Africana), which appears during the shortlived twilight, and moves with rapid flight. We may place, as intermediate between the regular birds of prey and the passerine species, those called butcher-birds, of which Africa produces a great variety. The habits of the collared shrike (Lanius collaris) are particularly described by Le Vaillant. When it sees a locust, a mantis, or a small bird, it springs upon it, and immediately carries it off, in order to impale it on a thorn, which it does with great dexterity, always passing the thorn through the head of its victim. Every animal which it seizes is subjected to the same fate; and it thus continues all day long its murderous career, apparently instigated rather by the love of mischief than the desire of food. Its throne of tyranny is usually a dry and elevated branch of a tree, from which it pounces on all intruders, driving off the stronger and more troublesome, and impaling the weaker in the manner just described. When hungry, it visits its shambles, and helps itself to a savoury meal. The Hottentots assured Le Vaillant that it does not love fresh food, and therefore leaves its prey on the gibbet till it becomes putrescent. But beneath the scorching sun of Africa the process of decomposition sometimes does not take place, from the rapid exhalation of the animal fluids in a warm and arid atmosphere; and, consequently, whatever spiny shrub may have been chosen by the butcherbird as the place of execution, is frequently found covered, not with sweet-smelling and many-coloured blossoms, but with the dried carcasses of singing-birds, and the bodies of locusts and other insects of the larger size. This unamiable and irascible creature is figured and described in the fourth part (plate 52) of the valuable" Illustrations of Ornithology," by Sir William Jardine and Mr Selby. Several species of shrike likewise occur in the island of Madagascar. The Cape thrush (genus Brachypus, Swainson) is found, as its name imports, in Southern Africa, and T. Phænicopterus, Temm., occurs in Senegal. Its plumage is of a fine bronzed black, glossed with blue and violet; the wings and tail are dull black, all the feathers being edged with metallic green; the wing-coverts are bright-red; the beak and legs are black. If we were to regard the thrush genus as formerly constituted, we should here name some of the most splendid of the feathered race; for example, the shining thrush, and that other species called the blue and green daw by Edwards, both of which probably belong to the genus Lamprotornis, the greater proportion of which seems peculiar to Africa. The rose-coloured ouzel, one of the rarest and most beautiful of British birds, is also found in Africa, where its love of locusts is more amply gratified than we hope it will ever be in this cold and cloudy clime. Passing over the extensive family of the Sylviada, which includes the finest song-birds of temperate countries, we may here repeat the common remark, that the feathered tribes of tropical and other sultry regions are in general more distinguished for their gorgeous plumage than the varied intonation of their voices. It is chiefly among the obscure and monotonouslyplumed species that we find the most accomplished warblers, such as the sombre nightingale, which in the leafy arbours of France and England makes such rich amends for his unadorned and quaker-like attire :— "The wakeful bird Sings darkling, and, in shadiest covert hid, Among the Fringillide we may notice the buntings, of which the Whidah-bird, or long-tailed bunting (genus Vidua, Cuvier), is remarkable for the changes which the male bird assumes at certain seasons of the year, and which, from the dropping away of the lengthened feathers of the tail, and the alteration in the colours of various parts of the plumage, produce a total difference in the appearance of that sex. Angola is its native country, though there is a nearly-allied species from the Cape of Good Hope. The Greeks applied the name Koλolos to a small species of crow, probably the jackdaw. The same term has been used in later times to designate a genus of birds found in Africa, though not peculiar to that continent, the genus Colius. These creatures, though the structure of their feet offers no analogous formation, climb trees like parroquets, dwell in large troops, build together numerous nests on the same bushes, and are sometimes found sleeping together in masses, suspended by the feet, with their heads downwards. They live on fruits, and occur both at the Cape of Good Hope and in Senegal. Of the genus Buphaga, peculiar to Africa, there are only two species, called the African and the red-billed Beef-eaters; the former being a singular bird, both in its aspect and manners. It is frequent in Senegal, and its food consists of the larvæ of cestri or gadflies, which it picks from beneath the skin of the larger cattle. Le Vaillant also observed it in the country of the Namaquas, and he states that it is usually seen in flocks of six or eight together. Several species of roller inhabit the African continent. The European one, commonly so called (Coracias garrula), is in fact of African origin, although it sometimes beautifies the woods of more northern countries with its azure hues. Other species are found in the Angolese and Abyssinian territories. Of the goatsucker tribe, generically distributed over almost every country of the world, Africa also possesses a few species, of which one of great beauty was lately discovered in Nubia and Sennaar, by Rüppell, the Frankfort traveller. It is the Caprimulgus eximius of M. Temminck. The last-named genus conducts naturally to the swallow tribe, of which Africa, if not the native country, is at least *Although Pliny mentions the song of the female nightingale, we are not aware that she has been observed to sing in more modern times. However, the words of Milton are sacred. supposed to share with us the society of our native species for one-half of the year. Besides its migratory kinds, however, it possesses several of a less roving character, which dwell there throughout the entire season, and remain for ever in ignorance of those cool and refreshing waters into which our own delightful visitants are so often seen to dip their slender wings. The hoopoes resemble the swallows in their periodical movements; but they are classed with the Tenuirostres, on account of their slender bills. The common hoopoe, though an African bird, has been several times shot in Britain; and the marcheur largup of Le Vaillant appears to belong to the same genus, and inhabits the country of the Caffres. Nearly united to the last-named species are the promerops, a limited but magnificent group, different species of which are found in Africa, India, and New Guinea. The most remarkable of the African kinds is the red-billed promerop (P. erythrorhyncus), probably first described by Dr Latham from a specimen in the collection of the Duchess of Portland. Its length, including the tail, is fifteen inches. The general colour is black, glossed with red, violet, and golden-green; the red predominates on the head, the golden-green on the wing-coverts, and the violet on the back and tail. All the tail-feathers, except the two in the centre, are marked near the tip by an oval white spot on each side the web; and several of the quillfeathers of the wings have also a white spot on their inner webs, near the tip. The bill is long, slender, moderately curved, and of a red or orange colour. The legs are also red. Although Africa cannot boast of possessing any of those jewels of ornithology, the fairy humming-birds, which dart like sunbeams among the flowery parterres of the western world, "And on their restless fronts Bear stars, illumination of all gems!" yet the eye of the naturalist who has witnessed the unsurpassed splendour of the soui-mangas or sugar-eaters, will scarcely desiderate any other beauty. These birds, belonging to the genus Cynniris of Baron Cuvier, were formerly classed with the creepers. They are distinguished by their long and slender bills, the mandibles of which are finely toothed or serrated on their edges; and their tongues, which are capable of considerable extension, are terminated by a small fork. Several of the species occur in the Indian Archipelago, but the greater proportion are of African origin, and may be said to form the most signal and admired feature in the ornithology of that country. The superb creeper is an elegant bird, described and figured in the magnificent work of M. Vieillot. Its length is six inches: the crown of the head, upper part of the neck, smaller wingcoverts, back, and rump, are bright greenish gold; the throat is violet-blue, glossed with gold; across the upper part of the breast runs a bar of bright gilded yellow, beneath which the whole upper parts are deep-brownish crimson; the wings and tail are blackish-brown; the legs are also brown, and the bill is black. This species was discovered in Malemba, by M. Perrien, and is one of the rarest, as well as most beautiful of the genus. Another highly-adorned species, such as "Limners love to paint, and ladies to look upon," is called, par excellence, the African creeper. It is a native of the Cape of Good Hope, and is found in woody situations. In addition to a splendid plumage, it is highly admired for its musical powers, and its song is by some esteemed equal to that of the nightingale. The spotted-breasted creeper (C. maculata) dwells in the forests of Malemba, and frequently approaches the habitations of the natives, allured by the flowers of the cytisus cajan, commonly called the Congo pea, which according to Dr Shaw is much cultivated by the negroes. The violet-headed creeper (C. violacea) is a native of the Cape. It likewise dwells in woods, and is said to build a nest of singularly elegant and ingenious structure; but our restricted limits will not admit of our expatiating on this delightful tribe. The next African genus which claims our attention is Merops, which includes the bee-eaters, a group not more remarkable for beauty of colour than gracefulness of form. These birds feed on insects, and build their nests in the holes of banks; and the common bee-eater (Merops apiaster), notwithstanding its designation, is one of the rarest in European ornithology, and certainly one of the most beautiful. It occurs in Africa, and spreads from thence into Greece and the Mediterranean Archipelago. Many other species inhabit this continent; but for these we must refer the reader to Le Vaillant and other writers. Amid the infinitely-varied forms and colours which characterize and adorn the feathered race, we know of none more worthy of admiration than those exhibited by the great family of the kingfishers. The size and length of the bill are indeed somewhat disproportioned to the dimensions of the body; but the shining silky lustre of the plumage, and the finely-varied hues of the most brilliant green and blue, contrasted with different shades of orange, black, and brown, render this genus one of the most showy and attractive within the range of the ornithological system. The continent which forms the subject of our present disquisition is rich in them. We shall at present, however, mention only the Smyrna kingfisher (A. Smyrnensis), which, when in perfect condition, is one of the most brilliant of the feathered race-" the lucid blue of the wings," says Dr Shaw," scarcely yielding in lustre to those of the splendid butterfly called Papilio Menelaus." Its colours seem to vary in different individuals. Several fine species of this extensive genus occur in the island of Madagascar. Among the more remarkable of the African birds we must not omit to mention the species of the genus Buceros, commonly called hornbills. These occur also in Celebes and the Philippine Islands, but many species are peculiar to Africa. They may indeed be said to occupy the same station in the old world as the toucans do in the new. Both are alike distinguished by the enormous size of their bills, and by a mixture in their dispositions of the carnivorous with the frugivorous propensities. The African hornbill (B. Africanus) is entirely black, and nearly as large as a turkey. The only other species of this singular genus which we shall mention, is the crowned hornbill (B. coronatus). Compared with the preceding it is a very small bird, scarcely equalling the dimensions of a magpie. Le Vaillant saw a flock of more than 500 of them assembled in company with crows and vultures, and preying on the remains of slaughtered elephants. The crowned variety is figured by Mr Swainson in the third volume of his beautiful Illustrations. We shall now take a brief view of the scansorial or climbing birds of Africa. Several woodpeckers inhabit this continent. The double-bearded species (Picus diophrys) is seen in the Southern parts; and the crested woodpecker (P. minutus, Temm.) is found in Senegal. The gold-shafted woodpecker (now placed in the genus Colaptes) is likewise an African species. Many kinds of cuckoo occur in Africa. The old Linnæan genus Cuculus has been greatly subdivided by modern writers. The group included under the genus Centropus are remarkable for the long claw with which the inner hind toe is furnished, and they are found in India, Africa, and the island of Java. The didric or shining cuckoo (Cuculus auratus) is probably the most beautiful of the tribe. The upper parts of the plumage are of a rich golden-green; on the head are five stripes of white, two above the eyes, like eyebrows, passing behind; two more, shorter and narrower, beneath the eyes; and one on the middle of the forehead. The wing and tail coverts, and the secondary quills, are tipped with white. Most of the under parts are likewise white. This bird was found by Le Vaillant, inwards from the Cape, near Kok's Kraal. He named it didric, from its continually uttering these syllables in various modulations, when perched on the extremities of large trees. While recording the names of so many species remarkable for their lustrous plumage, we must not here omit to mention others not less notable for their singular instincts and modes of life. Among these the indicators, or honey-guides, by some authors classed with the cuckoos, are deserving of special notice. One species described by Dr Sparrman is said to attract the notice of the Dutch and Hottentots by a shrill cry of Cher, cher; and when it perceives itself observed, it flutters onwards to the hive of a wild bee, in hopes of partaking of the plundered honey. "I have had frequent opportunities of seeing this bird, and have been witness to the destruction of several republics of bees by means of its treachery. I had, however, but two opportunities of shooting it, which I did to the great indignation of my Hottentots.' We may here observe, that naturalists themselves seem occasionally to belong to that irritabile genus, of which poets are |