﻿hollow trees; it generally sits straight upright, the neck drawn closely in, and the plumage 

 puffed out. In this position it remains, with the bill lowered, moving it slowly backwards and 

 forwards, for hours, until an insect approaches, which it seldom fails to secure; then, in spite 

 of its previous hunched-up appearance, it is wonderfully quick and active in its movements." 

 For the following interesting details I am indebted to my friend M. Jules Verreaux : — 

 " H. striolata is everywhere common near Kurrichaine, the Latakoo and Val River, 

 and is also met with commonly at Natal. Like H. fuscicapilla this little species is found 

 in small bands of eight or ten, excepting during the breeding-season; and frequents by 

 choice thin woods where the mimosas offer abundant food in the insects which abound on 

 their blossoms, and they also feed on the saccharine matter secreted in the bark of these 

 trees, which is a sort of gum resembling gum-arabic." 



" Their habits are lively and active: they pursue each other with an activity which 

 only flags during the great heat of the day, for then they hide in the shade, sitting motion- 

 less for hours with the head drawn into the shoulders like a ball ; but after three or four 

 o'clock in the afternoon their call-note may be heard, and their gambols are recommenced 

 and carried on to nightfall. When deprived of insects or larva?, these small birds descend 

 from their perches to hunt after scolopandras, cockroaches, and even small reptiles ; but 

 they leave all these when they are near water, and take the numerous species of insects 

 Avhich fly along the surface of the water: and when capturing either these or tadpoles, little 

 fish or the small, flat, round Crustacea which abound here, they plunge like true Kingfishers, 

 and often remain some time below the surface to make sure of their prey. During the 

 breeding-season one only sees them in pairs, and the female deposits her five or six eggs in 

 the hole of a tree. These are round, white, with a yellowish tinge, and have a resemblance 

 to the eggs of some of the Picidce. The male at this season appears to occupy himself 

 solely in hunting after food and bringing it to the female, and does the same for his 

 progeny. It is now that one can observe the activity of this bird, who, to satisfy the 

 voracity of the young, is often obliged to hunt far and wide. It is, but for its small size, 

 difficult to distinguish it from H. fuscicapilla, as it has all the actions of this species also. 

 It is, however, rare to find this latter bird in the same locality, except near Natal, where the 

 two ranges coalesce. As does the larger bird, so H. striolata when scared raises the feathers 

 of the head in the form of a beautiful crown. The young in their first plumage do not 

 appear to differ from their parents excepting that their beaks are much longer, whereas the 

 adult has the beak very short. They soon, however, shorten the beak from knocking it 

 against branches or rocks. Specimens from Abyssinia seem to be intermediate in size 

 between' those of West Africa and South Africa, the western birds being generally paler 

 coloured. Doubtless the difference of climate has much influence on this diminution in 

 size, as also has the food ; and this cause I have often observed during my extended travels 

 as acting on birds." 



Dr. Kirk says that in the Zambesi Region "this species is widely distributed, and 

 equally common on the sea-coast among the mangroves and near the rivers far in the 

 interior ; also in the plains. Its food consists of insects, which it seems to catch on the 

 wing. It is a sweet songster, both before and during the rains." 



Mr. Monteiro (l.c ) gives the following note : — 



" All the birds belonging to this family that I have observed in Angola utter a very 

 agreeable loud note or song, which produces a singular effect when, in going down a river 

 in a canoe in the. breathless mid-day sun, it is heard cool and clear, while all else is hushed 

 and still in the glare and heat. They are found in the thick woods and bush in the vicinity 

 of the rivers as much or more than on the very banks." 



The description is taken from an Abyssinian specimen in my collection. The right- 

 hand figure in the plate represents a bird collected at Elephant Vlcv, Damara Land, on the 

 8th of September, 1859, by the late Mr. Andersson; while the hinder figure is drawn from 

 the Abyssinian specimen above mentioned. 



