126 cassell's book of birds. 



pursuit of which it displays but little skill while climbing about the branches ; its flight consists of a 

 hovering, whirring motion, and is seldom long sustained. The oval, pure white eggs obtained by 

 Heuglin, on the 26th of September, were found in holes situated in the side of a bank of earth • in 

 one instance the interior had no lining of any description, and in the other a mere bed of reeds, on 

 which the eggs were deposited. We are unable to state whether these holes are excavated by the 

 parent birds. 



THE GOLDEN BARBET. 



The Golden Barbet {Xantlwlxma Indka) represents a group characterised by their short beak, 

 bulging outwards at its sides, slightly-pointed wings, in which the third, fourth, and fifth quills are the 

 longest, and a short, abnost straight tail. The plumage of the mantle is green, that of the under side 

 yellow, or greenish white ; the feathers on the back and wing-covers are bordered with yellow, and 

 those on the breast striped with green. The brow and a spot on the throat, are glossy scarlet, the 

 latter edged with gold at its lower portion ; a band at the nape, the breast, and a stripe upon the 

 chin are black. The eye is deep brown, the beak black, and the foot bright red. The length of this 

 bird is six inches and a half, and its breadth eleven inches ; the wing measures three inches and a 

 quarter, and the tail one inch and a half. 



" This species of Barbet," writes Jerdon, " is found throughout all India, extending into the 

 Burmese countries, Malayana, Ceylon, and the isles ; according to Adams, it is not met with in the 

 Himalayas or in the Punjaub. This bird is very common wherever there is a sufficiency of trees, 

 inhabiting open spaces in the jungles, groves of trees, avenues, and gardens, being very familiar, and 

 approaching close to houses, and not unfrequently perching on the housetop. -As far as I have 

 observed, it does not clinjb like the Woodpecker, but hops about the branches like other perching, 

 birds. The Rev. Mr. Philips, however, states that it runs up and down the trees like a Woodpecker, 

 and other observers have asserted that it climbs to its hole ; but I confess I have never seen this, and 

 Mr. Blyth is most decidedly of opinion that Barbels never climb. The latter naturalist found that 

 one of these birds which he kept alive would take insects into its mouth and munch them, but 

 swallowed none, and forsook them immediately when fruit was offered. It has a remarkably loud 

 note, which sounds like ' took-took-took,' and this it generally utters when rested at the top of some 

 tree, putting its head at each call first on one side and then on the other. Sundevall states that 

 the call is like a low note on the flute, from the lower G to the second E. This sound, and the 

 motion of the head accompanying it, have given origin to the name ' Coppersmith,' by which this 

 species is known both by natives and Europeans. The sound often appears to come from a different 

 direction to that from which it does really proceed ; this appears to me to depend on the direction 

 of the bird's head. Mr. Philips accounts for it by saying that it alters the intensity of its call. 

 Sundervall remarks that 'the same individual always utters the same notCi but that two of these birds 

 are seldom heard to make it alike.' When, therefore, two or more individuals are sitting near each 

 other, a not unpleasing music arises from the alternation of the note, each sounding like the tone of a 

 series of bells. The Crimson-breasted Barbet breeds in holes of trees, laying two or more white eggs. 

 A pair bred in my garden at Saugor on the cross-beam - of a vinery. The perfectly circular entrance 

 was on the under side of the beam. This nest appeared to me to have been used for several years, 

 and the bird had gone on lengthening the cavity year by year, till the distance from the original 

 entrance was four or five feet ■ another entrance had then been made, also from below, about two feet 

 and a half from the nest. Quite recently I discovered a nest built by this bird in a hole of a 

 decayed tree-branch, close to a house in a large thoroughfare in Calcutta." The Golden, or Crimson- 

 breasted Barbet, as it is sometimes called, subsists upon the fruit of various plants, but, according to 

 Blyth, has also been known to eat animal food. The eggs are white, and two or more in number. 



