5I2 PERCHING BIRDS. 
wander in flocks all over the plains of India and Burma. The scimitar-babblers 
form another important section of the same family, highly characteristic of tropical 
Asia, and distinguished by their long curved bills; but we are compelled to restrict 
our observations to one or two only of the genera. 
The birds of this group have a fairly stout bill, with the upper 
Typical BatoWers - man ^] ;) j e distinctly arched, while the wing is short and rounded; and 
the metatarsus, toes, and claws are remarkably strong. The style of coloration is 
generally plain and entirely devoid of gorgeous tints. Several species of the true 
ABYSSINIAN BABBLER nat. size). 
babblers are found in the African continent, while others are peculiar to the Indian 
region. Among these the species (Crateropus leucopygius), here illustrated, 
inhabits the forests of Abyssinia, frequenting dense scrub on the slopes of the 
mountains. A social species, and rarely found without companions of its own kind, 
it principally lives in flocks of ten or a dozen individuals, which seek their food 
in company. The flight is laboured, the bird is generally rising but little 
above the ground, in passing from one bush to another. It is a lively noisy 
species like all its congeners, and readily announces its whereabouts by its busy 
chattering. The adult is dark umber-brown above; the sides of the head and 
chin and tail-coverts are white; the lower-parts are dark umber-brown edged 
