224 Rev. J. Sibree, Jr.^ on the 



not appear to differ in any marked degree in liabits from our 

 European Hoopoe, nor is anything further known of it to 

 require a longer notice here. 



3. The Madagascar Bee-eater {Merops superciliosus) is one 

 of the most beautiful birds found in the island, both in elegance 

 of form and from its bright colouring. It has a very long 

 curved beak and an extremely long tail, with two feathers ex- 

 tending beyond the others ; its colours are various shades of 

 green. Its name of Tsikinoka, found with slight variations in 

 several dialects, is no doubt imitative of its cry of kirio, kirio. 

 M. Pollen mentions finding a number of the nests of this 

 bird, excavated about a foot deep in a sand-bank, on the 

 margin of the river Ambasoana. 



4. Coming to the next family of the Suborder, that of the 

 Rollers, we meet with some of the most interesting and 

 curious of all the birds found in Madagascar. These belong 

 to the kind called Ground-Rollers, which live entirely on the 

 ground, and only come out at dusk. Their flight is said by 

 M. Gi-randidier to be very weak, so that the birds are never 

 found above the lowest branches. They are rather local in 

 their habitat, but where they do occur seem to be not un- 

 common. 



The Vorondreo, or Kirombo Roller [Leptosoma discolor), has 

 at first sight much the appearance of a Cuckoo, of which family 

 it was for many years considered to be a member. The head 

 is extremely large in this bird, and the region of the nostril 

 densely plumed. M. Pollen says : " The natives of the north- 

 west of Madagascar give this bird the name of Kirombo. It 

 has the curious habit of hovering in the air and uttering a 

 very loud note, striking its wings against the body as it calls. 

 This cry, resembling the syllables tu-hou, tu-hou, tu-hou, goes 

 on increasing in strength. Nowhere have we seen this bird 

 in greater numbers than in the forests of the south-west 

 of Mayotta. The racket they make throughout the day is 

 truly wearisome. Although very active as regards voice, 

 these birds are lazy and stupid. Immediately they perch on 

 the branch of a tree, they remain, so to say, immovable and 

 in a perpendicular position, so that it is very easy to see and 

 to shoot them. When seen in this position they look just 



