PLATYRHYNCHUS CAPENSIS. 
upper mandible strongly hooked, the lower emarginate and slightly bent 
upwards ; the sides of the upper mandible are convex, and the culmen, 
particularly towards the point of the bill, is distinct though blunt ; nostrils 
and base of bill concealed by strong bristles and rigid wiry feathers, the 
former at the angles of the mouth directed laterally. Wings rather short and 
rounded, and when folded reach nearly to the commencement of the last 
half of the tail. Third and fourth quill feathers longest and equal ; second, 
fifth and sixth slightly shorter, the first about half an inch shorter than the 
third. Tail slightly rounded at the point, the two middle feathers rather 
shorter than those immediately on each side of them. Tarsi short and rather 
slender, scutellated anteriorly, scaled posteriorly; toes long and slender, 
the middle and innermost nearly of equal length and united as far as the third 
joint, the outermost considerably shorter and free except at its base, the hinder 
one nearly of the same length as the outermost ; claws large, pointed and 
much curved. 
DIMENSIONS. 
Inches. 
Lines. 
Inches. 
Lines 
Length from the point of the bill to 
Length of the tarsus 
0 
n 
the tip of the tail 
5 
10 
the outer toe 
0 
H 
of the hill from the angle of the 
the middle toe 
0 
6 
mouth 
0 
n 
the inner toe 
0 
of the wings when folded 
2 
n 
the hinder toe 
0 
4 
of the tail 
2 
ii 
In the female the upper parts of the head are a dusky slate-grey, striped 
with umber brown ; on the back the umber-brown stripes are narrower than 
in the male ; on the under parts they are the reverse. In other respects, the 
colours are nearly the same in both sexes. 
I have not found this species beyond the forests which exist upon the south-east coast, 
towards Delagoa Bay. It frequents chiefly the brushwood which occurs scattered among 
the large trees, though occasionally it also resorts to the trees themselves in search of insects, 
which constitute its food. While hunger presses, it moves incessantly to and fro, and its 
progress from one spot to another is effected with great rapidity, yet so as to admit of its 
readily detecting the objects of which it is in quest, as is evident from the frequency with 
which it is to be seen seizing small Lepidoptertz and other insects, even when on the wing. 
While at rest it is usually found perched in the depths of thickets, and commonly in damp se- 
questered situations. 
Having never had an opportunity of examining recent specimens, I merely surmise the 
individuals in which the head is black to be males ; the reverse, however, may be the case. 
