Indian Birds 
Not found in Punjab, Sind, Rajputana, Lower 
Bengal, or the East .Coast of the Madras 
presidency. 
114. Xantholema hematocephala: The Crim- 
son-breasted Barbet, or Coppersmith. (F. 
1019), (J. 197), (+1) 
An olive-green bird with very gaudy colour- 
ing on the head. I quote the following de- 
scription from Bombay Ducks: ‘The bird 
“always puts me in mind of a woman who 
‘makes up’ very carelessly, who is not only 
exceedingly lavish of the paint, but does not 
understand how to shade it off gradually. The 
general colour of the bird’s plumage is greenish, 
but on close inspection many greyish white 
feathers are seen to be mingled with the green 
ones. There is a daub of crimson on the 
forehead and another on the throat. The 
sides of the face are pale yellow. The legs are 
coral red. The build of the bird is exceedingly 
coarse.” 
But the coppersmith is a bird that is usually 
heard rather than seen. Its monotonous 
metallic tonk, tonk, tonk, like the tapping of 
a hammer on metal, is one of the most familiar 
sounds of the Indian country-side. This cry is 
heard only in the hot weather, and the warmer 
158 
