able beaks, which they do not
hesitate to use for aggressive purposes. As regards the nests they
excavate, the eggs they lay, the pad that grows on the hocks of young
birds, and their flight, they resemble their cousins the woodpeckers.
But they are fruit-eating birds, and not insectivorous; it is this
that constitutes the chief difference between them and the
woodpeckers. Barbets are found throughout the tropical world. A
number of species occur in India. The best known of these is the
coppersmith, or crimson-breasted barbet (_Xantholaema haematocephala_),
the little green fiend, gaudily painted about the head, which makes the
hot weather in India seem worse than it really is by filling the welkin
with the eternal monotone that resembles the sound of a hammer on a
brazen vessel. Nearly as widely distributed are the various species of
green barbet (_Thereiceryx_), whose call is scarcely less exasperating
than that of the coppersmith, and may be described as the word _kutur_
shouted many times and usually preceded by a harsh laugh or cackle.

The finest of all the barbets are the _Megalaemas_. The great
Himalayan barbet attains a length of 13 inches. There is no lack of
colour in its plumage. The head and neck are a rich violet blue. The
upper back is brownish olive with pale green longitudinal streaks.
The lower back and the tail are bright green. The wings are green
washed with blue, brown, and yellow. The upper breast is brown, and
the remainder of the lower plumage, with the exception of a scarlet
patch of feathers under the tail, is yellow with a blue band running
along the middle line. This bright red patch under the tail is not
uncommon in the bird world, and, curiously enough, it occurs in birds
in no way related to one another and having little or nothing in common
as regards habits. It is seen in many bulbuls, robins, and woodpeckers,
and in the pitta. The existence of these red under tail-coverts in
such diverse species can, I think, be explained only on the hypothesis
that there is an inherent tendency to variation in this direction
in many species.

A striking feature of the great Himalayan barbet is its massive yellow
bill, which is as large as that of some species of toucan. Although
the bird displays a number of brilliant colours, it is not at all
easy to distinguish from its leafy surroundings. It is one of those
birds which are heard more often than seen.

Barbets are never so happy as when listening