EASTERN ETHIOPIA 
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382 
and skulks in the reed-beds, where it makes a peculiar 
, whoop-whoop, and is often noisy in the early morning 
and at eventide. The coucal has powerful feet, which 
enable it to clutch the smooth slantino; stem of the 
papyrus, and sometimes slides down it like an acrobat. 
The bird looks very handsome when it perches in the 
The Racket-winged Nightjar (J/acrod^y^er^/a; 7nacrodipterus)\\ii^ 
the ninth primary elongated in each wing. When flying 
in the dusk it appears like three birds—a big bird with 
two smaller birds mobbing it. 
middle of a papyrus umbel, its dusky white breast and 
belly and chestnut head, back, wings and broad tail 
then showing to great advantage. 
One species of coucal makes a noise like water 
o:uroiing out oF an inverted bottle : for this it is some- 
times called the “ water-bottle bird.” 
It is more common for the tail feathers to elongate in 
