6 
PICARIAN BIRDS. 
Among them, the emerald cuckoo (Ghrysococcyx smaragdineus ) is one of the most 
beautiful of birds, being of a brilliant metallic emerald-green on the upper-parts, 
and also on the throat and chest; while the breast and under-parts are bright 
yellow. Found all over tropical Africa, it inhabits the wooded country, and is 
conspicuous, not only from its brilliant coloration, but also from its habit of 
sitting on the top of a tree, sometimes for hours together, uttering its loud call of 
love or defiance. The typical golden cuckoo ( C . cupreus), illustrated on our first 
page, is a somewhat smaller species, with the plumage of a metallic golden-green 
yellow-billed cuckoo (| nat. size). 
hue, the throat being white. Mr. Layard says that “ this beautiful little cuckoo is 
known by the name of Didric, from its oft-repeated mournful cry of di-di-di- 
didric. We have frequently seen a dozen or more in a morning, while their loud 
notes were incessantly ringing in our ears; they are, however, so shy, that we only 
procured three specimens in as many months. When calling, they perch on the 
summit of some dead branch, ready to do battle with any male, or engage in an 
amorous chase after any female that comes within their ken. They pursue each 
other with great ardour, turning, twisting, and dashing about with great rapidity. 
The stomachs of those examined contained nothing but small insects, chiefly 
swallowed whole.” Mr. Ayres has found the remains of an egg of the Cape 
