CORACIANjE. 
rounded, with the lateral feathers sometimes lengthened. Tarsi much shorter than the middle toe- 
Toes moderate, free at the base, with the outer toe nearly as long as the middle one ; the hind toe l° n o ’ 
the claws moderate, curved, and acute. 
These birds are found in Africa, India, New Guinea, and Australia, and, owing to their migratory habits, are someth* 16 
obtained in various parts of Europe, and even in England. Their food, which consists chiefly of insects and fruh 
causes them to move about from place to place ; and they are generally observed in wooded districts, solitary or in P aU ^ 
perched upon one of the top branches, usually selecting a dead one, and occasionally taking flight to a short distance 
seize an insect on the wing, and then returning again to the same spot or one very near it. The nest is placet! 1 2 3 
holes of decayed trees ; the female lays from four to seven eggs. 
1. C. garrula Linn. PI. enl. 486., Le Vaill. Ois. de Parad. t. 32. 
33. 
2. C. caudata Linn. PI. enl. 88. — Coracias senegalensis Gmel. 
Edwards’s Birds, pi. 327- ; C. senegala Lath. ; C. abyssinica Gmel. 
PI. enl. 626. ; C. albifrons Shaw, Le Vaill. Ois. de Parad. t. 25 . ; 
C. abyssinus Bodd. 
3. C. indica Linn. Edwards’s Birds, pi. 326. — Coracias benga- 
lensis Linn. PI. enl. 285. ; C. naevia Daud. ; C. pilosa Lath. ; C. 
crinita Shaw, Le Vaill. Ois. de Parad. t. 27, 28, 29- 
C trl Vl® 4 * 
• 
Lath. ? 
5. C. Temminelcii (Vieill.) Wagl. Le Vaill. Ois. de Parad. t. 
Coracias papuensis Quay et Gaim. Voy.de l’Astrol. Ois. t. id- ^ 
6. C. cyanogaster Cuv. Le Vaill. Ois. de Parad. t. 26., J ar 
Selby’s 111. Om. pi. 123., Swains. Birds of W. Afr. ii. pi. 1®. 
7. C. nuchalis Swains. Birds of W. Afr. ii. p. 110. 
8. C. affinis IVPClell. Proc. Z. S. 1839- 164. 
Eurystomus Vieill* 
Bill short, strong, depressed and broad at the base, the sides much compressed towards the tip, W ^' C 
is hooked ; the nostrils basal, lateral, oblique, and partly covered by a plumed membrane. Wings !° lln 
and pointed, with the second quill the longest. Tail moderate and even. Tarsi much shorter th aI 
the middle toe, and covered with transverse scales. Toes long, united at the base, with the lateral toC 
unequal, the outer the longest, and the hind toe long ; the claws moderate, curved, and acute. 
They 
$c e 
The warmer parts of the Olcl World and Australia are inhabited by the birds that compose this genus, 
usually seen perched on the top of some high tree or decayed branch, whence they dart more easily upon their I ^ 
which consists principally of insects and fruits. They are very noisy birds while on the wing, and even 
perched. Their flight is like that of the swallow, and is mostly performed during the evening. 
1. E . orientalis (Linn.) PI. enl. 619., Le Vaill. Ois. de Parad. t. 
36. — Eurystomus fuscicollis et E. cyanicollis Vieill. 
2. E. madagascariensis (Gmel.) PI. enl. 501., Le Vaill. Ois. de 
Parad. t. 34. — Eurystomus violaceus Vieill. 
3. E. afra (Lath.) Le Vaill. Ois. de Parad. t. 35. — Eurystomus 
purpurascens et E. rubescens Vieill. 
4. E. gularis (Vieill.) Le Vaill. Ois. de Parad. t. 56. 
5. E. viridis (Wagl.) Syst. Avium, sp. 5. flU s 
6. E. pacificus (Lath.) Lamb. Icon. ined. ii. 83. — Eury 5 ^ e i 
australis Swains. Gould’s B. of Austr. pi. ; E. orientalis 
Horsf. 
7. E. collaris Vigors, Zool. Journ. v. p. 273. 
* 
This genus was established in 1816 by Vieillot ( Analyse , p. 
37.), and in 1817 Cuvier published Colaris, which is coequal - 
June, 1845. 
3 c 
