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EASTERN ETHIOPIA 



XXX 



ami skulks in tliu veed-ljcds, wlicrc it makes a peculiar 

 wlioop-wlioop, ami is often noisy in the early morning 

 and at eventide. The coucal has powerful feet, which 

 enaljle it to clutch the smooth slanting stem of the 

 papyrus, and sometimes slides down it like aii acrobat. 

 The liird looks very handsome when it perches in the 



Tlio Placket-winged Nightjar (Macrodipteryx macrodipteriis)ha.s 

 the ninth primary elongated in each wing. When flj'ing 

 in the dnsk it appears like three birds — a big bird with 

 two smaller birds mobbing it. 



middle of a papyrus umbel, its dusky white breast and 

 belly and chestnut head, Ijack, wings and broad tail 

 then showing to great advantage. 



One species of coucal makes a noise like water 

 jxuro'lins out of an inverted bottle ; for this it is some- 



111- n ?? 



times called the " water-bottle bird. 



It is more common for the tail feathers to elongate in 



