DRY-AIOICA SUBSTRIATA. 



situated in a concavity near the base of the upper mandible, and above mem- 

 branous. Wings rounded, and when folded reach beyond the first third of the 

 tail ; the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth, quill feathers nearly equal 

 and longest, the third rather shorter, the second considerably shorter than the 

 third, and the first rather more than half the length of the second ; the 

 secondary and tertiary quill feathers nearly as long as the primaries. Tail 

 long and much graduated, the feathers slightly decomposed, the two middle 

 ones longest. Tarsi robust, anteriorly scutellated, posteriorly entire ; toes 

 long and slender, the outer and middle ones united near the base, the hinder 

 toe longest ; claws rather short, slender, and slightly curved, the claw of the 

 hinder toe lonQ;est. 



Inches. 

 Length from the point of the bill to 



the tip of the tail 5 



of the bill to the angle of the 



mouth 



of the wings when folded ... 2 



ofthetail .3 



DIMENSIONS. 



Lines. 



7 



U 







Inches. 



Length of the tarsus 



of the outer toe 



of the middle toe 



of the inner toe 



of the hinder toe 



Lines. 



^1 

 3 



M.4LE. — The ma/e is not known to me. 



So far as my e.xperience goes this is a rare bird in Southern Africa, and the only individuals 

 which I have met were on the banks of the Oliphant's River, about one hundred miles to the 

 north of Cape- Town. It is generally found in thickets composed of high brushwood or dwarf 

 trees, m which it is seen flitting rapidly from branch to branch, apparently in quest of msects, 

 which constitute its food. When so employed it carries its tail rather above the line of the 

 back, and when it fancies it is perceived it generally remains tranquil for a time ; but as soon 

 as all danger is supposed to be past, from no act of aggression being committed by the 

 individual who intrudes upon its retreat, it again betakes itself to seircli for food, and so 

 continues till it disappears in some distant part of the thicket. 



