DRYMOICA SUBSTRIATA. 
situated in a concavity near the base of the upper mandible, and above mem- 
branous. Wings rounded, and when folded reach beyond the first third of the 
tail; the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth, quill feathers nearly equal 
and longest, the third rather shorter, the second considerably shorter than the 
third, and the first rather more than half the length of the second ; the 
secondary and tertiary quill feathers nearly as long as the primaries. Tail 
long and much graduated, the feathers slightly decomposed, the two middle 
ones longest. Tarsi robust, anteriorly scutellated, posteriorly entire ; toes 
long and slender, the outer and middle ones united near the base, the hinder 
toe longest ; claws rather short, slender, and slightly curved, the claw of the 
hinder toe longest. 
DIMENSIONS. 
Inches. Lines. 
Length from the point of the bill to 
the tip of the tail 5 S 
of the bill to the angle of the 
mouth 0 7 
of the wings when folded ... 2 1^ 
of the tail 3 0 
Inches, Lines. 
Length of the tarsus 0 1 0,j 
of the outer toe 0 3f 
of the middle toe 0 5 
of the inner toe 0 31 
of the hinder toe 0 3 
Male. — The male is not known to me. 
So far as my experience goes this is a rare bird in Southern Africa, and the only individuals 
which I have met were on the banks of the Oliphant’s River, about one hundred miles to the 
north of Cape Town. It is generally found in thickets composed of high brushwood or dwarf 
trees, in which it is seen flitting rapidly from branch to branch, apparently in quest of insects, 
which constitute its food. When so employed it carries its tail rather above the line of the 
back, and when it fancies it is perceived it generally remains tranquil for a time; but as soon 
as all danger is supposed to be past, from no act of aggression being committed by the 
individual who intrudes upon its retreat, it again betakes itself to search for food, and so 
continues till it disappears in some distant part of the thicket. 
