KEEL-BREASTED BIRDS. 281 
Other remarkable forms are the resplendent epima- 
chus, the rifle-bird, and the king bird’ of paradise (Fig. 
310), their gor- 
geous colorings 
defying ade- 
quate descrip- 
tion. 
The Plan- 
tain-Eaters 
(Musophagt- 
de)* are pecul- 
iar to the Afri- 
can continent. 
They are about 
the size of the 
raven, and are 
exclusively 
fruit-eaters. Fic, 310.—King bird of paradise. 
The eggs dre 
white, and deposited in hollow trees. 
The Mouse-Birds (Code) + are so singular that they 
deserve particular mention. They are found exclusively 
in Africa, and are allies of the preceding. They resemble 
* M. Jules Verreaux is authority for the statement that the 
coloring - matter of the red feathers of one of this family (7wra- 
cus albocristatus) is soluble in water. Their red feathers may be 
washed white twice in the same day, the color invariably returning 
when dry. 
+ The wiriwa (Colius Senegalensis) is invariably found upon the 
thickly-vined trees, darting in and out of the holes like a mouse. 
They have been seen to roost in a most curious manner like bats, 
clinging or hanging by their feet head downward, or in groups, cling- 
ing to each other in clumps upon the branches ; the first bird grasping 
the branch with one claw, supporting a second bird by entwining one 
of its legs with its own, this bird in a like manner supporting a third, 
and so on until they form a chain of living bird-links. They are fruit- 
eaters. The nest is conical and placed in trees, and contains six or 
seven eggs. 
