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Page 138
“...on his
favourite perch, and the Sandpiper (Fandiafasika) was bobbing along
the sand-reaches. The Oriole, the Wagtail, the Hoopoe, and a large bird
like a Shrike were there; even the small Sun-bird (Anatsoy) darted from
place to place, his bright colours sparkling in the light. In about half an
hour I had picked out and obtained the specimens I wanted, among
which was a small Owl, very dark brown with white spots—it was new to
me (Ninox superciliaris)." "Just at the crossing I got another of the
Coua Cuckoos (Taitso)." "On the way to the next village we passed a
small marsh on which were numbers of Muscovy Ducks, and among the
long grass in the valley the Guinea-fowl were seen in hundreds."
1.—The first bird in the arrangement of this Order is the Collared or
White-necked Crow; and although he can by no means be reckoned
as a song-bird, he is a very prominent member of the Avi-fauna of
Imdrina—indeed of the whole of Madagascar,—and must therefore have
a few words of description. This Crow—called...”
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Page 205
“...are stockaded by numerous sharp stiff projections that would be far from
agreeable to the palate of any bird that might make an attempt on the
dainty morsel inside.
Whatever may be said to the contrary, birds are not abundant in the
forest, and of singing birds worth listening to there are absolutely
none. The long and shrill whistle of the black parrot is perhaps
more frequently heard than the voice of any other bird. I have
already referred to the Kankafotra, a kind of cuckoo. Another cuckoo
(Coua ccBrulea, L.), dressed all in blue from head to tail, may very fre-
quently be seen (for it is not at all a shy or timid bird) hopping from
twig to twig on the lower branches of the trees. This bird is a weather
prophet to the natives, for, rightly or wrongly, they assert that if the
Tailso (or Kaitso) calls when the weather is fine, it will be wet, and if
wet, it will be fine. Suspended to branches overhanging the streams
may be frequently seen the nest of the Fodi/etsy (Ploceus pensilis, Gm...”
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Page 229
“... the other does
not fly away, but perches or flies round close at hand calling for its mate.
Of the smaller birds the most noticeable are large flocks of parroquets
(Psiitacula madagascariensis), which keep to the more open tracts; the
honey-bird {Nectarinia souimanga) ; the weaver (Ploceus madagascariensis),
of bright red colour; two kinds of dark blue waterfowl with red beak
and legs (Porphyrio smaragnotus and P. alleni); two kinds of cuckoo,
one a very handsome blue bird with a long tail [Coua azrulea) ; the
other a brown bird with long dark brown tail (Centropus madagas-
cariensis'). The banks of the river are alive with kingfishers (Corythornis
cristatus), which much resemble the English bird, and there is also a
rarer species of red kingfisher {Ipsidina madagascariensis) to be found as
well. A bird almost as common as the kingfisher is the bee-eater
(.Merops madagascariensis), of a bright green colour. Herons and bitterns
are also numerous, and the marshy places are the abode of...”
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