THE SEARCHERS. 



II! 



white ; the eye is deep bro-nm, and the bare line by which it is surrounded a rich scarlet ; the beak 

 is apple-green, and foot greenish grey. This species is twenty-three inches long, the wing measures 

 six inches, and the tail sixteen inches and three-quarters. 



" This handsome bird," says Jer- x:::^'.r-'- -, 





/.^.^ 





^v-- 



don, " is found in Lower Bengal, Cen- 

 tral India, and the Northern Circars ; 

 also in the warmer valleys of the Hima- 

 layas. It extends to Assam, Burmah, 

 and Malacca, where it is very abun- 

 dant. I have usually seen it solitary, 

 wandering about in the forests, and 

 eating large insects — mantides, crickets, 

 grasshoppers, and also large caterpil- 

 lars. In Sikim it is only found in the 

 warmer valleys, at a height of about 

 3,000 feet. The eggs brought to me 

 at Darjeeling were two in number, pure 

 white, and of a long oval form. I did 

 not see the nest, but was told it was a 

 large mass of stick and roots. I took 

 a similar egg from the oviduct of a 

 female I shot. Mr. Blyth remarks that 

 the presence of the Malkoha is often 

 betrayed by its voice, \vhich is a low 



monosyllabic chuck, often repeated, and delivered commonly when 

 the bird is perched on a tree." 



The RAIN CUCKOOS {Coccygi), a family inhabiting America, 

 possess a comparatively powerful body, short wings, and a long tail, 

 composed of tvvelve feathers ; the beak is strong, and the feet in 

 some species so well developed as to enable these birds to run mth 

 ease upon the ground. The plumage, which is remarkable for the 

 softness of its texture, is almost alike in the two sexes. The female 

 is somewhat longer than her mate. The members of this family are 

 met with in all parts of America, being especially numerous in the 

 southern portion of that continent. In their habits they much 

 resemble their representatives in the Eastern Hemisphere, and like 

 them lead a retired life in forests and well-wooded districts, subsisting 

 upon insects, hairy caterpillars, and the eggs of their small feathered 

 companions. Unlike the groups already described, these Cuckoos 

 build a nest for the reception of their young, and rarely deposit their 

 eggs in another bird's abode. 



THE KOKIl, OR 



LARGE GREEN-BILLED JtALKOHA 



(Zanclostomus tristis). 



THE RATN OR YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO. 

 The Rain or Yellow-billed Cuckoo {Coccygus Amfncani/s) represents a group of the above 

 birds characterised by their thin, delicate, compressed, and pointed beak, which is slightly curved 



