250 



BIKDS. 



[Chap. VIII. 



natives "the Cotton Thief," from the circumstance that 

 its tail consists of two long white feathers, which stream 



behind it as it flies. Mr. Layard 

 says : — "I have often watched 

 them, when seeking their insect 

 prey, turn suddenly on their perch 

 and whisk their long tails with a 

 jerk over the bough, as if to pro- 

 tect them from injury." 



The tail is sometimes brown, and 

 the natives have the idea that the 

 bird changes, its plumage at stated 

 periods, and that the tail-feathers 

 become white and brown in alter- 

 nate years. The fact of the va- 

 riety of plumage is no doubt true, 

 but this story as to the alternation 



