170 COUAS 



entrance from below, being three to four inches in diameter. 

 The native name for this species, Fodifetsy i.e. the "Crafty 

 Fody " recognises this skill of the bird in protecting its young. 

 The nests of another species are large and simply globular in 

 shape, and, from thirty to forty in number, may be seen hanging 

 from a single tree. The Madagascar bee-eater is one of the 

 most beautiful birds to be seen in the forest, both from its 

 elegance of form and its bright colouring of various shades of 

 green (Merops superciliosus). It has a very long curved beak, 

 and an extremely long tail, with two long feathers extending 

 beyond the others. Its nests are excavated about a foot deep 

 on a sand-bank bordering streams. 



Another group of birds, also conspicuous from their size and 

 colouring, must be noticed here viz. the couas, a genus of 

 cuckoos peculiar to Madagascar, and of which twelve species are 

 known. They are large and handsomely coloured, and are, says 

 M. Grandidier, strictly local in their habitat, most of them being 

 confined to one district, out of which they are never found. 

 Five species of coua inhabit the forests or wooded regions, w T hile 

 the other seven live on the plains. The blue coua (Coua 

 ceruled), the only species I have seen in the upper forest, is 

 fairly common, and is conspicuous from its colouring ; while 

 the crested coua is found all over the wooded regions. One of 

 the twelve species goes from rock to rock, seeking the large 

 land-shells which form its principal food (Coua delalandei). 

 These molluscs it breaks by striking their shells against a stone, 

 from which habit comes its native name of Famdki-sifotra, or 

 " snail-breaker." 



But several chapters would be required to say all that might 

 be said of interest about the birds inhabiting the upper belt of 

 woods, and I will not weary my readers by further descriptions, 

 in this place at least. I will conclude this chapter by quoting 

 a few sentences written about the wonder and mystery of the 

 Madagascar forests by my late friend, Mr Baron ; for no one 

 knew better than he did how to explore and how to describe 

 them. 



After speaking of the fatigue of travelling in the forest, Mr 

 Baron says : 



" But the true lover of Nature almost loses any sense 

 of fatigue in the excitement and pleasure afforded by the 



