440 



CORACIIFORMES 



CHAP. 



through the foliage, and aiding its creeping movements with its 

 bill. The most peculiar habit, however, is that of climbing with 

 the whole metatarsus applied to the branch, a fact which adds 

 greatly to the mouse-like appearance. When roosting, Colies are 

 said to pack themselves together in masses, and to hang by the feet ; 

 rarely are they seen perching or hopping, though they often cling 

 to the boughs with the head downwards. The note is disagree- 



FIG. 91. Cape Coly. Colius capensis. x . 



able and harsh. The cup-shaped nest of twigs, roots, and grass, 

 with a lining of wool or finer grasses, is placed in thick bushes, 

 or near the ground in low trees ; the three or four eggs, hardly 

 pointed at either end, are dull white, sometimes streaked with orange 

 or brown. Fresh leaves are not uncommonly added below them. 

 The food consists almost entirely of fruit, though green shoots, 

 or even insects, are believed to be occasionally eaten. 



The eight or nine species of the single genus Colius, ranging 

 through the whole Ethiopian region except Madagascar, vary in 

 coloration from brown with darker vermiculations or bars to 



