378 Animal Life 
SHIKRA HAWK. 
similar marking in buzzards. Yet these are fierce predaceous creatures themselves, so 
that the resemblance is pointless; besides which, two of the four known species live 
where they themselves are the only birds of prey. 
The remarkable plumage of the male American Red-winged Troupials (Agele@us) is 
well copied by the male of a shrike (Campephaga phanicea) which has the same 
black body-colour and scarlet epaulettes, but, as it lives in Africa, cannot profit by 
the resemblance. It is true that several African Weaver-Finches show the-same style 
of coloration, but if the shrike (not one of the more predatory forms) mimics these, 
what do the American troupials mimic ? 
Many of this same troupial family ([cterid@} bear a great resemblance to orioles, 
having the black-and-yellow pied plumage which characterises most of those birds; 
indeed, they are commonly called ortefes in America. Orioles, however, they are not, but 
close allies of the starlings ane weavers, and none of them occur in the Old World, 
nor any orioles in Amertea. 
One of the Atwerican finches, the Red-eyed Bunting or Towhee (Pipilo 
erythrophthalmusy bears a close resemblance to the Indian robin-lke bird known as 
the Shama (@2ttocincla macrura), both birds having long tails and short wings, black 
upper phtmage and chestnut flanks; while in the hens of both the black upper-parts 
are replaced by brown. The resemblance 1s quite near enough for mimicry, yet under 
the circumstances it can be of no avail, even if there were any reason why one of 
these species should imitate the other. 
Several other less striking instances of this false mimicry could be given; thus, 
the American Oven-Bird (Furnarius rufus), made so familar to us by Mr. Hudson’s 
works, exactly resembles our Nightingale in plumage, although a bigger bird and rather 
differently shaped; while our Magpie is well copied in colour by two much smaller 
birds, the Dhyal or Magpie-Robin of India (Copsychus saularis) and the Magpie- 
Tanager (Cissopis leveriana) of South America. Morover, the beautiful starling of the 
Andamans (Stwmnia andamanensis) so resembles a gull in the arrangement of its 
colours,—white body, grey back, black quills, and yellow bill and feet—that 7f only 
it were bigger, and 7f gulls were common in the seas around its home, it might 
be set down as a mimic too! 
