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