xxxii ON THE GENERA.
The rictal bristles are almost entirely wanting. The plumage is very soft and loose, t he
wings are short and very rounded, t h e fifth and sixth quills being t h e longest; the tail is
long and graduated, being about the same length as t h e wing. The legs and feet are the
same as in t h e rest of t h e family; the claws a r c short. They come entirely from Africa, and
are found in t h e west, north-east, and central countries of t h a t continent. We have classified
t h em into two subgenera, t a k i n g as a distinctive point the occipital crest, which is wanting
in T. purpuratus and T. goffini. These two species differ so much in the bill from T. margaritatus
and T. squamiceps that we should have been inclined to separate them generically,
had it not been for T. cafer, which is a decided link between the two sections, having t he
crest of the l a t t e r and t h e bill of t h e former; and further, in some specimens, t h e bill also
assumes t h e longer, narrower form of T. margaritatus.
There can be n o doubt that the species of this genus are able to and do climb both up
and down t r e e s ; for Mr. J . Keast Lord, a well known observer of nature, when showing us
a specimen of T. margaritatus he had obtained in North Africa, said that he shot t h e bird
climbing up t h e t r u n k of one of t h e giant cactus trees, and thought it was a Woodpecker
until he got t h e bird in his hand. Governor Ussher, in writing from Fantee to Mr. R. B .
Sharpe, remarks, about T. goffini, that he found them running up and down the t r u n k s of
t h e palm trees; and from his observations they much resembled the Picidai in their habits.
They feed principally on insects and t h e i r larvae, which they find in t h e crevices of t h e bark
on the trunks of the trees, and also on fruits and berries. They have a loud ringing note,
apparently similar to t h a t of t h e other genera. They build generally in holes in trees. An
instance is recorded by I l e u g l i n of a nest of T. margaritatus being found in a b a n k ; but this
appears to be of rare occurrence. Their flight is undulating and r a p i d ; and t h e y a re
generally found in t h e forests.
We divide them as follows:—
A'. Cauda longa; culmine orbiculato.
a. Occipitc cristato.
«'. Supril niger albo variegatus . . . .
6'. Suprii terricolor albo punctati.
a". Subter baud squamatus . . . .
b". Subter squamatus
b. Occipitc baud cristato.
a'. Hypochondrias sulpburcis immaculatis
b'. Hypochondrias nigris sulpliureo punctatis
3. Genus CALORAJIPIIUS.
T. cafer.
T. margaritatus.
T. .squamiceps.
T. goffini.
T. purpuratus.
Characteristics.—Bictal bristles entirely wanting, bill nearly as long as t h e head, and very
much compressed, the culmen is acute and well defined; the mandibles do not bulge out a t
the base; the culmen slopes towards the tip, which overhangs the lower mandible; the
gonys ascends very slightly; t h e nostrils are rounded; t h e feathers of t h e head are stiffshafted,
and extend into short bristles beyond the webs; the upper plumage is entirely
CONSPECTUS AVIUM CAPITONIDARUM. xxxni
dark earthy brown. The wings are of moderate length, t h e third, fourth, fifth and sixth
quills being subequal and longest; tail medium length and rounded at the sides; tarsus
short; feet as in t h e other genera.
There are only two species belonging to this strange genus, which differs greatly in personal
appearance from any other of t h e family, and, a s Mr. Blyth justly remarks, closely
resembles the smaller members of t h e Ramphastida; group.
They are small dingy birds. The bill when seen in profile looks huge in comparison with
the size of t h e b i r d ; but when seen from above, it is n o t broader than that of a Sylvia.
Some authors consider that t h e difference is only sexual, and t h a t both come from Sumatra
(as is t h e opinion of Mons. Jules Verreaux). Mr. A. B . Wallace, t h e latest scientific ornithologist
who has visited Borneo and Sumatra, and obtained both species, has no hesitation
in saying, from his own experience, that the red-breasted bird is Bornean, and t h e yellowbreasted
Sumatran. This evidence is sufficient to warrant a separation.
B". Culmine acuto compresso.
d. Pectore rubro C. fuliginosus.
b. Pectore flavescente C. lathami.
4. Genus STACTOLJSMA.
Characteristics.—Bictal bristles almost entirely wanting; bill a l i t t l e shorter than t he
head, culmen acute, but inflated, and sloping towards the t i p , which slightly overhangs t he
lower mandible; the gonys ascends somewhat towards the t i p ; t h e nostrils are basal and
rounded; the wings and tail moderate in l e n g t h ; legs and feet as in other genera. General
plumage rufescent brown, with a yellow head and throat. We proposed this genus for a
species sent from Africa by Anchieta, which we could not identify with any known genus.
Nothing is known of its habits.
C". Culmine acuto inflato.
a. Brunneo-rufescens, capite guttureque sulpbureis . . . . S. anchieta;.
CONSPECTUS AVIUM CAPITONIDARUM.
A. Rostro dentato Pogonorhynchina.
A'. Mandibular apice bifurcato Tetragonops.
a. Gutture cineracco «. T. ramphaslinus.
b. Gutture oliváceo T.frantzii.
B'. Maxilla dentata.
A". Pectore setis nigris ornato Tricholama.
a. Supra nigra flavipunctatíi T. hirsuta.
B". Pectore setis baud ornato Pogonorhynchus.
a. Majores, rostro flavicante, valdé dentato.
a'. Gutture coccíneo; pectore nigro P- dubius.
U. Gutture pectoreque nigris P- rolletti.
e