HANG-NEST 131 
seen only when the bird is on the wing; the bill is 
black and curved, the body slender, and the tail long. 
It is a loquacious bird, most of its tones being low 
and pleasing; exceedingly restless in disposition, 
incessantly passing from tree to tree, jerking its long 
tail and clinging to the branches in various attitudes, 
while searching for insects in the decayed bark. 
While thus engaged it utters a great variety of chir- 
ping and guttural sounds, interspersed with short 
agreeable notes. It also has a song of considerable 
merit, low and varied in tone, with a peculiar ventri- 
loquism in many of the notes which produce a con- 
fusing idea on the listener that the bird approaches 
and recedes alternately whilst uttering them. While 
singing the bird continues moving, but always con- 
cealed in the thick foliage, and it is probably this 
constant turning about of the singer, and the notes 
coming through leafy screens of varying density, 
which makes the ventriloquism and gives so much 
light and shade to its mysterious melody. 
The first bird of this species I shot was wounded 
very slightly in one wing and fell into a stream; to 
my very great surprise it began singing its usual 
song while floating about on the surface, making no 
attempt to swim. After I had fished it out it con- 
tinued to sing at intervals in my hand ; how strange 
it was to hear this bleeding captive bird warbling 
out soft sweet notes which seemed to express only 
agreeable emotions! Yet it was evident that the bird 
was fully alive to its danger, for it struggled violently to 
escape and bit my finger savagely with its sharp beak. 
