PLATYRHYNCHUS CAPENSIS. 



upper mandible strongly hooked, the lower emarginate and slightly bent 



upwards ; the sides of the upper mandible are convex, and the culmen, 



particularly towards the point of the bill, is distinct though blunt ; nostrils 



and base of bill concealed by strong bristles and rigid wiry feathers, the 



former at the angles of the mouth directed laterally. Wings rather short and 



rounded, and when folded reach nearly to the commencement of the last 



half of the tail. Third and fourth quill feathers longest and equal ; second, 



fifth and sixth slightly shorter, the first about half an inch shorter than the 



third. Tail slightly rounded at the point, the two middle feathers rather 



shorter than those immediately on each side of them. Tarsi short and rather 



slender, scutellated anteriorly, scaled posteriorly ; toes long and slender, 



the middle and innermost nearly of equal length and united as far as the third 



joint, the outermost considerably shorter and free except at its base, the hinder 



one nearly of the same length as the outermost ; claws large, pointed and 



much curved. 



DIMENSIONS. 



In the female the upper parts of the head are a dusky slate-grey, striped 

 "with umber- brown ; on the back the umber-brown stripes are narrower than 

 in the male ; on the under parts they are the reverse. In other respects, the 

 colours are nearly the same in both sexes. 



I have not found this species beyond the forests which exist upon the south-east coast, 

 towards Delagoa Bay. It frequents chiefly the brushwood which occurs scattered among 

 the large trees, though occasionally it also resorts to the trees themselves in search of insects, 

 which constitute its food. While hunger presses, it moves incessantly to and fro, and its 

 progress from one spot to another is effected with great rapidity, yet so as to admit of its 

 readily detecting the objects of which it is in quest, as is evident from the frequency with 

 which it is to be seen seizing small Lepidoptera and other insects, even when on the wing. 

 While at rest it is usually found perched in the depths of thickets, and commonly in damp se- 

 questered situations. 



Having never had an opportunity of examining recent specimens, I merely surmise the 

 individuals m which the head is black to be males ; the reverse, however, may be the case. 



