122 CASSELL'S book OF BIRDS. 



beak and feet are black. This species is fourteen inches long, the wing measures six, and the 

 tail seven inches. 



The COUCALS, or SPURRED CUCKOOS (C«//-^/i)^;'«), a family of strange birds inhabiting 

 Africa, the East Indies, New Holland, and the Malay Islands, possess a very powerful, short, and 

 much-curved beak, which is compressed at its sides ; the tarsi are high, and toes comparatively short ; 

 the hinder toe is usually armed with a very long and almost straight spur-like claw ; the wings are 

 short and rounded, and the tail (composed of ten feathers) graduated, and either of moderate size or 

 very long. The extremely harsh plumage is similarly coloured in both sexes ; the young differ in a 

 striking manner from their parents, and only acquire the same hues as the adults in the third year. 



The Coucals frequent thick brushwood, cane plantations, and pasture land, and penetrate the 

 densest masses of vegetation with surprising dexterity, in pursuit of the scorpions, snakes, lizards, 

 insects, and birds' eggs, upon which they principally subsist. Their powers of flight are so limited as 

 only to be employed in cases of extreme danger. The voice consists of various deep sounds, some of 

 which seem produced by ventriloquism. The nests built by this family are carelessly formed, and 

 placed among bushes or canes, or in long grass ; in some instances, however, more care is evident in 

 their construction, the upper portion being provided with a cover, and two entrances made in the 

 side the one for entrance and the other for egress. The brood consists of from three to five white 

 eggs, which are hatched by the united efforts of both parents. The young, when first produced, are 

 remarkably ugly. 



THE EGYPTIAN COUCAL. 



The Egyptian Coucal [Centropus Aigypticus), a species inhabiting Africa, possesses a com- 

 paratively short tail, and plumage of a reddish brown tint ; the head and nape are black, the back 

 and -ftdngs chestnut-brown ; the tail-feathers greenish black, bordered with white ; and all the lower 

 portions of the body of a fallow-grey. The eye is bright purple, the beak black, and foot deep 

 bro\vnish grey. This species is fourteen inches long and sixteen and a half broad ; the wing, in 

 which the sixth quill exceeds the rest in length, is five inches and a half, and the tail seven inches 

 and a half 



The Egyptian Coucal is commonly met with in some parts of Egypt, and is by no means rare 

 in other portions of North-eastern Africa ; everywhere it frequents the dense woods and forests, or 

 extensive beds of reeds, penetrating the densest thickets with all the wonderful dexterity of the Mouse 

 Birds. Unlike most members of the family, this species leads an indolent and quiet life, frequently 

 perching motionless at the summit of its bushy fastnesses, or hovering over their surface, while 

 watching for its insect prey. Ants, we are told, it frequently consumes in such quantities as to 

 impart a most revolting odour to its body. Like its congeners, the adult Spurred Cuckoo is always 

 met with in company with its mate ; while the young, on the contrary, often lead a solitary life for 

 several years before pairing. The nest found by ourselves in the Delta was placed in the bushy 

 crown of an olive-tree, and almost entirely constructed of the husks of maize ; the young contained 

 therein were partially fledged, the time of year being the month of June. We could not succeed in 

 obtaining an egg. This Coucal is but seldom captured by the natives, owing to the impracticable 

 nature of its favourite haunts and the uninviting savour of its flesh. We have but onc-e seen 

 it caught 



The CROW PHEASANTS {Centrococcyx), an Indian group of the above birds, are recognisable 

 by their long, graduated tail, and the black markings on the reddish brown wings. 



