DRONGOS. 



35 1 



considerably in coloration from the foregoing species. The whole of the upper- 

 parts and the throat, as far as the breast, are purplish blue, with a wonderful violet 

 shimmer in certain lights ; while the remainder of the under-parts are white, and 

 the wings blackish brown, with a violet tinge ; the whole of the darker portion of 

 the plumage being shot with a coppery lustre. This bird is distributed over the 

 whole of Central Africa, and extends northwards into Abyssinia and Western 

 Arabia. A truly arboreal species, it is found both on the plains and in the 



<xZit? 



SOUTHERN GRACKLE (f nat. size). 



mountains, generally associating in parties of from six to twenty individuals ; its 

 general habits being very similar to those of the other members of the group. 

 The Grackies, Not to be confounded with the true mynas, mentioned later on, 



or Hiii-Mynas. the grackles, or hill-mynas of India and the adjacent regions, are birds 

 of glossy black plumage, easily distinguished by the presence of fleshy yellow or 

 orange wattles on the head. The beak is thick, high, curved, and shorter than the 

 head ; while the feathers of the crown are short and inwardly curved, with a kind 

 of parting down the middle of the head ; the wing being rather blunt, the tail short 

 and nearly squared, and the foot strong. 



The southern grackle (Eulabetes religiosa), of Southern India and Ceylon 

 may be taken as a well-known example of the genus ; and is distinguished from 

 the others by having bare skin on the sides of the neck, and two long patches on 

 the neck. Its whole plumage is glossy black, with the exception of a patch of white 



