658 Birds in the Museum of the Asiatic Society. [No. 1 16. 



the morning, it is an absolute evil, by awaking one, when just dropped 

 a sleep from the exhaustion of the hot preceding day, and the still more 

 terrible early part of the night. 



144. Genus Centropus, Illiger. 

 Sp. Ce, Castanopterus, 



Chesnut Coucal. Original collection. 



Chesnut CoucaL Lath. Gen. Hist. III. 243. 



" This bird is very common throughout India. It is vulgarly call- 

 ed the Crow Pheasant ; and has acquired this appellation from a consi- 

 derable resemblance to the Pheasant in its mode of running, of crouch- 

 ing, and secreting itself in bushes ; and from its taking wing in the 

 same bustling way. It feeds upon insects, grubs, and when oppor- 

 tunity occurs upon carrion. This and the two succeeding speci- 

 mens are usually seen upon the ground, in which they differ from the 

 other numerous members of their tribe, which seldom alight, but 

 make short flights from one tree to another. 



Latham gives the appellation of Coucal to this tribe, to distinguish 

 them from the Cuckoos ; but referring to their habits, I have called 

 them " Ground Cuckoo," so strongly opposed to the Cuckoos, which 

 never descend from the tree." — C, W. Smith's MS. Notes. 



145. Centropus . 



Original collection. 



Besides these specimens of Centropus, Mr. Smith has drawn a third, 

 and I have seen a fourth differing from all, but having lost my notes, 

 I am unable to describe it. The name proposed by Mr. Smith of 

 " Ground Cuckoo," is a very appropriate one, and reminds us of the 

 analogy between the Cuckoos and Parrots in this respect, the Genus 

 Pezoporus of the latter being analogous to the Genus Centropus of 

 the former. 



Mr. Smith describes his second species thus : " This bird is nine- 

 teen inches in length, and twenty-four in breadth. The bill is a red- 

 dish grey, pale at the edges, strong, rather hooked, and in length two 

 inches. The eye is of a pearly hue, defended above by strong lashes, 

 and having a grey skin or orbit edging the lower half. The plumage 

 of the head, breast, neck, and body is a hoary brown, inclining to 

 black on the crown of the head and behind the neck, and marked 



