80 BIRDS IN SINGAPORE. 
“ Dendang.” 
They are very fond of the fruits of the wild red pumpkin 
(Trichosanthes) whence the Malay name ‘“Timun Dendang,” 
Crow’s pumpkin. 
The racket-tailed Drongo (Dissemurus platurus Veill), the 
‘‘chawi-chawi” or ‘‘chichawi” of Malays, is very common in 
the garden jungle, and asit remains with us all the year I suspect 
it breeds there, but have not found the nest. Its black plumage 
and the long racket-shaped tail feathers which it bears in the 
breeding season make it very conspicuous. The tail-feathers are 
supposed by the Malays to be due to two sumpitan darts, which 
some hunter shot into the bird, and which it has had to carry 
ever since. The Drongo has a wonderful variety of notes, and 
also imitates other birds very well, generally commencing to 
sing in the evening. 
Of cuckoos, several kinds appear from time to time. The little 
erey cuckoo Cacomantis threnodes keeps up its wearying song all 
night, and has got the name of the “Brain fever bird” here. Its 
notes consist of whistles in a descending scale and are very 
plaintive. The Malays call it ‘‘ Tinggal anak,” the deserted child, 
and say that as the old bird lays its egg in another bird’s nest — 
and abandons it, the young bird bewails its hard lot for the rest 
of its life. Though it is often to be heard it is by no means 
conspicuous, concealing itself in a thick tree, whence it keeps 
up its mournful song. 
The Malay Coucal, commonly known as the Crow-pheasant 
(Centrococcyx bengalensis) sometimes appears in the long grass 
in damp spots. Its flight and red wings often deceive a 
stranger into the idea that it is a real pheasant. Its cry con- 
sists of a ‘“ hoop-hoop-hoop,” followed by a ‘‘ cuckoo-cuckoo,” 
very harsh and mechanical in sound. 
The quaint tufted cuckoo, (Coccystes coromandus) grey with 
red wings, a long tail and a tuft on its head, has appeared in the 
gardens. It is rather shy and hides itself in the trees. 
The black Cuckoo (Surniculus lugubris) is also to be seen 
at times. It is interesting inasmuch as it mimics the Drongo, 
closely resembling it in form and colour, though without the 
racket feathers, and owing to this resemblance it is able to get 
its eggs into the Drongo’s nest for the unsuspecting owners to 
hatch. 
