DICRURUS LUDWIGII. 



Length of the tarsus 



of the middle toe. 

 of the outer toe... 

 of the inner toe . . 

 of the hinder toe . 



DIMENSIONS. 



Inches. Lines. 

 Length from tlie point of the bill to 



the tip of the tail 7 2 



Length of the bill from the gape 10^ 



ofthetail 3 6 



of the wings when folded 4 



Nothing is known of i\\e female. 



A few specimens of this bird were seen in 1832 in the forests adjoining Port Natal, but only 

 one was procured. They were very shy, and the least ground of alarm caused them either to 

 fly from their usual haunts or to retire into the dense foliage whither we could not follow them. 

 The most retired situations appeared to form their favourite habitats, and in those they were 

 either seen perched upon some dead tree, or else performing rapid evolutions in the air in search 

 of food. They appeared from their perches to watch the approach of the insects upon which 

 they fed, and the instant they perceived them they were upon the wing, and actively engaged 

 in pursuing them. In the course of these movements they performed considerable circuits over 

 the adjoining thickets, but generally at last returned to the spots from whence they set out, and 

 there waited tlie appearances which courted further exertions. On one occasion two individuals 

 were observed in the same locality; in the others only one. 



This, and Le Drongear, Le Vaillant, Ois d'Afrique, pi. 167, {Dicrurus musicus, Vieill.) are the 

 only species of the genus which I have been able to find in South Africa, though the author just 

 mentioned assigns two others to that country, viz. Le Drongo, pi. 1G6, {Dicrurus cristatus, Vieill.) 

 and Le Drongo a moustaches, pi. 169, {Dicrurus mystaceus, Vieill.) Considering the general 

 accuracy of Le Vaillant, one feels disinclined to question his correctness on the present occasion, 

 yet at the same time I must give it as my opinion that the last named, if they were killed in 

 the localities our traveller mentions, are now no longer to be found in them, or else that they 

 are only occasionally there as immigrants from some other country. 



