VALIDITY OF SOME FORMS OF MIMICRY. 728 



Fam. Alcedinid^. Kingfishers. 



71. The White-breasted Kingfisher. Halcyon smyrnensis. 



" It occasionally, but rarely, catches fish by plunging after them, 

 it lives chiefly on insects and small lizards and sometimes on mice 

 and land crabs." (Ocdes.) '' It subsists on lizards, grasshoppers, 

 locusts, and even small snakes." 



Fam. Oypselid^. Swifts. 



72. The Alpine Swift. Cypselus melba. 



73. The Common Indian Swift. C. affinis. 



These birds have all the habits of the common European Swift. 



74. The Palm Swift. Tachornis hatassiensis. 

 " Feeds chiefly at dusk." 



75. The Brown-necked Spine-tail. Ghcetura inclica. 



" Mr. Carter says that those he shot had fed on beetles, green 

 bugs, sand-wasps and grasshoppers." Mr. Spurway informs me 

 that he has more than once seen it snap up a butterfly. Legge 

 says it is fond of termites. 



76. The Indian Crested Swift. Macropteryx coronata. 

 I know nothing about the feeding habits of this bird. 



Fam. Trogonid^. The Trogons. 



77. The Malabar Trogon. Hmyactus fasciatus. 



Mr. Butler has seen a large moth brought to the nest he was 

 observing. 



" It feeds chiefly on beetles, moths or cicades ; but it occasionally 

 feeds on insects on the ground." {Blanford.) 



Fam. CucuLiD^. The Cuckoos. 

 " They feed chiefly on caterpillars and soft insects." {Blanford.) 



78. The Cuckoo. G. canorus Migrant. 



79. The Small Cuckoo. C. poliocephalus. Migrant. 



80. The Indian Cuckoo. C. micropierus. 

 " Feeds on caterpillars." 



81. The Indian Plaintive Cuckoo. Cacomaniis passerinus. A 



migrant. 

 " It feeds on caterpillars, coleoptera and other large insects, and 

 may often be seen taking them on the ground." 



