The CADET (_Æthopyga miles_), one of the most beautiful members of this
family, is blood-red on the back; the throat and upper part of the breast
are of a somewhat paler crimson; the top of the head is violet, with a
bright, metallic, green lustre. The nape is deep olive-yellow, and the
belly pale greenish yellow; a steel-blue line, that becomes gradually
broader, passes from the corners of the mouth to the sides of the neck;
the quills are brown, edged with olive; the two centre tail-feathers are
glossy violet-green, and those of the exterior brown, with a purple sheen
on the outer web. The eye is dark brown, the upper mandible black, the
lower one brown, and the foot greyish black. The female is olive-green on
the back, and yellowish green on the under side. The wing measures two
inches and three-eighths, and the tail three inches.
The Cadet inhabits the northern and eastern parts of India, and is often
met with in the Himalayas at an altitude of 2,500 feet above the level of
the sea.
* * * * *
The BENT-BEAKS (_Cyrtostomus_) are distinguishable by their very decidedly
curved beak, which equals the head in length, is blunt at its margins, and
slightly incised towards its very sharp tip; the tarsus is comparatively
high, the tail short and rounded, and the wings, in which the fourth and
fifth quills are the longest, of moderate size. The plumage is of an
olive-green on the upper parts of the body, and brightly coloured in the
region of the throat.