a lemur in motion. In the small streams which occur at the bottom of many of the ravines, we may often come across the curious nests of the pensile weaver-bird (_Ploceus pensilis_), which are beautifully and ingeniously constructed, shaped like an inverted chemical retort, and are suspended from the extremities of the branches of the trees and usually over running water. These nests are about a foot or fourteen inches long, the bulb giving ample room for the eggs or nestlings, and the tube, forming the entrance from below, being three to four inches in diameter. The native name for this species, _Fòdifètsy_—_i.e._ the “Crafty Fòdy”—recognises this skill of the bird in protecting its young. The nests of another species are large and simply globular in shape, and, from thirty to forty in number, may be seen hanging from a single tree. The Madagascar bee-eater is one of the most beautiful birds to be seen in the forest, both from its elegance of form and its bright colouring of various shades of green (_Merops superciliosus_). It has a very long curved beak, and an extremely long tail, with two long feathers extending beyond the others. Its nests are excavated about a foot deep on a sand-bank bordering streams. [Sidenote: COUAS] Another group of birds, also conspicuous from their size and colouring, must be noticed here—viz. the couas, a genus of cuckoos peculiar to Madagascar, and of which twelve species are known. They are large and handsomely coloured, and are, says M. Grandidier, strictly local in their habitat, most of them being confined to one district, out of which they are never found. Five species of coua inhabit the forests or wooded regions, while the other seven live on the plains. The blue coua (_Coua cerulea_), the only species I have seen in the upper forest, is fairly common, and is conspicuous from its colouring; while the crested coua is found all over the wooded regions. One of the twelve species goes from rock to rock, seeking the large land-shells which form its principal food (_Coua delalandei_). These molluscs it breaks by striking their shells against a stone, from which habit comes its native name of _Famàki-sìfotra_, or “snail-breaker.” But several chapters would be required to say all that might be said of interest about the birds inhabiting the upper belt of woods, and I will not weary my readers by further descriptions, in this place at least. I will conclude this chapter by quoting a few sentences written about the wonder and mystery of the Madagascar forests by my late friend, Mr Baron; for no one knew better than he did how to explore and how to describe them. After speaking of the fatigue of travelling in the forest, Mr Baron says: