45 2 'the Cuckoo-like Birds 



their distribution to the continental portion of the Ethiopian region. Between 

 fifteen and thirty inches in length, they are separated from the Cuckoos by having 

 the oil-gland tufted, the contour feathers with a large aftershaft, and the feet 

 semizygodactylous, that is, with the outer or fourth toe capable of being turned 

 either backward or forward, while the caeca are absent, and the neck vertebrae 

 fifteen instead of fourteen. To be more specific regarding them, they are birds 

 with a relatively long neck, large eyes, and rather stout, broad bill in which the 

 upper mandible is more or less serrated along the cutting edge, while the wings 

 are short and rounded and the rounded tail is composed of ten feathers. 



The general coloration of the plumage consists mainly of metallic greens, 

 blues, or light browns, usually with much of crimson and occasionally yellow, 

 and the plumage, according to Church and others, is remarkable in that it con- 

 tains a peculiar pigment known as turacin, which is so soluble in water that it 

 is actually washed out when the feathers are wetted, as when the birds are 

 washed by a heavy rain or enter the water for a bath. In the latter case they 

 are said to impart a distinct color to the water, but in a very short time the 

 normal color is restored to the feathers. 



The Plantain-eaters are for the most part very noisy birds, going about in 

 pairs or small, perhaps family, parties, and keeping much to the tops of the 

 highest forest trees, though not infrequently coming down to the dense tangle 

 of shrubs and creepers. They are in general shy, restless birds, found in prox- 

 imity to water, either tidal or inland, and feeding on fruits such as tamarinds,' 

 bananas, plum-like fruits, and occasional insects, worms, snails, and even young 

 birds. Of the Blue Plantain-eater (Schizorhis zonura) as observed in the Victoria 

 Nyanza region, Sir Harry Johnston says: "But for the bird's noisy habits its 

 coloration would be very protective, as when he keeps still amongst the branches 

 he cannot be distinguished from their brown, gray, black, and white, while the 

 lemon-colored beak looks like a ripe fruit." During the intense heat of mid- 

 day or when rain is falling they are fond of secreting themselves within the dense 

 canopy of leaves and boughs just below the tree-tops, and at such times their 

 crests are recumbent; but when they are approached the crest is immediately 

 erected and they run along the branches peering at the intruder and uttering 

 their usual harsh cries. If not much alarmed, they fly to a short distance, with 

 crests still erect and the tail more or less elevated, where they assure themselves 

 of their safety. The nesting habits are not very well known, as it is extremely 

 difficult to discover the nests of birds haunting the dense forests, but from such 

 information as we have it appears that they construct a slight platform of sticks, 

 much like the ordinary nest of a Dove, and usually at no great height from the 

 ground. It has been said that some of the species deposit the eggs in holes in 

 trees, but this appears to lack confirmation. The eggs, apparently two or three 

 in number, are greenish or bluish white, so far as known. 



The sexes in Plantain-eaters are practically the same in coloration, and in 

 most of the forms the orbits are naked, a feature which is carried to the extreme in 

 Gymnoschizorhis, which has the cheeks and throat bare. About thirty-five species 

 of Plantain-eaters are known, being disposed among half a dozen genera, the 



