The SINGING DRONGO (_Chaptia musica_) is nine inches long; its wing and
tail both measure four inches and a half. The plumage is of a blueish
black, enlivened by a most brilliant gloss; the wing and tail-feathers
are black; the belly and lower wing-covers dark grey, approaching to
black.
Le Vaillant discovered this bird in South-eastern Africa, and more recent
travellers have seen it in the northern parts of that continent. India
possesses a very similar species, which, however, unlike the rest of the
group, frequently inhabits dense thickets.
* * * * *
The FLAG-BEARING DRONGOS (_Edolius_ or _Dissemurus_) constitute a group
of still more striking birds, with tails in which the exterior feathers
are more than twice the length of those in the centre. The lower half of
these outer feathers is entirely without web, while at the tip the web is
broad at the outer and very narrow on the inner side, so as somewhat to
resemble a flag. The beak is comparatively long and powerful, slightly
compressed at its base and much curved at the culmen, hooked at the
tip, and furnished with teeth-like appendages; the base of the beak is
surrounded with thick soft bristles.