2S2 cassell's look of birds. 



exterior feathers ; the inner webs are of a dull black, the beak and feet are black. Horsfield tells us 

 that this bird is by no means rare in Java, but frequents such very retired spots as to be but seldom 

 met with ; it avoids the inhabited parts of the country, and only appears occasionally upon the 

 borders of its favourite thickets, to which it retreats at the first approach of danger. Its flight is 

 unsteady and awkward, and its gait upon the ground equally clumsy. It lives principally upon 

 insects of every description, and its powerful claws would seem to indicate that it can also plunder 

 the nests of its feathered associates. Fruit has been found in the crop of this species. 



A very similar group, TEMNURUS, is distinguished from that just described by the shape of 

 the tail-feathers, the ends of which present the appearance of having been cut off at a right angle. 

 The Saw-tail (Temnurus truncaius), inhabiting Cochin China, is the most perfect representative of 

 ihis section. Its plumage is of an uniform black, and its length about fourteen inches. 



The KITTAS (Cissa) are met with in Southern and Eastern Asia. They bear so great a 

 resemblance to the Jays in their mode of life and general deportment, that we have no hesitation in 

 assigning to them a place here, instead of following in the steps of some naturalists who class them 

 with the Thrushes. The Kittas are a race of extremely beautiful birds, elegant in form and brilliant 

 in plumage; their beaks are thick, strong, and almost as long as the head, curving from the base, and 

 bent upwards towards the tip ; the feet are large and strong, the toes powerful and of medium length, 

 with formidable claws; the wings are round, their fourth and fifth quills being longer than the rest; 

 the tail is either short and rounded or very long and graduated ; in the latter case the central feathers 

 extend far beyond those at the sides. 



THE LONG-TAILED KITTA. 



The Long-tailed Kitta ( Urocissa Sinensis) is about twenty-six inches in length, seventeen to 

 eighteen inches of this measurement belonging to the tail ; the wing measures eight inches. The 

 plumage is very splendid, the entire head, throat, and breast being deep black, shading into blue, with 

 the exception of a white streak which passes over the head and nape ; the mantle and upper tail- 

 covers are of a light cobalt blue, the latter tipped with a broad patch of black ; the wings are of the 

 same blue tint, the inner web of the quills being black, and all the feathers tipped with white ; the tail 

 is principally blue, but its centre feathers are white, and the rest tipped with white and black ; the 

 under side of the bird is whitish, shaded with a reddish grey. 



The Long-tailed Kitta is met with in the western parts of the Himalaya, and is replaced by a 

 very similar species in the eastern provinces. Swinhoe tells us that it also inhabits the forests around 

 Hong Kong in great numbers. In India it is found living at an altitude of 6,000 feet above the level 

 of the sea, occasionally perching in the brushwood, but spending the greater portion of its life upon 

 the ground, from which it obtains its principal food. In its habits it is so observant and intelligent as 

 to be extremely useful to its feathered brethren, by warning them of the approach of an enemy ; 

 indeed, it is said that it will sometimes follow the leopard for miles, and thus prevent it from quietly 

 stealing upon its prey. During its flight, which resembles that of the Magpie, the tail is kept in an 

 horizontal position, but when perched it is held erect, and constantly waved as the bird utters its 

 sharp and chattering cry. The Long-tailed Kitta builds amongst the branches of trees, at various 

 heights from the ground, and forms its nest of twigs woven loosely together and lined with different 

 kinds of vegetable fibre. The brood consists of from three to five eggs of a pale greenish grey, 

 thickly strewn with brown spots, which form a kind of wreath at the broad end. Many of these birds 

 have been brought alive to England, and in India they are occasionally kept tame in a cage. 



