Nat. Size

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THE HELMET SHRIKE.

The HELMET SHRIKE (Prionops poliocephalus or Prionops cristatus) is easily recognisable by the remarkable plume, composed of stiff, hairy feathers, with which the head is decorated. Some of these hairy feathers cover the nostrils and base of the beak, and incline forwards, whilst the rest rise directly from the top of the head, and combining, form a crest that in shape resembles the upper part of a helmet. The eyelids are brightly coloured, and in texture similar to the cere with which our readers have become familiar in the Raptores. The wings, in which the third quill exceeds the rest in length, although of considerable size, do not cover more than a third of the very long and rounded tail; the tarsi are short, and the toes long. The plumage is soft, thick, and very simply coloured; the mantle-quills and a large portion of the tail are black; the crest, head, nape, and entire under surface white. An indistinct yellowish line passes over the back of the head. The inner web and tips of the primary quills, the tips of the secondaries and the exterior tail-feathers are white; the rest are tinted with a mixture of black and white, in which the former predominates. The eye is pearl-grey, and its lid bright orange, the feet cinnabar-red, and the beak black. Heuglin tells us that the crest of the young bird is short, and shaded with grey. The length of this species is eight and its breadth thirteen inches; the wing measures four inches and a half and the tail thirteen and a half. Rüppell found large flocks of Helmet Shrikes inhabiting the valleys on the Abyssinian coast, where they lived, like their congeners, in low bushes, and subsisted upon insects. Nevertheless, this writer states that he never saw them again in his travels through other parts of that country. We ourselves were, on one occasion, fortunate enough to see a considerable party of these remarkable-looking birds in the forests near the Blue Nile. Such slight observations as we were able to make would seem to indicate that their mode of life is very similar to that of the last-mentioned group. Heuglin only met with this species during the rainy season, and therefore concludes that it is of migratory habits.

The RAVEN SHRIKES (Thamnophili) constitute a very peculiar group inhabiting South America, Africa, and New Holland, closely allied to the Shrikes, though differing from them in so many particulars that ornithologists are as yet at variance respecting their classification, founding their difference of opinion upon the peculiar construction of the singing apparatus observable in some species. These birds are for the most part of moderate size, with powerfully constructed bodies; their wings are either of medium length, or short and much rounded, whilst the tail is subject to many varieties of form; the tarsi, which are usually long and slender, always exceed the centre toe in length, this latter is united with the exterior toe as far as the first joint, whilst on the inner side the toes are entirely unconnected. The elongate beak, which is always more or less straight at its culmen, curves abruptly towards its tip, where it exhibits tooth-like appendages. The margins of the bill are sharp and compressed; the plumage of some species is rich, soft, and in many instances striking in appearance, owing to the long and almost wool-like feathers upon the back; the base of the beak is usually surrounded by a growth of bristles.

We are entirely without particulars as to the life and habits of several members of this group, and must therefore avoid any general description.

The CROW SHRIKES (Cracticus), according to Gould, who first described them, closely resemble the Piping Crows in appearance.