430 
THE CHANNEL-BILL. 
to any great extent, their flight being low and short. They are easily tamed, soon become 
amusing inhabitants of the house, and can be taught to utter several words. Fortunately for 
itself, the flesh of the Savannah Blackbird is thought to be very disagreeable, so that it is not 
killed for the table. 
The nesting of this bird is rather peculiar. It haunts bushes, the skirts of woods, and 
similar localities, and builds its nest on the branches of trees. The nest is extremely large, 
and is said to be in common to several pairs of birds, which live amicably under the same roof 
like the sociable weaver birds of Africa. 
In size the Savannah Blackbird rather exceeds the generality of its kind, equalling a 
pigeon in dimensions, the long tail adding to the apparent length. Its color is black, glossed 
with green. 
The very remarkable bird known by the name of Chahhel-Bill inhabits part of Aus- 
tralia and some of the Eastern 
Islands. Its large and curi- 
ously formed beak gives it so 
singular an aspect, that on a 
hasty glance it might almost 
be taken for a species of tou- 
can or hornbill. 
It is most common in New 
South Wales, and is migratory 
in its habits, arriving in Octo- 
ber and departing hi June. It 
is a gregarious bird, being 
seen in little flocks or com- 
panies varying in number from 
three to eight, and sometimes 
living in pairs. The voice of 
the Channel-Bill is by no 
means pleasing, and is exer- 
cised at the approach of rainy 
weather or the presence of a 
hawk. In either instance, the 
bird utters a series of vigorous 
yells, which are well under- 
stood by those who have 
studied its habits. 
Although one of the mi- 
grators, it is slow and heavy 
of wing. Apparently, it is not 
easily tamed, for Mr. Gould 
mentions an instance where 
one of these birds was wounded 
fland kept alive for two days, during the whole of which time it refused to be reconciled to 
captivity, screaming and pecking fiercely at its cage and captor. Its food consists of the seeds 
of the red gum and peppermint, and it also feeds upon beetles, phasmidse, and other large 
insects of the land which it frequents. 
It is a very handsome and elegantly colored bird. The head and breast are gray, and the 
spaces around the eyes and nostrils are scarlet. The back is a deep grayish-green, each feather 
being tipped with black, so as to give that portion of the bird a boldly mottled aspect. The 
under parts are white tinged with buff, and faintly barred with grayish-brown. The long tail 
has the two central feathers black to the very tip, and the others are barred with black and 
tipped with white. Both sexes are alike in their coloring ; the chief difference being that the 
CHANNEL-BELL .— Scythrops Novce-Hollandice. 
