THE BIRDS 305 



contrives to manoeuvre the nestlings one by one, by pushing itself 

 underneath them ; then with some struggling it raises its burden 

 to the top of the nest and tips it out. 



The parasitic habit is not peculiar to all the Cuckoo tribe. 

 Some species build nests and bring up their young in the usual 

 bird way. 



The Plantain-eaters, or Turacos (Fam. Musophagidce) are striking- 

 looking birds inhabiting the Ethiopian regions, but are not found 

 in Madagascar. They have many characters in common with 

 the cuckoos, but are never parasitic in their breeding habits; They 

 are shy birds, often hiding in holes in trees, and their voice is most 

 unmusical and is said to be a combination of a harsh scream and 

 a catlike mew. 



A large number of arboreal birds belonging to different families 

 having comparatively short legs, which commonly nest in holes 

 and have blind and helpless young, are grouped together in 

 one order the Coraciiformes by some ornithologists, while 

 others separate them into two or three orders. Amongst these 

 birds are such varied forms as the rollers, kingfishers, bee-eaters, 

 hornbills, toucans, hoopoes, owls, nightjars, humming-birds, 

 swifts, trojons, barbets, woodpeckers, and wrynecks, birds which 

 differ in a marked degree in size, form, colouring and general 

 habits, but which have certain characteristics that link the 

 different families one to another. 



The Rollers are Old World birds, in shape somewhat resembling 

 crows, but clothed with brilliant plumage in which the colours 

 blue and green predominate. They inhabit wooded districts, 

 and have gained their name from their curious rolling flight. They 

 are strong on the wing, and twist and turn with great rapidity, 

 and continually turn complete somersaults in the air. 



The Kingfishers (Alecdinidce) are remarkable for their brilliant 

 colouring, curious truncated appearance owing to the dispro- 

 portionately large head, abbreviated tail, and long, dagger- 

 shaped bill. There are in all some hundred and fifty species dis- 

 tributed over nearly the whole of the globe, which vary consider- 

 ably in their habits and in the colour of their plumage. The 

 favourite haunts of the Water- Kingfishers are quiet inland streams 

 shaded by overhanging trees. They will hawk backwards and 

 forwards continuously over the same ground, flying low over 

 u 



