78 
NATURAL HISTORY. [UPPER FLOOR. 
The family of Woodpeckers (Cases 38 and 39) are cha¬ 
racterized by their wedge-shaped beak with hard points, 
by their exsertile tongue, and by the tips of their tail fea¬ 
thers being produced and rigid. 
The family of Cuckoos (Cases 40 and 41) have a slightly 
arched, compressed beak, and Jong rounded tail; they live 
chiefly on insects, and many of the species are birds of 
passage. In the Coucals, the claws of the hind toes are 
elongated, resembling those of the Larks. The Indicators 
live chiefly on the wild bees of Africa, and serve to point 
out their nests to the natives, w'hence their name. They 
are furnished with a very hard skin, but the bees attack 
their eyes. 
The family of Barbels (Case 42) have large conical 
beaks, swollen out at the sides, and surrounded at the base 
by bristles; they live chiefly on fruit, but some eat in¬ 
sects, and even attack small birds : some species have large 
teeth on the side of the bill. The Curucuis differ only 
in having shorter beaks, and by being covered with very 
fine, soft feathers ; many of them are beautifully coloured ; 
they live chiefly in low damp woods, flying in the evening. 
The Toucans (Cases 43 and 44) are known by their 
enormous, light, cellular beaks, which are irregularly 
notched on the edge, and by their peculiar, long, feather¬ 
like tongues; they live on fruit and small birds; they are 
only found in tropical America. 
The family of Hornbills (same Cases), which come from 
India and Africa, have a large beak, like the Toucans, 
but heavier, and varying greatly in shape according to the 
age of the bird; they feed on fruit, mice, small birds 
and reptiles. 
The Gallinaceous Birds (Cases 45—57) usually lay 
their eggs on the earth ; the males are generally poly¬ 
gamous. The Pheasants and Grous. which constitute the 
first group, have the hind toes placed higher on the tarsus 
than the rest, so that only the tip touches the ground; the 
former have the nostrils covered by a naked, horny scale, 
the legs not feathered, and those of the male generally 
furnished with spurs; in the latter the scale covering the 
nostrils is always feathered, and the legs generally so. In 
these Cases there is a great variety of Birds of this tribe, 
amongst which may be seen, in Case 45, Jungle and Javan 
