122 
Dr. Heuglin on new or little-known Birds 
frequent woodland districts. In tlie lower ‘Deka’* appear 
P. saltii, P. vieillotii, and P. undatus. I have also myself observed 
a species of Barbatula in the Dallager valley in Abyssinia, at an 
elevation of from 5000 to 6000 feet above the level of the sea; 
its appearance there, however, is very unusual. 
With the exception of the Trachyphoni , the Capitonidce are 
not shy birds, though quiet and solitary, and always keeping to 
the high trees and bushes. The Trachyphoni are frequently 
seen in the plains, and although also shy, are of a much more 
lively and wandering nature than the Pogonorhynchi and Barha- 
tulce. The note of the Trachyphoni is loud and very melodious; 
they run (though in a different manner from Woodpeckers) up 
and down the trunks of trees, feeding upon insects, berries, and 
fruits, as they hop from branch to branch. Their flight is short, 
but rapid; their course consisting of a series of numerous undu¬ 
lations. I never saw any of the species of this group on the 
ground. I am not acquainted with the mode of propagation of 
these birds, except that Trachyphonus margaritatus builds in holes 
of trees, and lays white eggs, usually from four to six in number. 
In the months of October and November I have often seen half- 
fledged young ones of this species clustering together, in the 
peculiar way that may be observed in some of the European 
genera ( Parus, for instance), and sitting on the smooth side of 
the small branches, chirping as they await their parents. With 
raw flesh and hard and soft-boiled eggs I have kept some of 
them a long time in confinement. 
The Capitonidce of N.E. Africa are not exactly migratory, 
though they appear at the time when the Sycamores {Ficus 
sycomorus ) are ripe in countries where they are not generally 
met with. 
I now give an account of the species known to me, and add 
descriptions and figures of some new ones. 
* The f Deka ’ in Abyssinia is the term which includes the mountainous 
country from an elevation of 6000 feet upwards to the Snow-region. The 
vegetation of the ‘ Delca’ is distinguished from that of the low-lying 
4 Kolia 5 by its evergreen foliage. The Kolia is the region of Bamboos and 
different sorts of forest-trees, whose leaves fall in the early spring, and are 
replaced at the beginning of the rainy season. 
