XXX11 
ON THE GENERA. 
The rictal bristles are almost entirely wanting. The plumage is very soft and loose, the 
wings are short and very rounded, the fifth and sixth quills being the longest ; the tail is 
long and graduated, being about the same length as the wing. The legs and feet are the 
same as in the rest of the family ; the claws are short. They come entirely from Africa, and 
are found in the west, north-east, and central countries of that continent. We have classified 
them into two subgenera, taking as a distinctive point the occipital crest, which is wanting 
in T. purpuratus and T. goffini. These two species differ so much in the bill from T. mar- 
garitatus and T. squamiceps that we should have been inclined to separate them generically, 
had it not been for T. cafer, which is a decided link between the two sections, having the 
crest of the latter and the bill of the former ; and further, in some specimens, the bill also 
assumes the longer, narrower form of T. margaritatus. 
There can be no doubt that the species of this genus are able to and do climb both up 
and down trees ; for Mr. J. Keast Lord, a well known observer of nature, when showing us 
a specimen of T. margaritatus he had obtained in North Africa, said that he shot the bird 
climbing up the trunk of one of the giant cactus trees, and thought it was a Woodpecker 
until he got the bird in his hand. Governor Ussher, in writing from Tan tee to Mr. E. B. 
Sharpe, remarks, about T. goffini, that he found them running up and down the trunks of 
the palm trees ; and from his observations they much resembled the Picidce in their habits. 
They feed principally on insects and their larvae, which they find in the crevices of the bark 
on the trunks of the trees, and also on fruits and berries. They have a loud ringing note, 
apparently similar to that of the other genera. They build generally in holes in trees. An 
instance is recorded by Heuglin of a nest of T. margaritatus being found in a bank ; but this 
appears to be of rare occurrence. Their flight is undulating and rapid ; and they are 
generally found in the forests. 
We divide them as follows: — 
A'. Cauda louga ; eulmine orbiculato. 
a. Occipite cristato. 
Supra niger albo variegatus T. cafer. 
V. S uprii, terricolor albo punctati. 
a". Subter haud squamatus T. margaritatus. 
b". Subter squamatus T. squamiceps. 
b. Occipite haud cristato. » 
a'. Hypochondriis sulphureis immaculatis T. goffini. 
b'. Hypochondriis nigris sulphureo punctatis T. purpuratus. 
3. Genus Caloramphus. 
Characteristics. — Eictal bristles entirely wanting, bill nearly as long as the head, and very 
much compressed, the culmen is acute and well defined ; the mandibles do not bulge out at 
the base; the culmen slopes towards the tip, which overhangs the lower mandible; the 
gonys ascends very slightly; the nostrils are rounded; the feathers of the head are stiff- 
shafted, and extend into short bristles beyond the webs; the upper plumage is entirely 
