434 



Burm. p. 78 ; Oates, Sir. F. x. p. 192 ; Murray, Hdbk. Zoo!., Sfc., Sind, 

 p. 131; id., Vert. ZooL Sind, p. 115; Oates, B. Burm. ii. p. 2 3. The 

 COMMON WRYNECK. 



Top of the head greyish brown, finely barred with dark brown and white ; 

 neck, back, rump and upper tail coverts grey, speckled with brown ; from the 

 hind head (occiput) down the middle of the back of the neck, back, and 

 between the scapulars, is a streak of dark brown mixed with black ; the wings 

 brown, speckled with light yellow and a few fulvous spots; the primaries 

 barred with pale yellow and deep brown ; the tertials with mesial dark streaks 

 and fulvous barrings ; rump and tail speckled grey, the former with dark 

 longitudinal streaks, and the latter with four irregular transverse bars of 

 black ; chin, throat, ear coverts and neck in front, pale yellow-brown with 

 narrow transverse black lines ; breast, belly, flanks and under tail coverts dull 

 white, or fulvous white, barred with black ; under surface of tail feathers pale 

 greyish brown, mottled and barred with dark brown ; bill horny brown ; 

 irides crimson ; legs greenish horny. 



Length 7 to 7*5 inches ; wing 3-5 ; tail 2-5 ; bill at front 0-5. 



Hal. Throughout India. Occurs also in Europe and Greece ; found in 

 Beloochistan, S. Persia and S, Afghanistan, as well as in Sind, the Punjab, 

 N.-W. Provinces, Bengal, the Indo-Burmese Countries, Arracan, Central and 

 Southern India, and in the Western Presidency. It is recorded from the 

 Concan, Deccan, Kutch, Kattiawar, and Jodhpore. Jerdon states he has 

 never heard of its occurrence on the Malabar Coast, and records it from the 

 sub-Himalayan region and Assam. In Sind it is a winter visitant. It is not 

 known to breed any where in India, In Europe it is said to nest in holes 

 of trees, upon rotten wood. The eggs are perfectly white, and from 

 8 to 10 in number. The food of the Wryneck is said to be chiefly ants, though 

 other insects are also found in the stomach. In habits it is solitary, except 

 during the breeding season, when it is usually found with its mate. 



Sub-Family. INDICATORI1SLE. HONEY GUIDES. 



Bill high, sub-conic, short, straight at gape, broad at base, arched and com- 

 pressed on the sides ; gonys angular ; nostrils apert, placed in a fossa near the 

 base of the bill and approximate near the culmen ; wings long and pointed ; 

 3rd quill longest; tail moderate, slightly wedge shaped, of 12 feathers, the 

 outermost small, as in the woodpeckers. They are related to the wood- 

 peckers in the structure of their feet and tongue. Their skin is said to be 

 thick and tough, to guard them from the attack of bees, the honey of which 

 insects form its chief food. 



1036. Indicator xanthonotus, Biyih, J. A. S. B. xi. p. 166; 



id., J. A. S. B. xiv. p. 198; Jerd., III. Ind. Orn. pi. 50 ; id., B. Ind. i. p. 306, 

 No. 190 j Str. F. i. pp. 313, 426. The YELLOW-BACKED HONEY GUIDE. 



