PICARIAN BIRDS. 



Among them, the emerald cuckoo {Chrysococcyx smiaragdineus) is 'one of the most 

 beautiful of birds, being of a brilliant metallic emerald-green on the upper-parts, 

 and also on the throat and chest; while the breast and under-parts are bright 

 yellow. Found all over tropical Africa, it inhabits the wooded country, and is 

 conspicuous, not only from its brilliant coloration, but also from its habit of 

 sitting on the top of a tree, sometimes for hours together, uttering its loud call of 

 love or defiance. The typical golden cuckoo (C. cupreus), illustrated on our first 

 page, is a somewhat smaller species, with the plumage of a metallic golden-green 



TELLOW-BILLBD CUCKOO (^ nat. size). 



hue, the throat being white. Mr. Layard says that " this beautiful little cuckoo is 

 known by the name of Didric, from its oft-repeated mournful cry of di-di-di- 

 didric. We have frequently seen a dozen or more in a morning, while their loud 

 notes were incessantly ringing in our ears ; they are, however, so shy, that we only 

 procured three specimens in as many months. When calling, they perch on the 

 summit of some dead branch, ready to do battle with any male, or engage in an 

 amorous chase after any female that comes within their ken. They pursue each 

 other with great ardour, turning, twisting, and dashing about with great rapidity. 

 The stomachs of those examined contained nothing but small insects, chiefly 

 swallowed whole." Mr. Ayres has found the remains of an egg of the Cape 



