cuckow. 295 



rich gilded glossy green ; on the head five white stripes ; one on the 

 middle of the forehead, and two others above the eyes, like eyebrows, 

 passing behind, and two more, narrower and shorter, beneath the 

 eyes; most of the wing coverts, and second quills tipped with 

 white, the outer one spotted white on the outer edge ; throat, and 

 under parts of the body, white ; the sides, and feathers which fall 

 over the joint, marked with a few greenish bars ; tail cuneiform, three 

 inches long, the two outer feathers marked with small white spots on 

 the outer edge, and all of them white just at the tips; in its natural 

 state the tail is generally spread out like a fan, and reaches about one 

 inch and quarter beyond the wings when closed ; legs yellow. 



The female is much the same in size, but differs in having the 

 white on the throat and breast tinged with rufous, as also on the wings 

 and tail ; and in every part where the male is green-gold, the other 

 sex is reddish gold-colour, and the stripes on the head not so well 

 defined. 



In young birds the stripes are scarcely perceivable ; the upper 

 parts of the body gilded brown, beneath greyish rufous white; and 

 all the spots of the wings and tail rufous chestnut. Bill and legs 

 yellow brown ; eyelids yellow; irides grey brown. 



Inhabits the parts far inland from the Cape of Good Hope : first met 

 with on the borders of Klyne Vis Rivier, from thence to Caflre Land, 

 and in Camdeboo ; again from the River of Elephants to the country 

 of Petits Namaquas, and every where in such numbers as to be killed 

 by thousands. The male has a note similar to the word Di-di-didric, 

 and in fluttering, sometimes like diwic-diwic. The female only wic- 

 wic. The great number of them is instanced by observing, that M. 

 Levaillant, and his man, killed 200 males and 130 females in their 

 three journies ; and remarks, on another occasion, that he was at a 

 loss to find out how this Cuckow could place an egg into the nest of 

 the Great-tailed Warbler, and some others,* into which was only a 



* Pine Pine Titmouse. 



