362



Mr. A. R. Williams,



the present; it is further remarkable that these hues also occur in

the flower, fruit and leaves of the bananas on which it feeds!


The writer’s Touraco lives in an unheated aviary with a

spacious outdoor flight. For companions it has a Tucai Toucan

(Bhamphastos dicolorus), three Cape Mouse-birds (Colitis striatus}

and a Delalande’s Fruit Pigeon (Vinago delalandei ). It agrees well

with all of them, though at meal times the Toucan’s big beak

ensures the respect of the others, The Touraco is fed on cut-up

apples and bananas, and does not appear to care for mealworms,

which these birds are said to take in captivity. On coming to the

ground to feed, the Touraco utters a short croak and runs smartly

to the food-pan. The stout beak acts like a pair of pincers, gouging

out pieces of banana pulp and swallowing them whole: pieces of

apple also swiftly disappear down the wide, distensible throat.

The upper beak is but loosely articulated to the skull, and can be

moved up and down with a hinge-like action, thus permitting the

passage of morsels which would choke many birds.


Touracos are adepts at hiding, keeping concealed behind

objects (such as posts or boughs) which would have been thought

much too slender for the purpose. When alarmed the bird stretches

out its head and neck, at the same time elevating its crest. The

writer’s specimen is most active in the morning and evening, spend¬

ing the middle of the day in sleep. Besides the croaking sound

already mentioned, Touracos utter harking cries, and also a curious

sound like the winding of a clock, hence the name “clock bird”'

often applied to them.



BIRDS IN AUTUMN.


By A. R. Williams.


The West or Herefordshire side of the Malvern Hills is more

beautiful than the Eastern, Worcestershire, side. The country is

more varied, better wooded, and undulates slightly, with small

ranges of hills, giving the interest of variety to the landscape.


Standing on a tree-clad ridge some three or four miles west¬

ward, one gets a magnificent view of the whole range of hills. On

the left, northward, are the bare and regular peaks of the North



