150 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



at the tip. When I was in Darjeeliug I heard from the natives 

 wonderful accounts of a king or rajah bird, which all small birds 

 were said to follow to pay it homage. One was eventually shot 

 and brought to me, which turned out to be the above-mentioned 

 bird. 



The Barbets are essentially birds of the tropics, occasionally 

 ascending the hills to moderate elevations, and in their brilliant 

 colouring, shape of their feet, and mode of nesting resemble 

 Woodpeckers. Nearly all the Barbets of India are fruit-eaters, 

 many of the African and South American forms being insecti- 

 vorous. As soon as the really hot weather makes itself felt 

 throughout the Indian plains the monotonous cry of the 

 Crimson-breasted Barbet [Xantholcema hcematocephala) , or, as 

 it is better known to Anglo-Indians as " Coppersmith," is heard 

 almost without ceasing from morn to night. The notes sound 

 like " tonk, tonk, tonk," and so closely do they resemble the 

 hammering on a piece of metal as to almost deceive many 

 people. Hence the name " Coppersmith." If one is sufficiently 

 interested in birds as to wonder from which one's throat this 

 curious sound proceeds, he will, if he looks carefully, discover, 

 probably perched on the very top of some tall tree, two quaint 

 little birds about the size of a Sparrow, but adorned with the 

 most brilliant shades of green, crimson, and yellow. One of the 

 birds sits perfectly motionless while the other one gravely bows 

 to it, jerking out these curious metallic sounds in quick succes- 

 sion. When you have seen this you may know that these are a 

 pair of " Coppersmiths " in love, and the male bird — the one 

 who bows so gravely — is wooing his mate. These constant 

 monotonous notes so get on our nerves that we often feel tempted 

 to shoot the author of them, though no doubt they fall as sweet 

 music on the ears they are intended for. Chacun a son gout f 

 The " Coppersmith " is almost entirely a bird of hot weather. It 

 is true one may hear them occasionally in the cold weather, but 

 then only for a short time, and then the notes are only uttered 

 in a half-hearted manner. The nesting arrangements of this 

 bird, as before stated, are Woodpecker-like, the hole being 

 hollowed out in a tree or bamboo, and the eggs, which are pure 

 white, being laid at the bottom of the hole, with no lining at all. 



(To be continued.) 



