INDICATORIN^. 305 



buff, and toothed on their inner webs with the same hue ; re- 

 mainder of the wing-feathers like the upper surface, but crossed 

 by broad irregular bands of brown ; tail with narrow bands ; sides 

 of the throat and neck with numerous narrow bars ; on the centre 

 of the throat, a spatulate mark of chesnut-red ; centre of the 

 abdomen and under tail-coverts, pale buffj-white, with a fine 

 brownish-black streak down the middle of each feather. 



Bill pale horny ; leg yellowish flesh-colour. Length 7| inches ; 

 leg 3f ; tail 85- ; bill |- inch ; tarsus |-. 



This species, from Affghanistan and Tibet, is probably found 

 in Cashmere; but remains to be ascertained as an inhabitant of 

 India. It is nearly allied to V. pectoralis of S. Africa, and to Y. 

 (Bquinoctialis of N. E. Africa. 



Sub-fam. Indicatorin^, Honeyguides. 



Bill high, Finch-like, short, sub-conic, straight at the gape, 

 broad at the base, arched above, and compressed on the sides ; 

 culmen and gonys equally inclined towards the tip ; gonys angu- 

 lated ; nostrils apert, placed in a fossa near the base of the bill, and 

 pierced in the membrane, opening near the culmen ; wings long, 

 pointed; 3rd quill longest; 2nd sub-equal, and 1st only a little 

 shorter ; tail moderate, slightly wedge-shaped, of twelve feathers ; 

 the outermost pair short, as in the Woodpeckers ; tarsus short ; 

 outer anterior toe the longest, much longer than the tarsus, which 

 is short, as are the inner and hind toes. 



The Honeyguides are chiefly from the South of Africa, two 

 species only being Asiatic, so far as known. They have usually 

 been classed with the Cuckoos, or near them ; but Blyth considers 

 them to be more nearly related to the Woodpeckers, which they 

 resemble in the structure of their feet, and the tongue is said by 

 Bruce to be sharp-pointed and extensile. Their skin is thick ; 

 and they have a distinct accessory plume to their feathers, which 

 the Cuckoos have not. They are birds of small size and plain 

 plumage. They have been described as guiding the natives to 

 the nests of wild bees, uttering a peculiar cry, and flitting on 

 before them to point out the honey, of which they always receive 



2 Q 



