Birds of Madagascar. 207 



glossy black. The female is differently tinted^ and the young 

 birds are brown in colour. They build among the long grass 

 in the deepest marsh they can find. This bird stands high, 

 having very long legs, and, with its crest of feathers on the 

 crown and neck, has much the appearance of a Secretary- 

 bird, although really very different in internal structure. Its 

 cry is a sort of scream, whence its name of Fihiaka, from 

 hiaka, " a scream of defiance.^' Another name is Fiswpaty, 

 lit. " Whistler-for-the-dead.'^ It is also provincially called 

 Vbronaomby, " Ox-bird.'^ 



The Madagascar Cuckoo Falcon {Baza madagascariensis) 

 takes one of its names, that of Endry, " Clownish," from 

 its stupid and awkward air, a name shared also by the 

 Short-winged Buzzard {Buteo brachypterus) ; and this 

 latter is also termed Bevoroty, '^Big-bellied," and Bo- 

 baky, " Swelled," from its heavy appearance. Of these 

 birds, however, M. Pollen says, ''Their flight is majestic; 

 they hover almost continually, mounting to a great height 

 in the air, uttering their piercing cries and describing 

 circles. The Fork-tailed Drongo has a special antipathy 

 to this Buzzard, always chasing it when it perceives it." 

 This bird^s nests are built on lofty trees, like those of 

 the Crows, but larger ; and it lays three or four eggs. 

 It is easy to find, as it utters piercing cries when ap- 

 proached. Bh'irinana, i. e., " Many-in- winter," is another 

 of its names. Their voracious tearing up of their prey is 

 noticed in the names given to several of the Malagasy 

 Hawks, those in Avhich the words Firasa or Fandrasa, the 

 " Tearer " or "^ Divider," or, more freely, the " Butcher," 

 appear, either in these simple forms or combined with other 

 words (from the root rasa, a word meaning the cutting up 

 and dividing of oxen or other animals) . This is the name of 

 the Madagascar Sparrow Hawk {Accipiter madagascariensis) , 

 which is also called Vandraokibo, " Quail-eater." By both 

 of these names are also known the nearly allied birds, MorelFs 

 Sparrow Hawk and Frances's Harrier Hawk. This latter is 

 also termed Pariafody, " Disperser-of-Cardinal-birds," on 

 which bird it largely feeds, and Ampamakalohanikibo, 



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