than her mate. In dimensions the 

 Channel-Iiill is about equal to the common crow, but owing to the long and liroad tail, 

 which causes the bird to measure more than two feet in total length, it appears much 

 larger than is really the case. 



Theee are few birds which are more widely kno'wn by good and evil report than the 

 common CucKOO. 



As the harbinger of spring, it is always welcome to the ears of those who have just 



