224 BARBET. 



colour of the plumage is green ; wings and tail darkest; quills black 

 outwardly, and dusky within ; but except the three first, the outer 

 webs are green, and the under margined with pale yellow ; the tail 

 rounded, of ten feathers, green above, and azure beneath ; and the 

 wings, when closed, just reach beyond the base ; legs dirty olive 

 green. 



Inhabits Calcutta, and its neighbourhood, the whole year, and 

 excavates holes in the trees for its nest; lives chiefly on wild figs, 

 plantains, and other fruits, and is extremely noisy. 



It is the Corul of the Mussulmans; Bassunt buri of the Bengalese 

 of Calcutta ; and Bassunt Gorul of Sylhet. Bassunt buri means the 

 Old Woman of the Spring ; Buri being an old woman, and Bassunt 

 one of the divisions of the year, which includes February and March. 

 Most of the Hindus pronounce this word Vassunta, but the Ben- 

 galese do not use the V, and cut off the final vowel. 



I am indebted for the above to Dr. Buchanan, on whose authority 

 I place it as a Barbet. — I learn, that some at Calcutta call this bird 

 Kutkhodau.* 



12— RED-CROWNED BARBET. 



Bucco rubricapillus, hid. Orn. i. 205. Gm. Lin. i. 408. 



Red-crowned Barbet, Gen. Si/n. ii. 505. Brown III. pi. 14. Gen. Zool. ix. p. 23. 



SIZE of a Goldfinch ; length five inches and a half. Bill dusky ; 

 crown and throat scarlet; above each eye a black line; on the cheeks, 

 and above each shoulder, a great whitish spot ; back and wing coverts 

 fine green ; prime quills dusky ; breast yellow ; in the middle a short, 

 transverse bar of black, and another of red ; belly white ; tail green, 

 the exterior feathers dusky ; legs pale red. 



Inhabits Ceylon. 



* One species of Woodpecker is also called by this name. 



