332 NATURAL HISTORY OF AFRICA. 



climbing birds of Africa. Several woodpeckers inhabit thi« 

 contiiient. The double-bearded woodpecker {Picus dio- 

 phrys) inhabits Southern Africa ; ano the crested wood- 

 pecker (P. minuius, Temm.) is found in Senegal. The 

 gold-shafted woodpecker (now placed in the genus Colaptes) 

 is likewise an African species. 



Many kinds of cuckoo occur in Africa. The old Lin- 

 naean genus Cuculus has been greatly subdivided by modem 

 writers. The group included under the genus Centrojm* 

 are remarkable for the long claw with which the inner hind 

 toe is furnished. They are found in India, Africa, and the 

 island of Java. The didric or shining cuckoo {Cuculus 

 auratus) is probably the most beautiful of the tribe. The 

 upper parts of the plumage are of a rich golden-green ; on 

 the head are five stripes of white, two above the eyes, like 

 eyebrows, passing behind ; two more, shorter and narrower, 

 beneath the eyes ; and one on the middle of the forehead. 

 The wing and tail coverts, and the secondary quills are 

 tipped with white. Most of the under-parts are likewise 

 wlute. This bird was found by Le Vaillant, inwards from 

 the Cape, near Kok's Kraal. He named it didric, from its 

 continually uttering these syllables in various modulations, 

 when perched on the extremities of large trees. 



While recording the names of so many species remark- 

 able for their lustrous plumage, we must not here omit to 

 mention others not less notalale for their singular instincts 

 and modes of life. Among these the indicators or honey- 

 guides, by some authors classed with the cuckoos, are de- 

 serving of special notice. One species described by Dr. 

 Sparrman is said to attract the notice of the Dutch and 

 Hottentots by a shrill cry of cheVi, cher ; and when it per- 

 ceives itself observed, it flutters onwards to the hive of a 

 wild bee, in hopes of partaking of the plundered honey. 

 " I have had frequent opportunities of seeing this bird, and 

 have been witness to the destruction of several republics 

 of bees, by means of its treachery. I had, however, but 

 two opportunities of shooting it, which I did to the great 

 indignation of my Hottentots." 



We may here observe, that naturalists themselves seem 

 occasionally to belong to that irritahile genus, of which 

 poets are said to form the principal component parts, 

 though Sparrman asserts that he was a frequent eyewit- 



