512 Mr. G. L. Bates on the 



for a month. It liad ))een cauglit by a native woman who 

 was workino- in her clearing, and seemed to be weakly and 

 nnable to fly, thongli apparently nnhnrt. In the clioice of 

 its food this bird acted as if guided by a sense of smell ; for 

 it at once took pieces of banana when held near its bill, 

 without first tasting of them, while it would not at first 

 touch guavas or pa[)aws {Pupaya). All these things must 

 have been equally strange to it by sight. It may be re- 

 marked, by the way, that no wild bird ever has an opportu- 

 nity of eating bananas or plantains in tins part of Afiica, 

 at least, as they never ripen on the stalk or " tree."^ The 

 name " Plantain-eater " is a ridiculous misnomer, as applied 

 to any bird in West Africa. 



Halcyon forbesi. 



Halcyon iurquatiis forbesi Reiclienow, V. A. ii. p. 280. 



No. 4034. Imm. (culmen 40 mm.). Bitye. 



No. 4340. Not quite mature (culmen 45 mm,). Bitye. 



These specimens sliew their immaturity, in different 

 degrees, by a mixing of the black and red colours of the 

 bill, which in adults are clearly separated, the red above and 

 the black below; and by a wash of yellowi.sh-brown on the 

 plumage of the under parts. No example of this species had 

 pieviously been obtained by me, but last year I got specimens 

 of it and the similar, but much bluer, H. malimbicus in the 

 same locality. One of the specimens of H. malimbicus was 

 likewise immature (culmen 38 mm.) and shewed the same 

 mixing of colours in the bill, but none of the colour on the 

 under parts mentioned above ; even this immature bird is 

 much bluer than the specimens of H. forbesi. 



H. senegalensis and H. cyanoleucus form another example 

 of a pair of species very similar to each other, found in the 

 same locality. 



One of my specimens of //. malimbicus was shot on the 

 border of an army of driver-ants. I have more than once 

 seen a Halcyon of some species among the birds that always 

 gather about an army of drivers, to feed on the insects and 

 other small creatures that are routed out of their hiding-places 

 and compelled to flee for their lives by the terrible ants (see 



