The Only Ally To This Bird Is Found In
Ceram, And Has The Feathers Of The Crest Elongated Upwards Into
Quite A Different Form.
A still more curious bird is the Scissirostrum pagei, which
although it is at present classed in the Starling
Family, differs
from all other species in the form of the bill and nostrils, and
seems most nearly allied in its general structure to the Ox-
peckers (Buphaga) of tropical Africa, next to which the
celebrated ornithologist Prince Bonaparte finally placed it. It
is almost entirely of a slatey colour, with yellow bill and feet,
but the feathers of the rump and upper tail-coverts each
terminate in a rigid, glossy pencil or tuft of a vivid crimson.
These pretty little birds take the place of the metallic-green
starlings of the genus Calornis, which are found in most other
islands of the Archipelago, but which are absent from Celebes.
They go in flocks, feeding upon grain and fruits, often
frequenting dead trees, in holes of which they build their nests;
and they cling to the trunks as easily as woodpeckers or
creepers.
Out of eighteen Pigeons found in Celebes, eleven are peculiar to
it. Two of them, Ptilonopus gularis and Turacaena menadensis,
have their nearest allies in Timor. Two others, Carpophaga
forsteni and Phlaegenas tristigmata, most resemble Philippine
island species; and Carpophaga radiata belongs to a New Guinea
group. Lastly, in the Gallinaceous tribe, the curious helmeted
Maleo (Megacephalon rubripes) is quite isolated, having its
nearest (but still distant) allies in the Brush-turkeys of
Australia and New Guinea.
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