ON Till'] GEN71IRA. 
xxi 
interspersed with groves of trees, they are neither sliy noi- di/ncult to ;i,p[)rf)ach. Where the 
districts they are found in happen to be at all thickly i)oi)ulai(;(l, the IJiuhets show no dis- 
position to retreat to more secluded quarters, but take up their al)od(; in ^^ard(;iiH and fre- 
quently breed in trees close to the houses. They usually keep to tin; tops of the tre-es, hut 
may occasionally be seen creeping among the branches of small bushes and ur)d( r\vf;od. 
Their food is fruit, seeds, buds, and occasionally insects; these latter are very seldom 
resorted to in Asia, more frequently in Africa, and with some American species they form 
the staple food. They are not gregarious, though a great number may sometimes be seen 
together in a fig-tree at the fruit-season. They live in pairs during the breeding-season, 
which is in the spring, and commence moulting in September. They rarely, if ever, descend 
to the ground, and appear to move from tree to tree only when compelled to do so in search of 
food, or when disturbed by an intruder. Their flight is powerful, but heavy and undulating, 
very similar to that of a Woodpecker. A curious instance of their disinclination to travel 
is seen in the fact of the Himalayan lineated Barbet (if. Hodgsoni) and the hoary jungle 
Barbet {M. caniceps) never crossing the narrow valley of the Dehra Doon, though both are 
abundant in their respective boundaries — also that the Blue-faced Barbet (if. asiatica) is 
confined to the valley of the Jumna, in the district between Mussoorie and Simla, though 
there are many other valleys apparently equally suitable. When not in pursuit of food, they 
sit motionless among the foliage near the tops of the trees, and exhibit none of that vivacity 
which is so marked a characteristic of the Passerine birds, among which they have been 
sometimes erroneously classed. Their voice is loud and ringing, it consists almost always of 
one, two, or three syllables, given out with extraordinary power, and may be heard at mid- 
day and on a moonlight night when all other sounds are hushed ; some of the American 
species have, in common with the Toucans, the habit of jerking their tail up over their back 
when they utter the call. The male and female occasionally keep up what appears to be a 
calling-match for about ten minutes, and then suddenly cease. 
As far as is known, they all build in holes of trees, which they make for themselves in 
soft or decayed branches ; no lining is needed for the nest, a few of the broken chips being 
left at the bottom of a hole ; the entrance is circular and neatly bevelled, resembling that 
of a Woodpecker ; the hole is generally about eight or ten inches deep, varying, of course, 
with the size of the bird. They lay three or four shining white eggs with rather thin shells, 
and rather elongated blunt oval in shape, both ends being nearly similar. They are laid in 
the latter end of April and beginning of May in Northern India. 
Barbets are occasionally caged ; but they are very seldom brought to England, and do not 
bear confinement very well ; consequently little is known of them in this country, except to 
ornithologists. An interesting account of one of them in captivity, by Mr, Layard, will be 
found quoted under the heading of if. zeylanica. 
Their plumage, though very brilliant, is tasteless and too gaudy, and their shape is heavy 
and ugly, which will account for their skins not yet having been promoted to the positions 
with which pretty birds' feathers are generally associated in the minds of the non-ornitho- 
logical public. 
