388 



THE BENTEOT. 



after its death become comparatively dingy. The delicate and brilliant grass-green of the 

 upper surface soon takes a more sober hue, and before many days have elapsed, the general 

 colour of the bird is simply grey with a greenish wash, in place of the rich resplendent 

 tints which it had so lately boasted. 



Between the true Crows and 

 the Jays, another small sub-family 

 has been placed by the authors 

 whose arrangement we follow, and 

 is known by the title of Calleatinae, 

 or Tree Crows. In these birds 

 there is no tooth in the upper 

 mandible, and the bill is com- 

 paratively short, curved and rather 

 rounded above. They are only 

 to be found in the warmer parts 

 of the eastern hemisphere, and 

 many of them are quite as 

 carnivorous as any of the pre- 

 ceding Corvidse, some feeding 

 chiefly upon insects of various 

 kinds, and others varying theii 

 diet with small birds and quad- 

 rupeds. 



The Benteot, one of these 

 birds, is a native of Java, where 

 it is not very scarce, but is seldom 

 seen except by those who go to 

 search for it, as it is extremely 

 timid, and is never known to 

 approach within a considerable 

 distance of human habitations, 

 as is the case with the generality 

 of the Crow tribe. Sometimes it 

 may be seen cautiously making 

 its way towards some newly 

 cleared ground, in the hope of 

 making a meal on the worms, 

 grubs, and other earth-living crea- 

 tures that are generally to be 

 found in freshly-turned soil, and 

 also for the sake of feeding upon 

 the fruits of the trees that skirt 

 the field. Should, however, the 

 land be near a house, the Benteot 

 holds aloof, and declines to put 

 itself into danger. 

 Part of this excessive timidity may, perhaps, be owing to the fact that it is by no 

 means a strong or rapid flyer, its wings being short and rounded, and its flight in conse- 

 quence weak and not capable of long duration. It usually flies by day, and, according to 

 Mr. Horsfield, " may be seen about noon, sailing heavily through the air in a right Hne 

 towards the trees surrounding the openings in the forest." The strong bill and powerful 

 claws show that the bird is well adapted for the capture of insects and disinterring them 

 from their subterranean hiding-places, as well as for eating the various hard-shelled fruits 

 on which it partly subsists. In colour the Benteot appears at a little distance to be nearly 

 black, but on a close approach its plumage is seen to be a very dark and rather dull green, 

 " shot" plentifully with a deeper hue of bronze. 



BENTEOT.— Crypsirhina varia. 



