FOR THE PEOPLE
FOR EDVCATION
FOR SCIENCE
LIBRARY
OF
THE AMERICAN MUSEUM
OF
NATURAL HISTORY
Bound
THE JOURNAL ^*
OF THE
EDITED BY
Dr. J. W. B. GUNNING,
ALWIIST HAAGNER, F.Z.S., and B. C. R. LANGFORD.
VOLUME VIII.
PUBLISHED BY
THE UNION IN PRETORIA, TRANSVAAL.
LONDON AGENTS :
WITHERBY & CO., 320 HIGH HOLBORN, W.C.
1012.
f^.(o^/^q. 1f^
.r
PREFACE.
>+Ȥ+<
With this, the concluding number of Volume VIII.
we must express regret that more material has not
been available. We are sure there must be more of
our Members who have interesting information to
communicate, if only they will do so.
It is not enough for Members, however keen, to
take a mere personal interest in Ornithology. If
they will not record the results of their observations
for their brother Members, the " Union" is a Union
in name only.
We are pleased to be able to state that the Trans-
vaal Department of Education, as the result of
representations by the S.A.O.U., have had coloured
wall-pictures prepared of the more useful and inter-
esting native birds, which it is hoped will soon appear
in the schools. This cannot fail to be beneficial, as
when the children are made famihar with the birds
and their place in nature it will rouse interest in
their feathered friends.
THE EDITORS.
a t
CONTENTS.
Pages
TlTLEPAGE i
Preface iii
Contexts v
Roll of Members vii-xi
List of Papers, etc., ix tuis Volume xiii-xiv
Subject-matter Index xv-xvi
Journal 1-122
Index 123-131
ROLL OF MEMBERS
AS AT 3 1st October, 1912.
No.
Year of
Election.
1909
1905
1906
1907
6
)j
1905
1904
1907
1908
10
1907
1909
1906
1907
190-1
15
1906
1908
1905
1904
>>
j
Name and Address.
Abdy, Col. A. J. ; c/o Army Headquarters,
London.
Andebsson, Col. C L. ; Box Ul(32, Johannesburg,
Tvl.
BelLjTueodoue; Downside, Epsom, Surrey, England.
Bolus, Frank ; Sherwood, Kenilworth, Cape Town.
Booth, H. B.; "Eyhill," Ben Rhyddiug, Yorkshire,
England.
BouRKE, E. r. ; Box 321, Pretoria, Tvl.
BiauGEMAN, E. O. B., Lieut. R.N. ; Weston Park,
kjhifnal, Salop, England.
Briscoe, Dr. J. E. ; Charlesto\\'n, Natal.
Chambers, Eoland, E.M.; Lindley, O.F.S.
Chubb, E. C. ; Durban Museum, Durban.
Clark-Kennedy, J. W. ; Tvl. Police, Johanneslnn-g.
CocH, Max ; Box 1076, Johannesburg.
Davils, C. G., Sgt. C.M.E. ; Malatiele, East
Griqualand, C.C.
Davy, J. Burtt, E.L.S., E.E.G.S. ; Dept. ol' Agri-
culture, Pretoria, Tvl.
D'EvELi'N, Dr. E. W. ; 210.3 Clinton Av., Alameda,
California, U.S.A.
DoRXAN, Eev. S. S. ; J3ula\\ayo, l^hodesia.
DuERDEN, Prof. J. E.; Ehodes Uni\ersity College,
Grahamstown, C.C.
Fairbridgb, W. G.; 141 Longmarket Street, Cape
To\\n, C.C.
Feltham, H. L. L., F.E.S. ; Box 46, Johannesburg,
Tvl.
vm
No '^^*'" '•^
Election.
Name and Address.
20 1904 I FiiY, Harold A. ; P.O. , Lenz, nr. Johannesburg, Tvl.
1907 GiLFiLLAN, D. F. ; Box 1397, Johannesburg, Tvl.
1909 Godfrey, Eby. E. ; Pirie Forest Mission, King-
williamstovvn.
1908 Graham, Fraxcis, C.C. & E.M. ; Grahamstown,
C.C.
1905 Gra>'T, C. H. B. ; Natural History Museum, South
Kensington, London, England.
25 1906 Groxyold, Henkik ; Natural History Museum,
South Kensington, London, England.
1904 Gunning, J. W. B., M.D., F.Z.S. ; Director, Museum
and Zoological Gardens, Pretoria, Tvl.
1912 Gyde, C. E. ; Auditor, P.W.D., Pretoria.
1904 Haagnbr, Alwin K., F.Z.S., Col.M.B.O.U. ; Box
413, Pretoria, Tvl.
1909 Hale, P. E., Insp. O.E.C. Police; Bethlehem, O.F.S.
30 1907 Halhed, N. G. B., 3rd Battn. Egyptian Army,
Khartoum.
„ Hamilton, Major J. S. ; Warden, Game Eeserve,
Komati Poort, Tvl.
1906 Hamond, PuiLiP, Lieut. 2nd Norfolk Eegt. ; East
Dereham, Norfolk,
1909 Hardtman, E. H. M. ; Wepeuer, O.F.S.
1905 Hatciiard, J. G., F.E.A.S. ; Loco. Drawing Oflicos,
C.S.A.E., Bloerafontein.
35 1908 Heward, James L. ; Taukee-Doodle Mine, Selukwe,
S. Ehodesia.
1912 Hewitt, John, B.A. ; Director, Albany Museum,
Grahamstown.
1905 HoRsiiRUGir, Major Boyd, A.S.C. ; c/o Cox & Co.,
Bankers, 16 Charing Cross, London.
Howard, C. W. ; Dept. of Agriculture, Louren^o
Marques.
1907 Hudson, C. E. ; P.W.D., Pretoria, Tvl.
40 „ Ingle, J. C, F.Z.S. ; c/o M, Leibinitz, Esq., Kobeyns
Pass, Pilgrims Eest.
1905 Innes, Dr. AV^alter, M.B.O.U. ; School of Medicine,
Cairo, Egypt.
1908 Ivy, J. Eobson ; Taxidermist, Church St., Pretoria-
IX
No.
45
50
55
Yftar of
Election.
Name and Addresa.
60
65
1907
1912
1904
1905
1909
1906
1904
1909
1910
1904
1906
1905
1908
1905
1911
1908
1912
1905
1906
1905
1904
1907
1905
Itt, Robert H., F.Z.S. ; Grahamstown, C.C.
Jacottet, Dr. Gustave ; Belfort, Matatiele, East
Griqnaland.
Jeppe, Julius ; Box 60, Johannesburg, Tvl.
Johnston, C. McG. ; Agric. Soc, Mailland Blg.s.,
Bloemfontein,
Johnston, K. Cowper ; AVestminster, O.F.S.
KiRBY, F. V AUG HAN ; Game Conservator, Nongama,
Zulnlaud.
KiRiiT, W. ; Intermediate Pumping Station, Water-
works, Kiuiberley, C.P.
KiRKMAN, Dr. A., M.D. ; Queenstown, C.P.
Knapp, Col. ; Kingwilliamstowu, C.P.
Knobel, J. C. J. ; Porter, Reformatory, Retreat,
C.P.
Langford, B. C. R. ; Box 557, Pretoria, Tvl.
Littledale, H. a. p., Lieut. K.O. Y.L.I. ; The
Castle, Cape Town.
Loubser, M. M. ; Port Elizabeth, C.P.
Mally, C. W., U.S.b. ; Entomologist, Dept. of
Agriculture, Cape Town.
Marthinius, Dr. J. G. ; Distinct Surgeon, Wepener,
O.F.S.
Masterson, B. a. ; Grand Hotel, Ilumansdorp.
Mors, F. E. O. ; De Kroon, P.O. Brits, Tvl.
MowiTz, LB.; 21 Westcroft Square, Ravenscourt
Park, London, AV.
Murray, J. P. ; Maseru, Basutoland.
Nehrkoun, Adolf ; Adolfstrasse, Braunschweig,
Germany.
NooME, F.O. ; c/o Transvaal Museum, Pretoria, Tvl.
Oberholser, Harry C. ; Biological Survey, Washing-
ton, D.C., U.S.A.
Percival, a. B., F.Z.S., M.B.O.tJ. ; Nairobi, Brit.
East Afr. Protectorate.
Peringuey, Dr. L., F.Z.S., &c. ; Director S.A.
Museum, Cape Town.
Pershouse, Stanley, 2nd Border Regt. ; c/o
Messrs. Cox &, Co., 16 Charing Cross, Loudon.
No.
75
80
85
90
Year of
Election.
1908
1904
»>
1907
1908
1906
190-1
1905
1904
1907
1905
1904
1907
1909
1906
1908
1909
1905
1909
1906
1904
1905
Name and Address.
Pheak, H. H. ; Box 424, Kimberley.
Pym, Prank A. O. ; Public Museum, Grahamstown.
Egberts, Austin ; Box 413, Pretoria.
KoBERTS, Eev. Noel ; Christ Church Vicarage,
Pietersburg.
EoBERTSON, Dr. W, ; Bacteriological Laboratorj^
Pretoria.
ScLATER, Arthur L. ;" Helvetia," Southern Mel-
setter, S.E. Ehodesia.
Sheppard, P. A. ; Vumba Exp. Stn., nr. Macequece,
P. E. Af r.
Skea, Ernest M. ; c/o Eose Deep G.M.Co., Johan-
nesburg.
Sparrow, Major E., M.B.O.U. ; Eookwoods, Sible
Headingham, Essex, England.
Swinburne, John, M.B.O.U. ; Eand Nat. Labour
Assoc, Pietersburg, Tvl.
SwiNNY, H. H. ; Port St. Johns, West Pondoland.
SwYNNEBTON, C. F. M. ; GuDgunyana, Melsetter
Dist., S, Ehodesia.
Taylor, C. H. ; Kellowna, British Columbia.
Taylor, L. E. ; Kellowna, British Columbia.
Theiler, Dr. A. ; Taubenbaus Str. No. 10 b,
Lucerne, Switzerland.
Thompson, Chas. S. ; High School, San Bernardino,
California, U.S.A.
TiioMSEN, F. ; Govt. Entomologist, Pretoria.
Tyrrell, E. G. Harcourt ; Greytown, Natal.
Upton, Capt. C, A.S.C. ; 25 Charles St., St. James's
Sq., London.
AViGLKSwouTii, J., M.D.,M.B.O.L^. ; Eainhill, Liver-
pool, Eugland.
Wilde, C. ; AViudhuk, Damaraland.
Wood, A. E., A.E.M. ; Wepener, O.F.S.
Wood, John ; Box 3(53, East London, C.C.
Workman, W. II., :\I.B.O.U. ; Lismore, Belfast,
Ireland.
XI
No.
Year of
Election.
1
1909
2
1908
3
1907
4
1909
5
1904
6
>j
7
1907
8
1904
Name and Address.
Hon. Members.
Allen, Dr. J. A. ; Amer. Museum of Nat. Hist.,
Washington.
BucKNiLL, The Hon. J. A., M.A., F.Z.S. ; The
King's Advocate, Nicosia, Cyprus.
Haetert, Dr. E. ; Director Triug Museum, Tring,
Herts, England.
Heeman, Dr. Otto ; Hung. Central Bureau of
Ornithology, Budapest.
Eeichenow, Dr. A. ; Kaisl. Zool. Museum, In-
validenstrasse, Berlin, Germany.
SCLATEE, P. L., D.Sc, F.R.S. ; Odiham Priory,
Wiuchfield, Hants, England.
ScLATEE, AV. L., M.A., F.Z.S. ; 10 Sloane Court,
London, S.W.
Teimen, E., F.R.S. ; c/o Entomological Society,
London, W.
LIST OF PAPERS, &c.,
IN THIS VOLUME.
Vol. VIII., No. 1, Jah/ 1912.
Page
I. On some Birds in the Durban Museum. By E. C.
Chubb, Cuiator 1
II. Notes on the Migratory Birds of the Bufialo River
Basin. By the Rev. Robert Godfrey 4
III. Field-Notes on Birds collected at Blaauwberg,
Northern Transvaal. By F. 0. Noome 15
IV. Description of a New Flycatcher. By Austin
Roberts 21
V. Notes on a Collection of Birds in the Transvaal
Museum from Boror, Portuguese East Africa. —
Part II. By A ustin Roberts 22
VI. Correspondence 62
VII. Account of the Eighth Annual General Meeting 64
VIII. Occasional Notes 68
IX. Short Notices of Oniitholoiifical Publications 70
XIV LIST OF PAPERS.
Vol. YIII., No. 2, December 1912.
Page
X. Kandom Notes on South African Ornithology. By
C. G. Davies, M.B.O.U 75
XI. The Soutli African Lanner Falcon [Falco biarmirus)
and its Congeners. By B. C. R. Langford. (Plate.) 82
XII. The Wild Birds of the Pretoria Zoological Gardens.
By AuviN Haagner, F.Z.S., Col.M.B.O.U., &c. ... 85
XIII. The Value of Birds to Man. By James Buckland... 92
XIV. Occasional Notes 118
XV. Short Notices of Ornithological Publications 120
Name Index 123
Titlepage, Preface, Contents, Roll of Members, List of
Papers, Subject-matter Index.
SUBJECT-MATTER INDEX,
INCLUDING NAMES OF CONTRIBUTORS.
rage
Abbott, C. J. ' The Home-Life of the Osprey,' noticed 72
Account of Eighth Annual General Meeting 64
' Aquila,' The Pieport of the Roy. Hung. Bur. of Ornithology,
noticed 72
Bittern, The Nesting of the South African 68
Blaauwberg, N. Tvl., Field-Notes on Birds collected at 15
Boror, Portug. East Africa, Notes on a Collection from 22
' British Birds, Hand-list of,' noticed 121
Buckland, James. Value of Birds to Man 92
Buffalo TJiver Basin, Notes on the Migratory Birds of 4
Chubb, E. C. On some Birds in the Durban Museum , . . . 1
Collection of Birds from Boror, Notes on a 22
Correspondence , 62
Davies, C. G. The Nesting of the S.A. Bittern 68
. IJandora Notes on S.A. Ornithology ,,..., 75
Description of a New Flycatcher 21
Durban Museum, On some Birds of the 1
East Africa and Uganda Nat. Hist. Soc, Journal of, noticed .... 121
Falcon, The S.A. Lanner, and its Congeners 82
Field-Notes on Birds collected at Blaauwberg 1/5
' Flight of Birds ' (Headley), noticed 121
Flycatcher, Description of a New (Roberts) 21
' Game Birds of South Africa ' (Hnrsbrugh), noticed 73, 120
Godfrey, Rev. R. Notes on Migratory Birds of the Buffalo River
Basin 4
Grant, Ogilvie-. ' List of British Birds,' noticed 71
Haagner, Alwin. Bird Migration in S. Africa. (Circular.) .... 118
. Wild Birds of the Pretoria Zoo 85
Headley, F. W. ' Flight of Birds,' noticed 121
Hor.sbrugh, Major Boyd. 'The Game Birds of S. Africa,' noticed. 7'-\
XVI SUBJECT-MATTER INDEX.
Page
' Ibis : Journal of Ornitholofry,' notiood 70
Langford, R. C. R. The South African Lannev Falcon and its
Congeners 8^
Locust Bird (White Storlc) near Colesberg 69
Migratory Birds of the liufFalo River Basin 4
Murray, .T. P. Albino Rparrow in Basutoland 09
Noome, F. 0. Field-Notes on Birds collected at Blaauwberg .... 15
Occasional Notes 68, 1 18
Ornithological Publications, Short Notices of 70, 120
Ornithology, Random Notes on S. African 7o
' Osprey, Home lAfe of the,' noticed 72
Pretoria Zoological Gardens, The Wild Birds of the 85
Quail, Varieties of the 70
Random Notes on S. African Ornithology 75
Reichenow, A. ' Vogelfauua des Mittelafrikanischen Seengebietes,'
noticed 71
' Rivista It.aliana di Ornitologia,' noticed 72
Roberts, Austin. Description of a New Flycatcher 21
. Notes on a Collection of Birds in the Transvaal Museum
from Boror 22
Shelley, G. E., and Sclater, W. L. 'The Birds of Africa,' vol, v.
No. 2, noticed 1 22
Short Notices of Ornithological Publications 70, 120
Sparrow, An Albino, in Basutoland 69
Value of Birds to Man (James Buckland) 92
* Vogelfauna des Mittelafrikanischen Seeugebiete.s,' noticed 71
Wild Birds of the Pretoria Zoological Gardens 85
Wood, John. White Stork at Colesberg 69
. Viirieties of the Common (^uail 70
Pi-ATK : South African Lanner Falcon (Falro fnarviirm).
THE JOURNAL
OF THE
SOUTH AFRICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION.
Vol. VIII. JUNE 1912. No. 1
I. — On some JJinh in the Durban illaseuni.
By E. C. Chubb, Curator.
Whilst engaged in cataloguiiig the birds in this Musonin
hitely, I wrote the following notes regarding certain species
whic^j appear to be of interest on account of their rarity in
South Africa, or because they have not been hitherto recorded
from Natal, as far as can be ascertained with the limited
literature at my disposal.
1. C*OLYMBUS CRiSTATUS, Linn. Crested Grebe.
Although not uncommon in other jiarts of South Africa,
it has not until now been recorded fi'om Natal. There aro
two examples laljelled "Natal " in the collection.
2. Hydhobates PELAGicus (Linn.). Storm-Petrel.
The ]\Liseum possesses a specimen of this bird which was
obtained at Durban in liiSS.
1^. Anas capensis, Gm. Cape Wigeon.
Tliere are two females of this species in the collection.
They were taken near Durban.
4. Dendrocygna fulva (Gm.). "Whistling Duck,
Very few occurrences of this Duck in South Africa have
been noted, and they are from Lake Ngami, the Zandjezi
VOL. VIII. 1
2 INIr. E. C. ChuLb on some
and Botleti Rivers, so that an example from the neiglibour-
hood o£ Durban in this Museum is the first record o£ it in
the eastern portion of South Africa.
5. Casarca cana (Gm.). South African Shehlrake.
The South African Shehh'ako, wliich ap[)ears never to have
been recorded from Natal, is represented in the collection by-
two females, labelled respectively " Natal, presented by
H. Buck 1893," and "Natal, presented/'
6. Terekia cinerea (Glild.). Terek Sandpiper.
Records of the occurrence of this species in South Africa
are very scanty. There is one example in this Museum
which was obtained in the vicinity of Durban.
7. Totanus ochropus (Linn.). Green Sandpiper.
Sclater doubts the occurrence of the Green Sandpiper in
South Africa^ remarking as follows : — " The occurrence of
the Green Sandpiper in South Africa rests on the authority
of Mr. Layard, who stated that he received several examples
from Mr. Arnot, procured near (Jolesberg, and that it also
occurred at Zoetendale Vley in Bredasdorf, near Knysna,
and at the Kowie River mouth. No other observer or
collector, however, has noticed the occurrence of this Sand-
piper in South Africa, nor is thci-e a South African example
in the South African Museum. It is quite |)ossible, therefore,
that Mr. Layard was mistaken in regard to the matter.'^ A
specimen from Natal in the Durl)an Museum goes to show
that the species, at any rate occasionally, visits South
Africa.
8. LiMxoB^NUS marginalis (Bp.). HarHaub's Crake.
An example of this rare Crake was obtained on the ]3url)an
Racecourse by the late Mr. A. D. ]\Lllar and j)resented by
him to the Museum. It has only j)reviuusly bc^on recorded
from Ondongn, Damaraland, where it was obtained by
Andersson, and PJast London, whence tiie Cape Town
Museum possesses a specimen.
Birds in the Durban Museum. 3
9. Nycticorax lfatconotus (Wagl.). White-backed
Night-Heron.
There are several examples of this species in the Durl)an
Museum, all o£ which were obtained in Durban Bay, where
it is not uncomnon at times. There appear to bo only two
previous records of it from South Africa.
10. Otogyps AURiciTLARis (Daud.). Black Vulture.
An example of the Black Vulture obtained in Zululund by
Mr. C. J. Crofts in 1903 is pressrved in the Museum.
11. Falco cuvieri (A, Smith). African Hobby.
A female shot on the Berea, Durban, by Mr. A. D. Millar
on 30th August, 1905, is in the collection. There are only two
previous records from South Africa, viz. : the type obtained
by Sir Andrew Smith on the Kei River in Eastern Cape
Colony, and a young specimen from near Durban in the
South iVfiican Museum, Cape Town.
12. ScoTOPELiA PELi (Tcmm.) (Bp.). Pel's Fishing-
Owl.
A female shot on the Pongola Hiver, Zululand, in August
1908, by Mr. Frank Fynuey, is now in the Museum. There
have only been two previous records of this Owl in South
Africa, as far as I am aware.
13. Halcyon chelicuti (Stanley)- Striped Kingfisher.
An example from the right bank of tho Lower Tug(da
Hiver is the first instance of tho occurrence of this King-
fisher in Natal, although it has several times been secured in
Zululand.
14. Hemipteryx minuta. Gunning. Little Pinc-Pinc
Warbler.
The Museum possesses a pair of this sj^ecies and nest,
which were obtained in the neighbourhood of Durban in
1909 by Mr. H. M. Millar. They agree very well with
Dr. (lunning's deserij)ti()n.
1!^
4 Rev. llobert Godfrey on the
15. AcROCEPHALUS PALUSTius (Beclist.). Mui'sli-Warbler.
The only records o£ the Marsh- Warbler in South Africa
are those of Shelley (near Durban in 1874:) and Boyd
Alexander from (Zambezi River). Mr. H. M. Millar shot a
male near Durban in April 1910 and presented it to the
Museum.
IG. Ehemomela scOTors (Sund.). Dusky-faced Bush-
Warbler.
There is a pair of this rare "Warbler in the Durban Museum.
They were shot near Durban by Mr. H. M. Millar.
II. — Sotes on the Mi[/rator>/ Birds of the Buffalo River Basin.
By the Rev. Robert Godfrey.
T. — Our Summer Migrants, 1910.
The object in writing this article is to endeavour to rouse
a little more enthusiasm amongst Members and others in the
interesting subject of migration. Meagre as may be the
amount of information here compiled, it is enough to show
how much can be done by our local observers, were a
systematic attempt to write down on the spot all observations
that are made, and to communicate these to some central
bureau, such as the Migration C^ommittee of the S. A. 0. U.
Sicifts.
The White-bellied Swift {Apu.s melha afriranus) was seen
at Lovedale on August 10th, and was Ijelieved to have newly
arrived from its winter-haunts in Central Africa. But
Mr. John Wood writes to say ho has seen this Swift about
East London in every month of the year, and he raises the
question regarding its status as a migrant. Some, he says,
can migrate only partially. It is hoped to ])rov(.' soon
whether it is in the Buffalo Basin all the year round or not.
With regard to the Black Swift (Apus harhatus) similar
information is required. Hcv. d, Henderson Soga forwarded
Miyratot'ij Birds of the Dujj'alo liicer Basin. 5
the wing of one shot on September 2(]th, with the remark
that he had seen the bird about a week before also. On the
last day of September the species was veryconnnon atNtaba
Kandoda, noisily squealino- over the Debe Flats.
No note of interest has been received on the White-
rumjjed Swift {Apus caffer).
Swallows.
The White-throated Swallow {Hirundo alhiyidaris) was
the harbinger of our migrant Swallows, appearing on
August 28th at Kingwilliamstown, and being found alone
for some time thereafter. Near Kingwilliamstown it is not
a connnon species, although it no doubt nests on some
buildings near the town. On October 3rd one of these birds
was flying about inside a school at Tyusha, quite regardless
of children and teacher.
The local South African Cliff-Swallow [Petvochelidon
spilodera) appeared at its old haunts early in September.
Mr. W. J. A. Moir, of Blythswood, reports that they were
first noticed there on the afternoon of the 3rd, but that they
were not back in all their strength till the 5th. At
Emgwali these birds were noticed at their old nests by
Miss Douglas on the 10th. In addition to the colonies at
these two institutions, there are others at Stutterheim and
at Nqamakwe, and any information as to the year when
this species first appeared in any of these four localities
would be most welcome.
The first record this season of the Large Stripe-breasted
Swallow (^Ilirundo cucullata) is Sej)tember 22nd, when five
birds were seen at the Buffalo Bridge, Kingwilliamstown.
This record is one day later than last year. On September
26th two birds were seen at Pirie. At the latter place the
birds began building in their old site under the arch of a
window inside a church. The main portion of last year's
nest had fallen, leaving only the funnel entrance intact.
As we saw the new nest growing in the old spot, we waited
with interest to see if the l)uilders would fit the nest to the
6 Rev. Robert Godfrey on the
old funnel. They worked on till they reached the funnel,
and then gave a twist to the right, finishing off with a new
funnel placed at right angles to the old one.
The only record received o£ the J^esser Stripe-breasted
Swallow (IJit'iindo puella) is from Elliotdale, where, on
September 2()th, Rev. J. H. Soga saw a few of these birds
mingling with Rock-Martins {liijxiria jKlKjida) and Black
Swifts i^Aims harhatus).
Information regarding the movements of the European
Swallow (7//?"»/irfo ?"»5^/ca) is very much desired. These birds
are now to be met with flying everywhere over the veld, but
few definite records of their first appearance in the district
seem to be obtainable. On November Gth, and again on
November 8th, I saw birds which I took to be European
Swallows, but I was not satisfied of the correct identification
till the 10th.
The most interesting of the Swallow records is that
relating to the Pearl-breasted species (//. dimid'uita). On
November l(Jth, a little to the west of our district proper, I
noticed two young Swallows sitting together on a bare twig
of a tall tree, and waiting })atiently for the arrival of the
food-bringer. From the time that elapsed between suc-
cessive visits, I think only one ])arent was feeding
them, the other may have been brooding the second
time. The adult bird in feeding the young generally
hovered beside them for a moment only and was off again,
sometimes, however, it would settle on the tree, and on one
such occasion it gave me a specially good view of it. Tho
bird WIS wholly bbu^ above, with no red on the forehead ;
there was no Idack bar of any kind on the under surface.
In the case of the young I occasionally caught a giimpse of
a narrow hut distinct white bar on the winir.
Storks.
A ]i:iir ol W liite Storks (("icou'ia clconla) were seen on (ho
Debe Flats on .rum; 2()th. 1 had occasion to pass the same
])lacc on duly 2ith and I saw one of them still at tho
old spot. 1 am thus strengthened in my conviction that
Migratorij Birds of the Buffalo River Basin. 7
occasional}' this bird remains with ns all winter. The
summer invasion of White Storks began in November. At
Pirie tliej were first seen on the 12th, and very soon
afterwards they were very common all over the district. On
the 28th, one hundred and fifty-four of these birds were
counted at sunset at their roosting-haiints in the forest. The
present season promises to be a great Stork year ; and readers
are again reminded to keep a sharp look-out for individual
Storks bearing rings on their legs.
The Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) was seen at its old haunt
near Pirie on September 29th and the two following days.
As in 190'J, so again this year only one pair of these binls
were observed. Except in colour the Black Stork is the
exact counterpart of its v/liite relation, its mode of flight and
the arrangement of its limbs in flight being exactly similar.
In the Black Stork the head, neck, upper breast, and upper
surface are black, while the body and the axillary feathers
are white. Storks carry their long legs straight out behind
them in flight, and keep their long neck at full stretch
forward. This arrangement is a matter of convenience, as
it presents the least possible opposition to the air ; but that
it is not a matter of urgent necessity is shown by the bird
altering this disposition of its limbs in flight on occasion.
I have watched a Black Stork while high iu the air lower
its head, and at the same time bring forward one of its feet
to meet the lowered head and deliberately claw its bill with
its foot, while it continued its course through the air.
Cuchoos.
Of the eight species of the migratory Cuckoos found in
the district, the best known in the Red-chested (Juckoo
(Cucuhis soUtarius). This is a very shy bird, generally
defying the efforts of an observer to detect him ; but, as ho
is exceedingly noisy, he cannot long remain undiscovered in
any locality. He never tires of uttering his bold triple cry,
but ho gives no offence to either bilingualists or trilingualists,
as he is perfectly understood in all three South African
lanffuages!
S Rev. lioLert Godfrey on the
To the Dutchman lie continually cries " Piet myn vroiiw,"
to the Kaftir he s:ivs " Pezu kom kono," and to the En<rlish-
man he speaks in tlio l)orro\ved dialect of a North American
Nightjar, repeatedly reiterating "'Whip poor Will." Not
content hv })roelaiining his j)rcsence hy daVj he sometimes
calls long after the sun has set, or, ])ut it otherwise (as
ciicumstances sometimes demand it should be done), long
Lefore the sun has risen. 1 have notes of its calling at
10 P.M. and at 2 a.m. The earliest record for the Red-chested
Cuckoo this season is given by Donald Henderson, who heard
the bird at Lovedale on October 9th, one day later than the
earliest record of 1909. At Pirie it was heard by Miss Carrie
Ross on October 22nd. My own earliest record this year was
on October 28tli at Ainabele.
The Bhick-crested C'uckoo {Clamator se^'i'afiis) arrives
about the same time as the Red-chested Cuckoo and is found
commonly in our district in scrubby country. Like the
Red-chested Cuckoo (Cticvhis soUtarhts) it is a very ncisy
species, but it does not defy observation as the latter bird
does. The Black-crested Cuckoo {Clamator serratus) is
wholly black, with a wdiite bar across the wing which shows
up conspicuously in flight, ]\Ir. IMoir, of Blythswood, noticed
it there before October Gth ; I heard it for the lirst time this
season at Toleni on October 30th.
The Black Cuckoo {Cucuhis clamosiis) is a much rarer
species in our area than either of the preceding, though it,
too, possesses a powerful voice which prevents it frcnd)eing
overlooked in any of its haunts. T have met with the bird
at Pirie, but in my wimderings during the present summer
1 liave twice been on its track. As yet, however, I am not
in a position to sjx^ak definitely about it. Tliis sj)ecies was
lieard near Komgha on N()vend)er ath l)y Wddniaii, but it
was in these parts some time before that tiale, calling
unheeded and unknown.
The three Green ('Uckoos haxc arrived un<)bser\('d this
year. Prom the middle of September 1 ke})t listening lor
the Emerald Cuckoo's [Mctallocorri/.r smara(jdinciis) call,
" Pretty Georgey," but I did not hear it until November 14th,
Migralorij Birds of the Buffalo River Basin. 9
which is long after the date of his arrivaL Tlie Emerald
Cuckoo j)refers the thick bush, but is also found in some of
the kloofs : during the past season I heard it in the kloof
below Healdtown Institution. First records of the Didric
and of Klaas' CUickoo are also among the dates wanted for
the present season.
Birds of Preii.
Of our migratory Birds of Prey the species most easily
recognised is the Egy[)tian Kite (^Milviis(VQi/ptius). It can be
distinguished at a glance from all other local Birds of Prey
by it forked tail, which is evident when the tail is spread.
The wings also are of a distinct type, being long and sickle-
shaped. The Egyptian Kite arrived this year at Pirie on
September 23rd ; it occurs commonly along the base of the
mountains, and will remain with us until the latter half of
February.
Amuch smaller Bird of Prey, Naumann's Kestrel {Ccrclineis
naumanni), is visiting us again this year, as the C*urator of
the Kingwilliauistown Museum informs me. Naumann's
Kestrel is much lighter in colour than our common resident
species, and its habit of associating in conipanies will lead
those who are observing our migrants to suspect its presence.
The birds haunt the veld during the day, catching grass-
hoppers and other insects on which they feed, and at dusk
they retire to the tall trees in Kingwilliamstown to roost.
As many as thirty birds may be found roosting together.
A third Bird of Prey seems, from my observations, to bo
a summer visitor. This is the South African Harrier
(Circus raniro7'iis). But it may be that this Harrier is only
a local migrant, and that it does not retire very far from
our neighbourhood during the winter months. Durino- the
summer this bird is one of the most familiar objects of the
scenery in the open veld adjoining the mountains. It is
generally seen sitting on a termite heap or on the ground,
waiting the near approach of a horseman Ijcfore it moves.
Sometimes it sits on a mimosa bush, and lately one of
these birds allowed me to ride under the tree on which it
10 Rev. Robert Godfrey on the
was perched before it inovcd. From Septenibor lo tlio
beoinninor of March is the j)eriod of its stay with us, but
during the present summer the first birds were seen on
August 4 th.
Other Migrants.
Tlie South African Harrier (Circus ranivorus) has been
referred to as a doubtful migrant. Two other birds must
be pLaced in the same category, the South African Hoopoe
{UfKpa africana) and the Paradise Flycatcher {Tchitrea
perspiciUata). My notes on both of these species lead me to
conclude that they are certainly migrants in the Pirie
district, but continued observation is required to settle the
])oint. The Hoopoe arrives in August, preferring the
mimosa country and the sides of the scrub-clad rivers. It
was observed this year on August 31st, at Keiskama Hoek,
but two years ago it was seen on the Grahamstown road,
near Kingwilliamstown, on August 1st. I have no satis-
factory dates of its departure. The Paradise Flycatcher,
characterized by its long chestnut tail, is found in this
district from October to April. During the present season
it was first met with at Pirie on October 17th.
II. — The Autumn Migration of 1911.
Swifts.
Both the Black Swift {Apus harhatus) and the White-
bellied Swift [Jjnis nielha africamis) were seen for the last
time this season at Kei Road on May 15th ; but readers will
remember that careful look-out is to ha kept for these two
species during the current winter, so that their presence or
absence in midwinter in Bufi'alo I'asin may be definitely
cstaldished. All observers are requested to attend to this
matter and to record any winter appearances of these birds.
Swallows.
As usual, tbc Swallows have the greatest interest attaching
to them. During tlie past season the Eur()j)ean Swallow
M'ujratorij Birds of the Daffulo River Basin. 11
{Ilirumlo riistica) was present in large numbers in this
district. On February 7th I counted 27G of these birds on
the telegraph-wires near Green River. The birds tarried
till A{)ril, the last being seen at Pirie on April 11th. Having
had occasion however, to visit the Zoutpansberg in tlie latter
part of April, I found the European Swallow still loitering
al)0ut Pietersburg up to the 27th of that month, and near
Groot ISpelonken I heard one singing its full song in the air
on April 25th.
The AVhite-throated Swallow [Ilirundo alhi<jularis) was
last seen frequenting a rocky })ait of the Buffalo on
February 15th. This is by no means the limit of the bird's
stay, and the entry is made here simjdy to evoke further
details from other observers.
I happened to be out of the district at the time when the
Larger Stripe-breasted Swallow [Hirundo cucullata) normally
takes its departure, but I noticed the species still loitering in
the Zoutpansberg up to May 10th ; and to my great surprise I
met with a small party of these birds at Jafta's, near King-
williamstown, on the last day of May. This is one of those
erratic movements in migration forming one of the problems
still to be solved.
In connection with the Larger Stripe-breasted Swallow a
very interesting point came under observation during the
past season. A pair of birds built their nest under the zinc
roof of an outhouse in Pirie, and liad already proceeded far
with the incubation of their eggs, when, on February 4th. a
terrific hailstorm, with stones larger than turkey eggs, swept
over Pirie. The stones battering on the roof dislodged the
nest, and revealed to our gaze a round egg larger than those
of the Swallow amoniist which it had lain. The e<"<>-
evidently belonged to a })arasitic bird, and, when opened, was
found to contain a well-formed embryo with Zyoodactvlous
feet. This proved that the egg was thej)roduce eitiierof the
Cuckoo or a Honey-Guide. No one had noticed any bird
belonging to these grou})S near the nest, and we could not
therefore with certainty identify it ; but we had a strong-
presumption that it had been deposited by a Lesser Honey-
12 Rev. Robert Godfrey on </(<?
Guide {Indicator minor), and at any rate we received a
valuable hint to fix attention more carefully on Swallows'
nests in future.
Some details reoanlint^ the South African Cliff-Swallow
(^Petrochtlidon spilodeni) in our district have l)een o-athered
since the previous note on minrants was written. Miss
Engelhof informs me that the Emgwali colony has occupied
its present quarters since the summer of l.S9()-7, and that it
may have been in occupation even earlier. The missionaries
at BIythswood fix the date of first occupation there between
1900 and 1902, and Dr. Struthers says they arrived at
Nqamakwe in 1902. Information is still wanted regarding
the Stutterheim and the Blaney colonies. At the latter
place a few birds survived the war of extermination waged
against them last year, and attem{)ted to build nests and rear
young this year. Two jierfect nests were seen at the old
spot on Ajtril l<Sth, so that probably two broods at least were
reared, but no birds were about on that date. This species
was last seen at Emgwali on 25th March ; and at Nqamakwe,
where the birds reared two broods, on 2nd May.
The Black Saw-wing Swallow {L*i^alidoprocne holomehvna)
was noticed at Pirie on the evening of February 19th. Details
are greatly desired regarding the distribution and the length
of stay in the district of this species.
Storls.
Tho V^^hiie Storks {('icon/a ciconi(i) have been as })lentiful
this year as last, and have roosted about in large numbers
about the forests and in the mimosa-scrub. On the cvem'nf;
of 12th January, 185 Storks passed overhead in 15 minutes,
in a steady drawn-out stream, making for their roosting-
trees, and 30 more were seen further on, roosting in a |)atch
of mimosa. The numbers rapidly tliimicd out in March, and
by the end of that month it looked as if all IIk; Stoiks had
already departed for the North. Jn the Zouljiansl^erg, how-
ever, straggh'rs were seen u]) to May Oth. To my surprise
a pair was reported from Tai'eni, near Kingwilliamstown,
Migrator;! Birds of the Buffalo River Basin. 13
on May 24tli ; next day, five were seen near the Green River ;
and most surprising of all, over 80 were counted between
Debe and Pirie on June lltli. This latter occurrence
indicates another erratic movement which requires explana-
tion. The only explanation that suggests itself is that these
birds are not perfectly adult (although they do not show
signs of immaturity), and therefore are not yet driven by
their over-mastering instinct to seek the land of their birth.
For, as is well known, immature birds are not, as a rule,
found in the company of the adults at the nesting-haunts.
Here is another call to local naturalists to note where and
when White Storks (Ciconia ciconia) are seen in this region
in mid-winter.
Although a number of Storks were killed or disabled by
the hailstorm already referred to, no marked bird seems to
have been detected as yet in this district.
An innnature Black Stork {Ciconia nigra) hung about on
a vlei on the Amatola Mountains for at least a week in
January ; it was seen on the 5th and again on the 13th at
the same s[)ot.
Cxcfcoos.
Owing to the shyness of the Cuckoos and their silence in
tlie summer and autumn, it is exceedingly ditiicult to discover
the dates on which the Cuckoos depart from our district.
The Red-chested Cuckoo (Cuculus solitarius), or Piet-myn-
vrouw, was last heard at Pirie on January 17th. Two months
later, however, on 23rd March, an immature male was killed
by a boy as it flew across Pirie, and was brought to me.
This latter occurrence seems to indicate that the movements
of the Red-chested (Juckoo here are similar to those of the
European Cuckoo (Cucnlus ca)ionis). The old birds depart
amongst the earliest of our autumn migrants, but the young
tarry several weeks behind them and go oft' alone as autunm
is advancing.
The Emerald C^uckoo {MetalJococci/x smarafiJineui) was
last heard on January 11. Some small Pirie boys obtained
a young one on December 10, and brought it to me under
14 Migratorii Birds of the Buffalo B'lvev Basin.
the impression that they had captured a Kinofislier. Un-
fortunately they missed the opportunity of: noting the foster-
parents, a point which still remains in obscurity.
My latest date for the Didric {Chri/sococci/x cuprcus) is
December 27th, on which day the bird was calling near King-
williamstown.
Birds of Prpi/.
The Egyptian Kite (Milrns (njiiptins) remained with ns
until February 10th. Its numbers were about tlic same as in
previous years; one day, January 5th, I had a fine sight of
eleven of these birds in the air at the same time. The South
African Harrier (Circus ra?iirorus) tarried with us till
February 10th. And the third of our common migrant birds
of prey — Naumann's Kestrel (CerrJmeis ))aumaniii) — haunted
the trees in Kingwilliamstown till llu^ liitter half of March.
Mr. Arthur Weir reports that ho saw them then roosting in
two gum-trees at the old cemetery.
Other Migrants,
We have in the Willow-Wren an example of a migrant
whose arrival in this country generally escapes notice.
Owing to its small and unobtrusive colouring, as well as to
its silence on arrival in this land, it does not readily attract
notice at that season. But in February it begins to tune
up, by way of preparation for leaving this land ; and during
ISIarch the AVillow-Wren is in full song in South Africa.
This year this si)ecies turned up as usual in March, beside
the Mission-house at Piric, and sang beside the house till
March 2lttli. After his montlTs practice at song in this
land it is no wonder that ho is in perf<'ct song when he
readies the woods of Scotland in Aj)ril.
Two species of migratory Sandpipers were detected in
the Ijuflalo Basin this year. One of these, the Common
San<lpip«-r (7>/h//o/Wc5 hi/poJeucos) oi Europe, was haunting
the BulVido in Kingwilliamstown on February KUh. And
the otii<'r, tbc Wood Sandpiper ( Tetanus glareola), came
under ob.sorvation three times — one was shot early in the
fBirds collected at Blaauivherr/, K. Transvaal. 15
season liy IMr. John Wood, a second was obtained near Pirie
by Mr. Pym on February 23rd, and the tliird was seen l)y
the writer at a piece of temporary water at Tyersha on
April 10th.
A specimen of the European Roller [Corac'ias f^arrvlus),
known locally as the Blue Jay, was shot at Blythswood by
Mr. Moir on December 22nd, and forwarded to me. This
species was again met on the Kino-williamstown commonage
by Mr. Arthur Weir on March 19th.
Of birds whose status as migrants has not yet been satis-
factorily determined in the district, may be mentioned the
Red-backed Shrike (Lanins colliirio), the South African
Hoopoe (Upiipa africana), and the Paradise Flycatcher
{TcJntrea perspiclUata). Three Red-l)acked Shrikes were
frequenting the mimosa near the Buffalo Bridge at King-
williamstown on February 15th ; this is the latest date on
which I have met with the species locally, but during my
visit to Zoutpansberg I saw a female in Pietersburg on
April 20th. The South African Hoopoe was last seen at
Kingwilliamstown on April 12th.
ni. — Field-Notes on Birds collected at Blaauwberg,
N. Transvaal. By F. 0. Noome.
I HAD for a long time felt attracted by the isolated situation
of the Blaauwberg, and felt sure from what I had observed
in other parts of the Northern Transvaal Districts that a
large number of European migratory as well as interesting
S. African resident birds would be found there ; but it was
not until February last that I was able to undertake the tiij).
Tiie results fully bore out my expectations and are worth
recording.
Leaving Pietersburg by wagonette on February 8th, the
first day was spent in travelling over flat, bare, uninteresting
veld, until the Hout River was reached, where a halt was
made for the night. I found hundreds of AVhitc-bollied
Storks {Ahdimia abdinii) and Pied Crows {Corriis scapulafiis)
at this place, roosting in some syringa-trees near an o\d
10 Mr. F. 0. Noome on Birds
homestead. A few hundred yards away was a solitary thorn-
tree in which five African Rooks (^Ileterocorax capensls) liad
taken up their quarters for the nitiht, evidently not caring to
mix with the Pied species, for as I startled the latter from
the syringa-trees they Hew to the thorn-tree and drove away
the former, who seemed to he afraid of them. Next day we
completed our journey, getting into the ordinary " bushveld"
type of country after crossing the Hout River, and stretching
continuously right up to the Blaauwherg. A few solitary
White Storks {Ciconia clcon.la) were noticed here and there
searching for grasshoppers, but nothing else worth noting
was seen.
A fortnight was spent at Blaauwberg, during which I
found the intense heat and drought very trying ; water was
so scarce that there was barely sufficient for cooking
purposes, and the mules had to be sent to the Brak River,
a distance of about three miles from camp, where a few
stagnant pools of water were still to be found. I think that
birds luid to fly to these pools in the Brak River for water,
as the only other i)]aces where they could drink were a long
way from the place where I found them to be most numerous.
Blaauwberg is a mountain forming part of a series of
ranges lying about midway between Pietersburg and the
Limpopo River, and about 70 miles N.W. from the former.
It rises to a height of GOOO feet or more above the sea-level,
bare of vegetation, the top a mass of hard rocks and often
hidden in clouds of n\i>f ; below tlie rocks is a ]ilateau covered
with dense forest, and leading down from the plateau are
numerous kloofs also thickly wooded, whil<» Ihe ridges separat-
ing the kloofs and tln^ base of tlu^ bill were only sparingly
chtthed with irca^. The kloofs are ihained by watercourses,
which were dry at the time of my visit on account of the severe
drought, ami af tlirii- bases, where they opened out into the
fl.its below, were long stretches of tall, dens(dy foliaged
niimosa-thorti, wild (ig, and "nianda" trees ; the two latter
kinds were iti f'liiit, and. no doul)t, the reason why 1 found
so many birds in the vicinity. It was amongst these trees
that I did tiie greater part of my collecting.
coUeded at Blaamchercf, N. Tranacanl. 17
Si/h'ia 7iisoria, recorded from S. Africa for tlie first time
in tlie 'Annals of the Tnins^vaal Museum,' July 1911, 1 found
warbling and singing in hundreds at all times of the day ;
hut securing specimens was not so easy as one would havo
expected considering their numbers, as they took refuge in
the densest foliaged trees, singing for a time, and sometimes
hopping about, but not showing themselves, and I had to
wait long and patiently before I could get a shot at them.
After a few days' experience of them, I learnt that they were
tamest and most easily secured during the early mornings,
and I was then able to secure quite a number of specimens.
Only one of these proved to be a hen, the rest being either
adult or young cocks. I think it is not at all unlikely that
these interesting migrants make this [)lace a regular winter
resort, as, so far as I am aware, no collectors have visited it
before. All the specimens secured were in good winter
plumage and fat, and the profusion of insect life attracted Ijy
the wild fruit, the wild fiuit itself, and the altitude of the
region seemed to suit them. I am also curious to know if
all individuals migrate to Europe, as I do not think that the
climate of Blaauwberg in winter would be too severe for
them, and also when they migrate northwards.
I also secured three specimens of the Icterine Warbler
(^Hypolais h/jpolais) and two (rarden -Warblers (S/jIria
simplex), the only ones I saw ; but they may have been
more plentiful tli;;n a]»peared to be the case, as they kept
very much to the dense foliage, where it was impossible to
distinguish one species from another. The song of these
three species seemed to me to be very similar. I did not see
any S//lria s//Ivi((, a female specimen of which, collected by
me at Wunderboom, Pretoria, on April Nth, 1911, was
exhibited at the Annual Meeting of the S. A.O.U., 191 1, and
I do not think that it is found at Blaauwberg. While on
the subject of this species I may as well record what I noted
of it at the time : I was walking through a lucerne-field and
flushed two of th<'m, both taking refuge in a thick (juince-
hedgo. One I badly wounded and it struggled awav through
the hedge, but not knowing that it was one of these rare
VOL. VIII. 2
18 Mr. F. 0. Noome on Birds
niiprrant?, I did not follow it. Shortly afterwards, farther
down the field, I noticed another, which I managed to secure.
Finding out then wliat it was, I returned to where 1 had
last seen the other, but searched in vain. The specimen
secured was very fat and in good plumage.
The following migrants were also observed at Blaauw-
berg : —
Efrypti.in Kite {Mi/ri(s fei/ijptius).
Lesser Kestrel (Cerc/incis iiaumanni).
European Bee-eater (Meroj)s apinder).
European Swallow {Ilinmdo rustica).
IJed-backed Shrike [Lanitis collurio).
Strong winds were continuously blowing from the N.E.
Strano-e to sav, not a single Cuckoo or European Roller
was noticed.
In some parts of the stretch of mimosa thorn-trees were
dense patches of scrub, and amongt other birds found there
I collected a series of skins of Camaroptera griseovirlUs
sundevalli. The first two specimens I shot were an adul^
and immature female, and which I took to be of the subspecies
{C. g. noomei) described in the 'Annals of the Transvaal
Museum/ July 1911. After having dissected them I noticed
that the immature specimen had the ])ase of the mandible
horn-yellow, while the entire beak of the adult was black.
This aroused mv curiosity, and I spent several unsuccessful
davs in trying In procure more sjiccimens, as they ke]»t to
the very dense and tangled scrub, in which it was most
difficult to get a sight of them, and when I did so, more
often than not they were too close. Seeing several herd-
bovs in charge of goats, the idea struck me of sending tlicm
in with their goats to fiush the birds, and by doing this I
was able to get a few more specimens, some of which were
too much knocked about to be preserved. The birds when
disturbed by the goats flew into the largest trees, rising
higher and higher as their alarm increased, until they
reached the topmost braiu-hes, where I could see them
outlined against the sky. The cackling note, which T also
licard them utter when they could not have be<'n alarmed,
collected at .Blaainvhen/, _N. Traitsruid. 19
sounds soniethino- like " ke kelirk/' and while uttering it
they point iheir wings downwards at a slant and slightly
elevate their tails. They also utter a note like that of a kid,
as described of other niemhers of the genus. I was not ahle
to find out whether both sexes have the same call-notes. Two
out of the three specimens obtained by driving the scrub
with goats were similar to the first two collected on this trip,
but the third was quite different, and I must say I was
l)U7.zled for some time, as T did not think it possible that two
distinct species would be found in the same limited area. On
sexing them, however, 1 found that the two were femnles,
and the third differently coloured one an adult male, and I
came to the conclusion that they must all be of the same
species.
Mr. Austin Roberts and I have carefully compared the
types of C. fjf. nooDiei collected in the Waterberg District
w ith those from Blaauwberg, a single specimen from Dakn,
Bechuanaland Protectorate, and another from C. Wilde's
collection with no locality indicated, and have come to the
conclusion that they are all C. g. sunderaUi, the juvenile
plumage being that described as C. g. noomei. The specimen
from Daka is an adult, and was correctly labelled as C. g.
sundevallL Since my return from Blaauwberg, Mr. Carinus,
of the Native Affairs Department at that place, has kindly
sent me four more specimens, and the Transvaal Museum
collection is now represented b)' fourteen skins, clearly
showing the different phases of plumage. I am still doiii)t-
ful, however, as to whether they retain the same })lumage all
the year round, as in one of the females I collected, which is
obviously fully adult, the feathers of tlu^ throat are moulting
from grey to buftish. The youngest s})ecimen in the seiit's is
the immature s[)ecimen mentioned as one of the fir>t I
collected at Blaauwl)erg ; it is mueh wai'mer buftish coloured
below, yellowish grey on the uj)per surface like the ^Vaterberg
specimens, and has the lower niJindible and gape yellow. In
th<( adults the back and top of he:id are ashy grey, the
throat, breast, and sides slightly ])aler ashy grey, only the
niifldle of the lower breast and abtlomen huffish white, and
0*
20 Birds coUei'led at Dlaauwhcrg, N. Transvaal.
the entire beak is black. In those in intermediate ])luuiage,
of which the types of C. p. noomei are examples, the back
and to[) of head are more or less yellowish <>"r<'V, the Avhole
of the under surface and sides of face bufhsh white, ]>al<'st
on the throat and abdomen, and there is always a whitish
mark at the base of the lower mandible,
I also collected specimens of the following species of
bii'ds : —
Cape Fniit-rigeon {Vinnr/o delalandei).
Chanting' Goshawk (Mclierax canorus).
Yellow-fronted Barbet {Barbntida e.rtoni),
]iiown-hooded Kingfisher (Hnlci/on alhirentris).
Carmine-breasted Bee-eater {Mcrops nuhicoides).
Seiniitar-biiled Hoopoe [lihinojioutm^tm r;/miomeln.i).
Spotted Flycatcher {Mitscicripa (/risola).
Black Cuckoo-8hrik(> {Campephaga ?jif/ra).
Three-streaked Bush Shrike {Pomatorhipichus australis).
Yellow-fronted Bush Shrike {Chlorophomncs sufp/iureopectus shiiHis).
Crimson-breasted Bush Shrike {Laniarim (drococcincus).
Bed-backed Shrike {L(tnius cullurio).
I\Ielba Finch (Pi/fi/ia mMa).
Jameson's Waxbill {Laf/onastida rubrk-cda).
Tree Pipit (Anthus trivialis).
Tit Babbler (Parisonia subctcruleum).
Smith's Crass ^^'arbler {Cistiada chiniann).
Barred ^^'ren Warbler {Cahummastesfaseiohdiis).
Fleck's Crombec (Si/h-icf(ti flrchi).
l^rown-throated Bush Warbler (Ereinnmela usticoIUs).
White-shouldered Bobin-Chat {Cossypha huvipntlis).
White-browed Ground Robin {Erythropyyia leucophrys).
T left Blaauwberg on February 22nd. and returned to
Pietersburg by a ditt'erent road to that by which 1 had gone
on the forward journpy. AV'hile driving up a long gentle
slope in the bushveld between Blaauwberg and Hout River,
my attention was drawn to an enormous ntuuber of White
Storks [Ciconia cicouia) in the air some distance ahead. As
1 trot nearer I could make them out more clearly and found
that they were gyrating upwards in the shape of a huge
funnel, the base, so far as I could make out, beginning just
above the tree tops and widening out to a huge circular ring,
which wa.i abll()^t hot to sight in the haze some thousands of
Oil a Sew Flycatcher. 21
feet above the earth j the funiiel-shapeJ fonnatioii must have
been composed of tons o£ thousands of Storks, all circling
round and gradually rising higher and higher. As I got
nearer I made out several more of these formations, one
evidently not being large enough to accommodate them all.
After they had remained in the air for some time they
gradually floated down to the earth again and settled amongst
the scattered trees on the slope, up which I was driving,
some distance from the road, and I was able to get a good
view of them. When I had driven some distance beyond
them they rose again in the same funnel-shaped formations,
and were still <xvratino; when last I saw them throui>h the
heavy iiaze. The haze was due to the intense heat, the time
being about midday. I did not see any AVhite-l)elIied Storks
on the way back, and as I was travelling by a different
road, do not know whether they had left the place where I
had seen them a fortnight before. On my return to Pretoria
I paid a special visit to some lucerne-fields at Wonderboom
and Onderstepoort, where they were nearly always to be
seen during the summer months, as I wished to see whether
they had left or not. Not a single specimen was to be seen ;
but about a week later I noticed three at Elofsdal, which
seemed to be immature, their legs being covered with a
white chalky substance. The probable reason for this early
migration was the dryness of the season and the cold winds
which had been Ijlowing during January and February
IV. — Descvij)tion of a New Fli/cafcJter.
By ArsTTN Kobeuts.
Tarsiger stellatts transvaalensis, subsp. nov.
Differs from 7\ stellatus ti/pica, of Knysna, Grahamstown,
and Port St. Johns, in having the outer margin of the
bastard -wing feathers very much paler, almost white, and in
being somewhat larger. Types from Woodbush, Transvaal,
ex coll. F. Vaughan-Kirby, January 1008. (Leng. 1.5S &
140 mm. ; iris reddish brown, bill black, legs and feet pale
dusky yellow.— F. V.-K.) Wing 87 »!c 82-8:5 nun. ; tail 65 &
58 ; tarsus 25 ; culmen 1.'3.
22 My. A. Roberts on 1^1 rds In
V. — JVotes on a Collection of Binh in the Transvaal Museum
from Boror, Portuguese East Africa. — Part II. By Austin
Roberts.
BucORVUS CAFER (ScL). R. 802. Resident.
The Gronnd Hornbill was met with in Jill parts of the
prazo, but no specimens were preserved. Its loud boomino-
notes were always the first sure signs of daAvn, and could
then be heard on all sides, often at considerable distances.
Bycanistes cristatus, Riip}). R. 805. August.
A few pairs were seen at Ngamwe consorting with a large
number of 7i. hnccinator ; they were readily distinguished
from that species in flight by their entirely black wings.
Bycanistes buccinator (Tenun.). R. 809. (2 F.)
Resident.
I. outer ring very pale brown, inner ring mahogany ;
B. black, base grey ; L. grey, the scales black ; bare skin of
face pinkish, paler below and bchintl the eyes. Leng. 59G—
GOO ; W. 2.50-2t;7 ; Tl. ll>l-20r> ; Ts. 32-35 ; C. 113-125.
This species was observed in all ])arts of the prazo, some-
times in flocks of a dozen or moi(^ usually feeding on wild
figs. In calling io (!ach other their notes are a harsh, nasal,
"■ nhaa, idiaa, ha ha ha " ; at other tinu\s when feeding or in
close company ihcy utter a (juict guttui'al croak. The mate
of one of the specimens secured remained for two or three
days in the neighbourhood, mournfully calling for its late
companion.
Loi'iiocERos melanoleucus (A. Lcht.). 1M»14. (I lAL,
1 F.) H<'si(h-n<.
I. outer ring yelhjwish, inner ring golden y(dlow ; B. dull
red; L. black. J.eng. 352 k 4'.»4 ; W. 212 & 222 ; Tl. 230
& 193 ; Ts. 30 & 29 ; C. 100 & 83.
The Crowned Ilornbill was found in all parts of the prazo,
but never in lai'ge jtarties ; it was sometimes seen feeding on
wild figs in company with the preceding species. A cock
the Transvaal Museum /roin Boror. 23
was seen at Buruma continually passing to and fro near my
camp, but be was too sly to disclose tbe wbereabouts of bis
nest, invariably flying oft" in a circle or far away over tbe
forest out of siubt wlieu be found bis movements watcbed.
LoPHOCEROS NEUMANNi, Rchw. 11.817. (IF.) Resident.
I. liazel; B. creamy yellow, varied in parts witli dark
brown, tbe tip and tomia ligbt reddisb brown; L. asby
brown. Long. 470 ; W. 213 ; Tl. 1D4 ; Ts. 28 ; C. 70.
Tliis s[)ccies was fairly common in drier parts of tbe prazo,
and usually found in small scattered parties of five or six, tbe
individuals keeping in toucb witb eacb otber by uttering a
mournful, quavering, wbistling note. Tbeir favourite food
seemed to be seeds and gum extracted from tbe pods found
bangino- to certain trees. A nest was located at Namabieda
about 1st October, but on cbo})ping open tbe entrance I
found tbat eggs bad not yet been laid, and tbe ben made ber
escape up tbe lioUow trunk. I bave noticed tbat Hornbills
of tbis genus nearly always clioose a tree witb a bollow
trunk extending u[twaid.s beyond tbe entrance, and tbat wben
tbe bird finds berself in danger slie immediately scrambles
up out of sigbt : tbis is no doubt tbe result of experience, tbe
nests being so often robbed by natives. At Matiwe tbe
attention of one of my native servants was drawn to a clicking
sound coming from a crack in a borizontal brancli of a tree
overbanging my camp, and on climbing up to investigate, be
found tbat it was being made by one of tbeso birds confined
in its nest. Tbe old bird bad moulted all ber long wing- and
tail-featbers, cutting an absurd figure, and, with ber, two
newly liatcbed young and tbree mucb incubated eggs were
taken ; I tried to keep tbe first alive, but sbe disappeared
during tbe first nigbt, eitber liaving beencanied off by some
wibl animal or baving been stolen from tbe box, into wbicli
1 bad put ber, Ijy tb(! natives, wbom I bad observed casting
longing hungry eyes into tbe box. Tbe camp bad been
pitched mider the tree for several days before the nest was
discovered, and although the male was frcMpiently observed in
the ncigbouring trees he was never once seen to venture
24 Mr. A. Roberts on Binls in
noar tho nosf, witli the usual caution of Honil)ills, and no
doubt this was the cause of the lien betraying' her ])resence.
The eo-gs, which I was able to ])veserve, are of very rougli
texture, dirty grey in colour, the pores show'ing up white,
and measure ;3i)-3- 3i)-l» X 2'J-2*)-7.
Halcyon chklicuti (Stanl.). J\. 832. (4 M., 4 F.)
liesident.
I. dusky ; B. upjier niand. dark brown, lower dull red, tip
dark brown ; L. anterior brown, posterior orange. Leng.
17G-185 ; W. 77-84 ; Tl. 40-44 ; C. 31-35.
Wherever the forest trees were large and free from inid(M--
growth and the grass comparatively short, these interesting
little Kingfishers were to be found, and they were very
common at Villa Pereira. Individuals woidd frequently
perch on twigs of the branches overhanging the cam]) at
that place, bobbing their heads up and down, darting down
to the ground to pick up some insect on the cleared ground
below, and occasionally starting a quiet churring note, wdiich
might be likened to the whirring of a cuckoo-clock just
before it strikes, suddenly breaking off and startling one with
a series of wild, hysterical, laughter-like notes. Others in
the neighbourhood would often join in, creating an efli'ect
delightfully in keeping with the wildness of the surrounding
forest. Two nests were found at Villa Pereira about 19th
October, one with four newly-hatched young and the other
with five much-incubated eggs : both nests were in trees and
appeared to be old ones made by Jjarbets or Woodpeckers.
The eggs are of the usual Kingfisher type and measure
24-2-25 X 21-5-22.
Halcyon AM'.ivKNTKis oruENTALis, Pirs. R. 833 a. (I M.,
1 F.) Resi.lent.
I. light brown ; I*, dull red, tip (l;ii-k brown ; \i. dull I'cd.
Leng.23G & 223 ; W. 105 Sc '.»<; ; Tl. 71 ic Gl ; Ts. 13 & 12 ;
C.45.
At Villa Pereira ihis Kinglisher was frecjuijutly noticed
perched on the top of peaked ant-hills or dead tops of young
the Trans^caal Mu.<eum from Borov. 25
rnbl)Pr-trees in the clearing, dartino- down every few minutes
to pick up some morsel from the ground and then usually
flying to another coign of vantage, from Avhich it would
repeat the manoeuvre. Elsewhere it was not often met with.
Three nests were found in the hanks of streams, two durino-
the first week in Octoher, out of one of which thre*; fresh
eggs were taken, and the third at Mativve a month later with
three eggs on the })oint of hatching. The three eggs taken
at Buruma measure 25"8 X 23'tJ-24"5.
Melittophagus mekidioxalis, Sharpe. R. 8G1. (1 F.)
May-August.
I. dark brown (?) ; B. k L. hlack. Leng. 142 ; ^\ . 78 ;
Tl. G3 ; C. 27.
Pairs of these Bee-eaters were observed in most clearinos,
usually perched on bare twigs of fallen trees, fron; which thev
darted after passing insects and always returned to the sanui
twig.
DlCROCERCrS HIRUNDINEUS (Lclit.). 1{. 800. (1 Y .)
July-August.
I. vermilion ; B. black ; L. ashy brown. Leng. 21C) :
W. IH) ; Tl. 93 ; 0. 34.
Very few were seen — as far as I can remember, a pair at
Ngamwe and two pairs at Buruma ; a nest was also tound near
Matiwe in the baidc of a river, from which two youn<»- ones
darted out when I dug it open and took refugt; in the trees
but not having a shot-gun handy T could not secure them.
The parents were not seen in the vicinity. Another s]»ecimen
was })rocured at Ngamwe, but lost on the joui-ney, which
struck me at the time as being different from the others I
had seen, but I may have been mistaken. The followino-
particulars were recorded of it: — "No. 255. Ngamwe,
25.7.08, M. I. scarlet; B. black; L. slate. Leng. 243 ;
AV. 78 ; C. 30. Perched on twig in shade of large tree and
hawking flies."
Urn-A AKHICAXA, Bechst. R. 836. Resident.
The Conunon African Hoopoe was seen at various times,
2(j I\rr. A. Roberts on J^/nL^ in
but it was always so sliy that no sj)ociinens were secnrod. I
found a nest at Naniabieda on 2'2nd September by observing
a cock enter and leave a natural hole in a tree situated at
about -40 feet from the ground, and on examining it found
that it contained five fresh eggs on which the hen was sitting
and aj)parently being fed by her mate. These eggs are of a
pale greenish-grey coloui-, rough in texture, and measure
25-0-27'2x 18-18-5.
IllRlsOR ERVTIIROKHYKCHI'S BRKVIROSTRIS, Gun. & JUAs.
(1 M., 1 F.) Kesi.ient.
These two s})ocinu'ns are tyjtes of a new subspecies de-
scribed in the 'Annals of the Transvaal Museum,' July I'Jll.
Its main characteristics are a short, almost straight, bill,
deeper and shorter than in ciridi.^, from which it may also be
distinguished by having- broad white ti[)S to the primary-
coverts as in erf/fhi-orJii/iic/ius, the crown and throat not so
clearly glossed with blue, the back, scapulars, crop, and
breast more bronze-coloured, and the tail with a fiery sheen
of bronze on the central feathers and exposed parts of the
others.
This red-billed Hoopoe was very connnon in open forest
amongst tall trees, usually in parties of about six, and in
habits did not differ matci-ially iVom the southern races. I
found a nest at Matiwe on IU)th October in a natural hole in
a tree, the entrance to which was so narrow that tlu; bird
could only just scjueeze through, situated not more than six
feet from the ground ; live inucli-incubated eggs taken from
it are of a pale vciditcr-blue colour and measure 21-2() X
lG-8-17.
KUINOI'OMASTKS CVANOJIELAS SCIIAI.UWI, jS'eiim. 1{. .S'.K} U.
(1 M., 1 juv. iM.) Kesident.
I. brown; 15. .^ L. bhiek. I.ciig. ;512-;-J20 ; W. Ill 11:5:
Tl. J 82-18.3 ; C. 12-1.3.
The Northern representative of our Scimitar-billed lioojioo
was often observed amongst tall trees, in pairs and sometimes
in small parties; in habits and call-notes it docs not dillcr
from the shorter-tailed species.
tJie Tran^nud MiK^eum from JJorov. 21
CArRIMULGUS PECTOIJALIS, ( 'liv. 1{. ISUi). (1 M.)
Resident.
No data recorded. AV. 105 ; Tl. 130.
1 have l)asod tlic identification of this specimen on two
otliers which are identical witli it, one from the Umhelinzi
Kiver, P.S.E.A., and the other labelled 'SS. Africa," from
Ivy's collection and probably f^hot at Grahamstown. The col-
lection in the Transvaal Museum contains a series of adult
specimens of this species from Grahamstown and Hector
Sjjruit, and as the three specimens above mentioned agree
with them in measurements and in all respects except that
they are more rufous-coloured, and the young of other closely
allied species are similarly distinguished, I can come to no
other conclusion than that they are the young of pedoralis.
They are much too dark to be mistaken for fervidiis, of which
there are two specimens in the collection from N.W.
iihodesia.
This species was common in the marsh region, but farther
in wa-^ only found near large streams. If I am not mistaken,
it is this species MJiich has a beautiful clear whistlino- sonn-,
which may be described as two clear pipes followed by a
series of notes running down the scale. When lying awuko
at night the song of this bird broke the silence of the forest
with such pleasing effect that I often attempted to follow it
to its source, but invariably without success ; and it was not
until I gave my " boys " instructions to try to show nic tho
bird that some time afterwards, at Ngainwe, one of them was
able to locate it and led me to a Niglijar perched on a tree
close to the ground ; but as it was then almost dark, I could
not see it until it flew away, and of course could not get a
shot at it. Almost immediately afterwards 1 heard it calliu"'
again in the direction it had flown, but owing to the darkness
1 gave up the pursuit.
At Matiwe on the 3rd November I found a solitarv c^o'
partly incubated, and tried subse(piently to shoot the bird,
but it proved to be too shy and I failed to secure it. It
differs considerably froni a clutch of C.fo.^sei botji in size
ami colour, and \<, I think, referable to this species. It is of
28 Mr. A. Roberts oh Bii-Jk in
a salinon-pink ground-colour, covered with bold blotches of
red-browu, and measures 28 X 21*3.
CAnuMULGUS FOSSEi, [ Verr.] Ilartl. R. 012. (1 M., 1 F.)
Resident.
No data recorded. (M.) W. 150 ; Tl. 120. (F.) W. 154 ;
Tl. 107.
This species was very common and met with in all parts of
the prazo. Its churring notes were most annoying at night,
lasting sometimes for ten minutes without cessation and
tem])ting one to stop the racket with a gunshot charge. A
clutch of two eoos was taken at Buruma on the 8th October,
laid on the bare ground; they are creamy white faintly
clouded with bi"Ownish purple and reJ-brown, one specimen
with a few blood-coloured spots at the acute end, and measure
2(5*5 X 20 and 27'5 x 21-G respectively.
MaCRODIPTERYX VEXILLARll'S (J. Gil.). H. OIG. August,
October, and November.
No specimens were secured, l)ut several males were
observed near Matiwe in October and another at Muandama
in August, and I found an egg near Guju on 12th November.
I made an attempt to get the parent bird in tlie last instance
liy leaving the egg and returning later with the •410 shot-
gun, but wlien once she had been flushed from lier egg she
would not let me get williin range and in the end I bad to
return and take it without bavin"- secured her. Tins eoo- is
of a general salmon-pink ground-colour, clouded with ashy
purple, and measures 32 X 21.
TaCHVoUNIS I'AltViS .MYUCIIROI s, Hchw. (?) . U. 1>2'.'.
The Palm Swift was very common near the coasi and at
Villa Pere'ra, Itiit (Htficult to shoot on the wing. At the
latter place large numbers were fonnd roosting in th(> leaves
of a very tall indigenous palm, and a discharge amongst the
leaves late one evening brought down a (|uantity of feathers,
evidently from nests, and sev<'ral bailly moulting specimens
which were not i)reservod.
tlie Transvaal Museum f)'0)n Boror. 29
Htrundo puella, Temm. \\. 9()1 . (2 M., 2 F.) Rosidcnt.
T. lioht brown ; B. & L. black. Leng. 138 (?)-170 ;
W. 105-110; Tl. C.'K?)-«^.
Laro(' nninbcrs were seen daring flip winter inontlis ])erclioil
on the bare branches of large trees left standing in clearings.
A number o£ nests in- various stages were found under over-
lianging rocks on the Kane River on 2nd November, one of
which contained two fresh white eggs, which measure
20 X 13"2. In this case, and in others in the Transvaal, the
nests were all built with the entraiu'(^ facing inwards towards
the supporting wall and not outward towards the obs(>rver, as
is the case with others of the species which build tubular-
moutheil nests.
HiRUNDO SMITHI, Leach. R. 959. (2 M., 1 F.) Resident.
T. brown ; B. & h. black. Leng. 154 k 132 ; AV. 110 k
105; Tl. 78 & 55.
Tiiis Swallow is a smaller edition of //. (ilhif/nlaris, having
the same appearance and resembling it in all its habits.
Open mud nests lined with feathers were observed at all the
European settlements and at Quelimane, placed under the
eaves and sometimes in the rooms of houses ; one nest at
Villa Pereira was still in use in May and the young did not
leave it until tlie hitter part of that month, and a puir was
seen building a nest under the eaves of a native hut at
Marunganya on the 23rd Se[)teml)er. An addled egg was
taken from a nest at Mixixine on 2(jtli A])ril ; it does not
differ in colour from that of alli'iyuhu'ls, but is much smaller,
measuring 17"7x 1IV3,
HiRUNDO MONTEiRi, Ilartl. (1 M., 1 F.) Resident.
I. grey-brown ; B. & h. black. Leng. (F.) 203 ; W. 112
& 140 ; Tl. ^-2k 88.
Montciro's Swallow was nowliere very conunon, but was
observed in most parts of the prazo in parties of four or Hve
jx'rched on the tops of very tall dead trees in the forest A
number of old nests, which were, I think, constructed bv this
species, were found in a hollow horizontal branch of a tn.>o
standing in the clearinii at Villa Pereira.
30 Mr. A. "Roberts o» Birds in
BrADORNIS PALLIDl'S MURINTS, Fiuscli & Havtl. R. 980 a.
(2 M., 2 ¥.) Eosident.
I. hrown ; B. Sc T.. black. Long. U7-155 ; W. 80-00 ;
Tl. 65-60; Ts. 17-10 ; C. 13-U.
At Villa Pereira this Flycatcher was fairly common, having
been attracted by the clearing operations which were being
carried on ft)r tlic piii-pose ot replacing coffee with rubber-
tree*, perching on some conspicuous twig in the open and
keeping a look-out for insects on the ground below. It was
hardly ever seen in other pai'ts of the prazo.
Mel.enornls ater TRoncALis (Cab.). IX. 008 a. {?> M.,
IF.) Resident.
T. dark brown (F. light brown). Leng. 200 & 105 ;
W. 101-103 & 96 ; Tl. 85-01 & 83 ; Ts. 20; C. U-15.
Like the preceding Flycatcher, this species was common
at Villa Pereira, but less so elsewhere. It resen-ibles the
Drongo Slirikes in its manner of hawking flies, but also
I'retjuently darts to the ground to ])ick up insects. On
0th tJctober I I'ound a nest of feathers and soft material in a
crevice near the top of a small decayed tree, about twel\(!
feet from the ground, and in it were three newly hatched
young.
Alseonax c.erulescexs (llartl.). R. 1015. (2 F.)
Resident.
I. grey-}>rown ; B. max. dark ])rown, niand. horn colour,
tip darker; L. brownish slate. Leng. 14:2-144 ; W. 77-78 ;
Tl. 60; Ts. 16; ('. 12.
These specimens are somewhat wliiler and generally paler
than others from Hector Spruit and X.I*]. Transvaal.
A single specimen was se<'n ami secured <«t Mpimba, ])ar(ies
of six or seven were fre(pieiitly observed at Ngamwe, and a
nest with three fr( sh eggs was tak<Mi at Rin-uma on
iSth October. The eggs have a cicam-eoloured ground,
cov<Ted \\itli minute pale grey aii<l yellowi-h - brown
markinffs, and measure 18"7-10'(;x Jl'l-ll'l ; and the nest
was a neat, cup-shaped structure of moss lined with fibres
the Tvdnsvaal Museum from Boror. 31
and fine roots placed in the fork of a small, smooth, white-
haiked tree at a height of about ten feet from the ground.
Smitiiornis capensis (A. Sm,). li. 1038. (1 M.)
Resident.
I. grey-brown ; B. max. black, mand. white ; L. yellowish
green. Leng. 142 ; W. 72 ; Tl. 47 ; Ts. 14 ; C. 15.
Attention was first drawn to the call of this strange Fly-
catcher at ]\Ipimba, where this specimen was secured, and it
was not uncommon. Subsequently I heard it also at Villa
Pereira. It was observed only in certain dark forest where
there was little or no undergrowth.
Hyliota flavigastra barboz.^, Hartl. R. 1010 a.
(I M.)
(Data lost.) W. 04 ; Tl. 42 ; Ts. 17 ; C. 11-5.
This specimen was secured by Kirby at Namaserengo.
Batis puella soror, Rchw. R. 1053 a. (1 M., 1 F.)
Resident.
I. pale lemon-yellow; B. & L. black. Leng. 114 & lOG ;
W. 57 & 53 ; Tl. 39 & 37 ; Ts. 16 & 15 ; C. 12-5 & 12.
]n the female the eyebrow is rufous and the crown, neck,
and upper back tinged with the same colour ; but the bands
on the wing are white.
These Batis Flycatchers were often noticed in small j).:rties
actively searching the leaves of tall trees in open forest,
usually in company with other small l)irds.
Platysteira peltata, Sund. R. 1057. (1 M., 1 F.)
Aug. & Nov.
I. dark mauve, with a white ring funning an iinier circlet ;
B. black ; L. dark slate ; eye-wattle crimson-scarlet. Lciio-,
(F.) 129 ; W. 65 ; Tl. 53-54 ; C. 17 & 14.
The male was shot by Kirby at Povarello and the fciiialc
by myself at Ngamwe amongst some thick bush on Ww b:iiik
of the river. I also saw a female feeding two voung in some
trees in a village midway between Villa Pereira and Rara on
11th November.
32 Mr. A. Rol)erts on BlnL^ In
TCHITREA PERSriCILLATA (>S\V.). H. 1085. (1 ad., 1 juv. M.)
]\lay-Auo^.
I. dark hrowii (juv. light brown) ; B., L., & eyelids cobalt
(juv.: B. dull slate, tip dark brown ; L. dark slato). Leng.
324 & 1G7 ; W. 79 & 74 ; Tl. 222 & 74; C. 10.
The Paradise Flycatcher was often observed aniono;st tall
trees on llic banks of streams. The a<lult male was shot at
Ngamwe and the juvenile at A''illa I'ereira.
CouACiXA PF.CToRALis (Jard. & Selbv). li. 1095. (1 ad.,
2 juv. M., 1 F.) Resident.
I. l)rown ; B. & L. black (juv., L. dark orey-brown).
J.encr. 247-254 ; W. 141-145 ; Tl. 111-122 ; Ts. 21-22 ;
C. 20-21.
These (Cuckoo Shi'ikes are very quiet and consequently
often overlooked. They were most commonly found in open
forest in dry situations. A pair was noticed near Namabieda
onard<'dly watcliing the movements of the natives and myself
jis we parsed a patch of small trees ; but though we searched
carefully we could not locate their nest, which they seemed
to be anxious about.
ritloNol'S TALACOMA, A. 8m. J{. J 10?. (L M., ] F.)
Resident.
1. pale lemon, eyelids darker ; B. black ; L. orange.
Leng. (F.) 200 ; W. 103-107 ; Tl. 80-87 ; Ts. 21-22 ;
('. 18-19.
Parties of six or more were frequently met with as they
restlessly flew from tree to tree, carefully searching every
crevice in the l)aik and the grass at the foot of the trees and
uttering a li;n-h note when aiiiiincd.
Sk.-AK'IM S RKTZII TKICOLOIt, (J. \{. (Jliiy. I\. 1 1 1 5 C.
(1 M., 1 F., 1 juv. .M.; H. -id. lit.
I. bright chrome-yellow ; 15. liiisnl half eiini^on-scarlet,
apical half orange-chrome ; \j. hright orangc-elirume ; gape
orange ; eyc-vvattle crimson-scarlet.
flie Ti'KusvaaJ Mv,<eu)n from Boror. 33
White on oiiter
t:iil-l'i'atlier%
Dc
)., onler
Long.
\v.
TI.
inner web.
web.
M
... 218
122
95
30
38
F
... 207
11(3
^^
20
2G
Juv. ...
... ?
115
92
31
46
These specimens arc smaller than al^out a dozen from the
Transvaal and also differ slightly in the adults in having
narrow white tips to the central pair o£ tail-feathers and
more white on the outermost, and in the black of the head,
neck, and throat being duller. The immature specimen is
grey, with the primaries, tail-feathers, belly, and under tail-
coverts as in the adults, but the secondaries, primary-coverts,
and bastard wing tipped with white, the first primary with a
white band across the inner web and the central tail-feathers
without the white tips. The beak also differs in being dark
brown, the apex yellowish and the genys orange.
The habits of this species are very similar to the foregoing
and it was equally common. I found a nest ati Buruma on
11th October containing five eggs too much incubated to bo
preserved. The nest was a shallow basin-shaped structure of
roots, cleverly bound together and plastered outside with
cobwebs so as to exactly match the white bark of the tree in
which it was placed. The interior was so small that it is diffi-
cult to conceive how the young would have found room in it
as they grew up. It was situated on a horizontal branch
about twelve feet from the ground, close to a fork, and had I
not seen the hen get up from it I should certainly not have
noticed anything unusual in the a])pearance of the branch.
The eggs were abstracted by tying the lid of a small tin to
the end of a long stick and carefully scooping them out, as
the bough was not strong enough to bear my wiMght. The
eggs were of a [)alo greenish ground-colour blotched and
spotted with slate, pur[)le, and various shades of brown, and
almost round in slia[)e.
NiLAUS NKiFlITEMPORALlS, Rchw. W. 1122. (1 M., 1 F.,
1 juv.) liesideut.
M. : I. red-brown ; 15. bhick, base lower uiaiidiblc hoi-ii ;
VOL. viii. 3
.34 Mr. A. Roberts on Birdie in
L, slate-Wue. F. : I. brown ; B. max, dark Ijrown, niand.
Lorn-blae, tip dark bi-own ; L. ashy slate. Long. 145 &
137-140 ; W. 71-80 ; Tl. 48-53 ; Ts. 20-21 ; C. 15-lG.-
The call of this Shrike was heard more often than the birds
observed ; it utters one ringing, note lasting for some three
seconds, and seems to prefer dry, stunted, open forest to the
larger trees found in moist situations.
POMATORHYNCHUS AUSTRALIS CONGENER, Ilchw, ]l. 1120 b.
(1 M., 1 F.) Resident.
I. purplish brown ; B. black, base lower mand. horn-colour ;
L. pale slate. Leng. IDO & 182; W. 73 & 70; Tl. 81 & 80;
Ts. 25 ; C. 19 & 17.
The Zambesi lied-wing Shrike was common throughout
the prazo in o})en forest, and its great variety of notes fre-
quently led mo to follow them thinking that they were
uttered by some other bird. They were often flushed from
the grass, and then always took refuge in the branches of
fallen trees, if these were near, or in some low bush ; they
were sometimes also seen creeping about amongst climbing
plants growing over larger trees.
POMATORHYNCHUS SENEGALUS (Liuu.). 1\. 1127. (1 M.,
1 F.) Resident.
I. dark brown ; B. black; L. greenish slate. Leng. 215
& 205; W. 85 & 83; Tl. 1)5 ? & 93; Ts. 30 &28; C. 22 & 21.
These specimens, as well as one from Beira, are distinctly
whiter on the under surface and ])righter on the upper
surface; and ear-coverts than about thirty specimens in the
Transvaal Museum from the Northern Transvaal to Knysna,
and also slightly smaller.
This line Red-wing Shrike was not so connnon as the last,
anil preferrc'd more open country and clearings. It utters a
loud, clear series of whistling notes runiiing down the scale
as it sails on cjuivering wing from one bush to another with
striking effect. A sliallow saucer-shaped nest with two fresh
eggs was taken at Matiweon IstNovemljer ; it was composed
of reddish-coloured roots v<'ry firndy bound with cobwebs to
the Tran.^raal Museum from Boror. 35
some stiff twigs hidden ainoiifrst somo nowly sprouted leaves
of a slender tree. The ei>o;sare white, with brick-red blotches
and streaks, intermingled with purplish slate -coloured
niarkinfifs, and measure 2^x 17"5.
NiCATOR GULAUis, Fiusch & Hartl. E, 1135. (1 M., 2 F.)
June- July.
I. brownish giey ; B. dark horn-bluo; L. slate-blue ; eye-
lids lemon-yellow ; bare skin before eye greenish ; gapo
yellow. Leng. 233 & 201-200 ; W. 107 k 1)1-'J5 ; Tl. lO'J
k 88-02 ; Ts. 30 & 25-2G ; C. 20 & 18-19.
Kirby obtained one o£ the females on the Munguzi River,
and noted that it was seeking insects in thick scrub antl
very lively in its movements, frequently jerking its tail
about ; its stomach contained remains o£ red ants and elytra
o£ insects. I saw only two specimens, one at ]\Ijninl)a in
dark forest, where it was perched on a twig, often boljbing
its head np and down, and when at rest holding its head
drawn down between its shoulders, evidently a characteristic
attitude judging by the scarcity of feathers on the hind-neck.
The second specimen flew from some long grass on the river-
bank at No-auiwe and took refu;>e in a small bush.
CllLOIlOPHONEUS SULrHURKOPECTUS SIMILIS (A. Sm.).
R. 1165Z/. (1 M.) July.
I. chestnut; 13. black ; L. slate-blue. Leng. 198 ; W. 90;
Tl. 91 ; C. 10.
This Shrike was only observed creeping about in the
tangled growth of creepers and thorns at M[)imba.
LaNIARICS MAJOR MOSSAMMICUS, Uchw. \{. 1105. (2 M.,
2 F.) Resident.
I. dark wine-retl ; B. black ; L. slate. Leng. 223-225
k 215 ; W. 80-94 & 81-85 ; Tl. 92-93 k 85-80 ; Ts. 30 ;
(!. 24-25 & 23.
This Shrike was very common at Villa Pereira amongst
scrub in old chjarings, and on account of its shyness V'.Wii
the nature of the bush it frequents some dilHculty was
3*
3G Mr. A. Roberts on Binh in
encountered in getting specimens. Some of its notes
resemble those of Drifoscopus cuhJa, while the duets can
hardly be distinguished from those of L. rufjventris.
Dryoscopus CUBLA HAMATUs, Hartl. K. 1178«. (lad.,
2 juv. F.) Resident.
Ad : I. bright orange ; B. horn-blue, brown at tip ;
L. slate-colour. Juv. : I. greenidi brown ; B. max. dark
horn, tomia and mand. paler ; L. slate. Leng. 175 ;
W. 77-10 ; Tl. G3-G5 ; Ts. 20-21 ; C. 18-19.
rjommon throughout the prazo. A nest with two fresh
eggs was taken at Buruma on 21st October ; it was an open
bow-shaped structure of fine roots and grass firm!}' bound
tof^ether with cobwebs, and placed in the fork of a branch
near the top of a tree. The eggs are white, thickly speckled
with slate, red, and red-brown, converging at the thick end
so as to form a ring, and measure 21'1 x 1(;*3 and 21*J: x IG'2
respectively.
MaLACONOTUS OLIVACEUS STARKI (W. L. Scl.). R. 1187 h.
(1 M., 1 F., 1 ?)
I. golden yellow; B. l)lack ; L. slate-grey. Leng. 250-
2G0 ; W. 108-113 ; TI. 101-108 ; Ts. 33-34; V. 28-29.
Not common anywhere and noted only in the marsh
region.
I once heard one uttering a loud linging note dining the
heat of the day, and on another occasion shot one at dusk
while it was creeping about in some thick scrub near the
ground and uttering a single soft whistle following two
sliar[) clicks of the Ix'ak.
Lanius collurio (Linn.). R. 1213. (1 M.) May.
Oiilv one specimen was seen and securctl ; it was jx'rc^hed
on the dead top of a rubber-tree in the clearing at Villa
Rcreira, and I thiidc that it had been delaye<l in its north-
ward migrat'on by its strength liaving gixcii out on account
of a <|uantity of wireworms wliich wcie found occupying
the forehead and base of )»eak.
the Transcaal Museum from Boror. 37
DicRURUS AFER (A. Liclit.). R. 1232. (1 M.) ResidcMit.
I. red ; B. & L. black. Leng. 228 ; W. 126 ; Tl. Ill ;
Ts. 17 ; C. 20.
Tliis siiecinieii is smaller than those from farther soutli,
as are also the eggs, oE which I took a clutch of three at
Buruma on 21st October ; the nest from which the eggs
were taken A\as also placed in a different situation, in the
top of a tree and not on a projecting branch as is usually
the case. The eggs are pure white and measure 23'2-21: x
17'3-17"7. The Drongo was common throughout the prazo
and in habits did not differ from those already described by
other writers.
Oriolus larvatus rolleti, Salvad. E. 12-kZa. (1 M.,
2 F., 1 juv. M.) Besident.
Ad. : I. sc:irlet ; B. brownish pink ; L. dark slate. Juv. :
I. light l)rown ; B. black ; L. slate. Leng. 218-225 ;
W. 132-133 ; Tl. 81-87 ; C. 21-5-25-5.
The Black-headed Oriole was common throughout the
prazo, and was invariably to be found in tall tiees on the
banks of streams or in the marshes.
Oriolus sp. Sept., Nov.
Pairs of a species of Golden C)riole were frequently
observed at Namabieda chasing each other backwards and
forwards amongst the topmost branches of tall trees, but
never leaving a certain limited area, and wildly calling when
excited. A specimen was secured (but unfortunately stolen),
of which the following particulars were recorded : — No. 304.
Namaljieda, 22. ix.08, M. I. crimson; B. pale brown;
L. dark slate-blue. Leng. 210 ; ^\ . 138 ; C. 20.
BUPHAGUS ERVTHRORHYNCIIUS (Stanl.). K. J 21'.).
A few Oxpeckers were seen occasionally, but not while in
the vicinity of game.
CyiNNYRiciNCLUS VEKREAi-xr, ([Boc] Fiiisch k Ihutl.).
R. 12oD.
The only specimen preserved was subsequently stolen. Jt
38 Mr. A. Roberts on Birds in
arrived in tlie prazo durino- my stay at ^amabieda and was
tberoafter met Avitb in otlior districts. At Bnrnma laro-e
numbers Avere in tlie babit of focdino- on l)erries in tbe trees
overbanoincr my tent, and did not evince any alarm at tlie
])resence of my native servants so lonfr as they did not make
a noise, but directly lend talking was indulged in tbey
disappeared like a flasb amongst the dense foliage, wliere
tbey were not very easily seen in spite of their brilliant
plumage. At times tbey would come sweeping past at a
terrific pace, suddenly circling and settling in a surprisingly
short distance considering the speed at which they were
travellino-.
LaMPROCOLIUS CHALYBiEUS CHLOROI'TEKUS (Sw.). 11.
1266 6. (1 M., 1 F., 1 juv.)
I. orange ; B. & L. black. Leng. 205-208 ; W. 113-
120 ; Tl. 70-75 ; C. 17-18.
The juvenile specimen, shot at Villa Pereira on lOih May,
is just beginning to assume the metallic feathers of the
adults.
Large numbers of these Starlings were found in the
clearing at Villa Pereira, but elsewhere they were not so
common, only a few pairs or solitary individuals being found
in the neighbourhood of native villages. Another sjiecimcn
was also shot at Muandania, but subsecjuentiv missed fiom
the collection. They were, as a rule, found ])erching on the
tops of tall dead trees, and appeared to live upon insects.
Anaplectks KUBincEi's (Sund.). P. 1320. (-1 M., 1 P.)
Pesldent.
I. hazel ; B. orange ; L. purplish pink. Leng. M-l-151 ;
W. 78-81 ; Tl. 4*1-53 ; C. U'>-]7.
Males in winter jlumage are brighter on the head and
crop than females, and the summer ])liiniage is assumed in
Sejjtember, aj)parently.
Numerous nests were found in all parts oi' the pi-a/.o, but
the birds were not always seen in the vi<-inity. These nests
arc wonderful structures, made of stiiV twigs firndy woven
together and fastened to the ends of drooping branches by
tJw Transvaal Museum from JJoror. 39
means of strips of bark from the same twigs, wbile the
interior, especially the roof, is thickly lined with broad
green leaves, and a projecting entrance leads up to the
chamber from below ; the nest is abnormally large for the
size of the bird compared with that of other Weavers. Two
kinds of trees difficult to climb are more favoured than
others by these birds, the one having smooth slippery bark
and the other a trunk studded with knobbed thorns, and the
ends of the branches to which the nests are attached are so
brittle that when attem})ts are made to bend them to get at
tlie nests they invariably break off and the eggs are broken
by the jolt or fall. Shells of eggs I saw broken in this way
were pale blue, sometimes sparingly spotted.
Ploceus stictifrons (Fschr. Rchw.). R. 1328. (3 M.,
1 F.) Resident.
I. Indian red ; B. slate, culmen indigo ; L. ])ale flesh-
pink. Leng. 158-171 ; W. 85-88 ; Tl. 75-GO ; C. 19.
In the marsh region, nests of this species were often seen,
but the birds themselves were shy and quiet and seldom met
with. In habits and voice it does not differ from the
southern species. A number of nests were examined in
October and November, but no eggs were found, and the
onlv thing of note I found in them was a tiny chestnut-
coloured Bat, which is, I understand, of a new species.
Ploceus ocularius crocatus (Hartl.). E. 1347. (1 M.,
1 F., 1 juv.) Resident.
I. orange ; B. black, base lower mand. hoiii ; L. dark
ashy i)ink. Leng. 15I.-101 ; W. 72-71 ; Ti. 53-59 ;
C. 18-19.
Owing to the shy and quiet habits of this species it was
not often noticed, but judging by the number of nests found
at different times, it must have been fairly conmion and
widely distributed over the prazo. Those I saw were always
silently searching for insects in thick bush, and I only once
heard one call softly to its mate. A nest containing three
fresh euiis was taken at Namabicda on 2<sth Sei)tenibcr ; it
40 Mr. A. Roberts on Birds In
■was constructed tlironoliout of compactly woven strips of
grass ^Yitbo^t a vestige of lining, and Hxed to the ends of a
long trailing thorny creeper overhanging a pool of water.
The eggs are of a thin green ground-colour, becoming jialer
at the acute end, spotted with slate-coloured markings, and
measure 22-22-8 x 14-3-U-8.
Two oo'fTs taken from another nost on the 23rd October
differ slightly from the others in being green, spotted with
})Urplish and jjale brownish slate, and measuring 20*8-21 X
14:*9. I did not see the bird in this second case, and cannot
therefore be sure of the identity.
Ploceus niguiceps, Lay. II. 13G1. (2 F.) Resident.
T. orange ; B. black, base lower mand. horn ; L. pale
flesh-colour, tinged with brown. Leng. 157-159 ; W. 78-
7!) ; Tl. 43-45 ; Ts. 20-21 ; C. 19-20.
One of these was shot at Villa Pereira on 25th May and
seems to be immature, the beak being lighter-coloured; and
the other was shot together with a male at a colony of nests
at Buruma on 20th October, and has only partly assumed
the summer dress, many white feathers mixing with the pale
yellow ones on the breast and fla)d\s. T]ie male is one of
those which were subsecpiently missed from the collection,
but I remember that it had also only jiartly taken on the
black featliers of th(^ head and throat, although it was
assisting in the nest-building ; the following particulars
were recorded of it : — No. 319. Buruma, 20. x, 08, M.
I. bright orange ; J>. entirely black ; L. dark flesh-colour.
Leng. 1(J7 ; W. 85; (I. 21. These measurements agree
witli those of two adults and one young male from Zind)iti,
Beira.
Large colonies of nests were found on all the streams,
lianging to the ends of branches, and a <|uantify of eggs
were taken between 20th October and Novendier. Two
distinct tvpes of <'ggs wei"e always found in the j^aiiic col()iU( s,
they being either verditei'-blue lightly and sjiaringly spotted,
or pale green fhicklv covered with minute purpli.sh-slate and
lu-own-coldured speckles^ ihc eggs in the same ehitelu's,
tlie Transvaal Museum from Boror. 41
however, always identical, and the measurements o£ Loth
types being the same, varying from 223 x 15 to 2-4'3 x 15"5.
Ploceus xanthops (Hartl.). R. 1389. (4 M., 4 F.)
llcsident.
2 ad. MM. : T. orange ; B. black ; L. flesh-pink. Leng.
180-183 ; W. 87 ; Tl. (59 ; Ts. 25 ; (J. 20-21.
2 juv. M.: I. }»ale brown ; 13. Ijrown, genys horn ; L.
light brown. Leng. 180-183 ; AV. 89-90 ; Tl. G9-70 ;
Ts. 22-23 ; C. 19-5.
4 F. : I. straw-yellow ; B. dark brown, genys horn ;
L. light brown. Leng. 173-175 ; W. 82-85 ; Tl. G1-G7 ;
Ts. 22-23 ; 0. 18-5-19-5.
Adult males do not appear to change their plumage in the
winter.
Laroe flocks of these Weavers were seen durino- the
w'inter months in gardens and old clearings, busily searching
for insects in the trees and grass-seeds in the gardens. A
small colony of nests was found on the 18th October near
Buruma hanging to the willowy ends of a small tree growing
in a })ool of water on which lotus lilies were growing, and a
clutch of three fresh white eggs was taken from one of
them : these e^ifis measure 21"8-23*5x IG'l.
Plocfats aureoflavus, a. Smith. I{. 1391. (1 ad.,
1 juv. JM.) July-August.
I. orange (juv. sandy grey) ; B. black (juv. horn-brown) ;
L. flesh-colour. Leng. 152 ; W. 77-78 ; Tl. 48-53 ; Ts. 20 ;
C. 17.
The juvenile specimen has the lower breast and abdominal
region pure white, and the rest of the plumage more or less
olive-yellow in proportion to the brightness of the same parts
in the adult.
This s})ecies was only observed at Ngamwe, where it was
not uncommon in the native gardens and reed-beds.
Ploceus xantiiopteuus (Finsch & Hartl.). 1{. 1395.
(2 xM., 1 F.) April.
MM. : I. bright brownish red; B. black ; L. fle<h-colour.
Leng. 145-150: W. 71-73; Tl. 40; Ts. 20-21; ( '. 17.
F. : W. i;i; Tl, 43; Ts. 19 ; C. 10.
42 Mr. A. Eol)erts on Birds in
This WeaA'or ^vas only observed at Mixixine, wliei'e it was
not uncommon in tlie neiglibourhooJ of some extensive reed-
beds.
Amblyospiza ALBiFROXS (Vio.). I\. 1400. A})ril-June.
Large flocks were in the habit of roosting in tall cane-
grass in a marsh at Villa Pereira, but no s})ecimens were
secured.
QUELEA SANGUINIROSTRIS LATHAMI (A.Sm.). ]{. IIO'J A.
(1 F.) June.
I. light l)rown ; B. pink; L. flesh-colour. Long. 117;
^^\ M ; Tl. at] ; Ts. IG ; C. 13-5.
Only one specimen was secured, and I do not remember
to have seen any others.
QuELEA ERYTIIKOPS (Hartl.). 1{. 1410. (1 F.) July.
I. grey-brown ; B. max. brown, mand. horn ; L. light
brown. Leng. 123; W. G2 ; Tl. 30 ; Ts. IG ; C. 14.
A small flock was found searching for grass-seeds in a
garden at Ngamwe ; I do not remember to have seen it
elsewhere.
Pyromelana flammiceps (Sw.). p. 1421. (3 "SI., 1 F.)
Eesident.
I. umber ; B. black ; L. ]»ale Ijiown or fle?<li-colour.
(F. : B. brown, paler on lower mandible.) 2 MM. : Leng.
140-142 ; W. 7G-77 ; Tl. 43-44 ; Ts. 20-21 ; C. 17. 1 M. :
Leng. 12.5 ; W. 73 ; Tl. 44 ; Ts. 20 ; ('. IG. F. : Leng.
125 ? ; W. 68 ; Tl. 32 ; Ts. 19 ; C'. IG. The last was sexcd
as a juv. M.
These were all collected within a few days of each other
in May and are in full breeding-plumage, but it will bo
observed tliat one, of which measurements have ])een given
se])arately, is somewhat smaller, and in addition it has broad
yellow margins to all but the two oiilir jiairs of lail-feathers,
and tlic i>'il of tlio forehead is not sej)arated from the base of
the beak by a fringe of black feathers as is tlic case with the
other two.
Kirby found this Bisli(>[) I>ird l)i-cediiig in rank cane-
the Transvaal Museum from Boror. 43
grass and took a clutch of throe partly incubated eggs on
IHli May. The nests wore similar to those of P. ori.v, as are
also the ooos, which measure li'-i-l-l'O X 18*7-10.
EUPLECTES XANTHOMELAS, liiij)]). R. 1428. (2 ]\I.)
Resident.
I. dark brown ; B. max. black, mand. white. L. ashy
brown. Leng. 142-148 ; W. G7-70 ; Tl. 53-55 ; Ts. 18-19 ;
C. 13-14.
These are considerably smaller than specimens from the
N. Transvaal and should perhaps be referred to a ditlerent
subspecies.
These Bishop Birds were not uncommon in native gardens,
nsuallv rising when disturbed from the grass to the top of a
tree close at hand. A nest with young was found at Villa
Pereira on 2t»th May ; it was of the usual type constructed
by this genus and placed amongst some matted weeds and
tall grass in an overgrown clearing.
Urobrachya axillaris (A. Sm.). R. 1429.
A few males were noticed flitting over the rank grass in
the open stretches between Mixixine and Malinguine.
Spermestes NiGRiCEPS, Cass. R. 1451. (1 F.)
I. umber ; B. horn-blue, inclining to cobalt in })arts ;
L. dark brown. Leng. 100 ; W. 47 ; TI. 34 ; Ts. 11 ;
C. 9-5.
Nundjers of nests were to be seen in bushes and trees
around homesteads in the marsh region generally and in
Quelimane, and during April and May several clutches of
from four to six efj-i^s were taken. The nests were lar<re
structures of <>rass, stiff stems converiiinff over and hidiiii'-
the entrance, and the interior warmly lined with fcatlicrs
and soft feathery grass-tops. The eggs are white and
measure 13-7-15'2 X 10-3-10-G.
IIVPARGOS NIYEOGlTTATrS (Ptrs.). R. 1455. (2 i\I.)
Resident.
1. light bi-own ; B. dark cobalt ; L. slate-brown ; eyelids
cobalt. Leng. 127 ; W. 5t; ; Tl. 51 ; Ts. 15; ('. 13.
44 Mr. A. Roberts on Biids in
This boantiful little Finch was not uncommon, but owing
to its shyness and its habit of frequentino- only the dense
tanoled orowth in river-beds it was not olten seen and some
diuicultj was encountered in octtino; specimens. It was not
observed farther inland than Villa l*ercira and Muriela.
Ttelia AFiiA, Gm. R. 14G4. (IF.) May.
T. brioht red ; B. brown above, ])aler below ; L. flesh-
pink. Leno-. lU ; W. 01 ; Tl. 3.S : Ts. U ; ('. 11.
The only one noted was shot amongst some rank reeds
and erass ffrowinsf round a lariie ant-heap in the clearii)<!; at
Villa Pereira.
EsTRiLDA ixcAXA, Sund. 1{. 1508. (1 F.) Juuc.
I. brown ; B. dark IjIuc, ti[) and tomia dark brown ;
L. black. Leng. HI ; W. 4l5-5 ; Tl. (incomplete) 39 ; Ts. 18 ;
C. 9.
This specimen is smaller and paler than another in the
collection from Durban (April) labelled as a fenude, of which
the following measurements have l)een taken : — Leng. 114;
W. 51 ; Tl. 45 ; Ts. 13 ; V. 8-5. I am doubtful, however,
as to the sexing of this specimen from Natal, otherwise I
would consider that from Boror a distinct subspecies ; it is
liiditer red on the rump than that from Natal and cannot
therefore bo referred to polio<ja,'<tr<(.
A male and a juvenile specimen were procured at the same
time as the fcinah; above mentioned, but they were in such
bad plumage (the runner lia\ ing lost all its tail-feathers and
the latter being only partly fledged) that 1 did not attemj)t
to skin them. Both adults were shot at the crossing of the
Liquari River at Villa Pereira, and a few minutes later
noticing that an old Weaver's nest looked as though it iiad
been relined, I i)ut my hand up to it, when thr-.e young
ones flew out and took refuge in the thick scrul) on the bank ;
and as I had so unfortunately shot both [)arents I caught
one of tliem and sul)sequently put it into a bottle of s[)irits,
which was afterwards stolen at Lourenco Marques. I saw
another adidt specimen for a few days later, but, as it also
the Transvaal Museum Jroni Boror. 45
appeared to bo in bad plumage, I did not slioot it, tbinkiiig
that I should bo able to secure another later on.
Lagonostica brunneiceps rendallt. Hart. T{. 15 IJ-.
(1 M.) Resident.
I. bright red ; B. dark pink, streaks in culmen, tomia and
genys brown ; L. white. Long. 98 ; W. 48*5 ; Tl. 35 ;
Ts. 11 J C. l)-5.
This sj)ecinien is rather brighter-coloured than those from
Hector Spuit and the crown contrasts sharply with the
e^'ebrows.
A nest of this species was found in May, but as one of
the eggs was very much larger than the others and seemed
to be that of Vidua serena, I left them to hatch ; but on
again visiting it, I found that the nest had been pulled to
pieces and the eggs destroyed. It was a small oven- shaped
alhiir made of grass lined with feathers, with a wide entrance
at the side, and placed in a small tree at a height of about
five feet from the ground.
Urj^.ginthus angolensis (L.). R. 1529.
The Blue-breasted Waxbill was fairly common at Villa
Pereira, but no specimens were procured.
Hypochera funerea (Tarrag.). R. 1536.
A few males were seen occasionally at Villa Pereira,
flying swiftly past over the clearings, but no o})[)ortunity
oftered of securing a specimen.
Vidua SERENA (Linn.). R. 1539. (Ijuv. M.) Resident.
T. light brown ; B. pink ; L. dark brown. Leng. 121 j
W. 00; Tl. 43; Ts. 14; C. 9 5.
A few were sometimes seen in native gardens.
I may as well here remark that since writing on the
subject of tho breeding-habits of this Widow Bird (ride
vol. iii. no. 1, p. 9) I have found a fresh orr;*^, of lh(» same
dimensions and colour as those previously mentioned, in the
nest and with a hard-sot egg of Coliuspasser ardc/is; this
was on the 19th March, 1908, in the Darglo District. Xatal.
4(3 Mr. A. Uobevfcs on I3inL-< in
In April, 1911, when in the nciolibourhood o£ Makapan's
Caves in the Northern Transvaal, I noticed a 3'0un<T V. serena
accompanying a flock of Estrilda astrild, and pointed it out
to the Hon. Paul Methuon, who was with me at the time ;
but though I followed it for some distance, I eventuall}' lost
sight of it and gave up the chase. The plumage was so
different from that of the Roodebekkies, and the call so
distinct, that there was no mistaking the identity. As
further proof of what I have written in this connection, an
interesting note by Mr. Frank Bolus, in October, 1909,
number of this Journal, seems to indicate that, like the
('uckoo, this species first deposits its egg on the ground and
then carries it to the nest of some other bird.
Steganura paradisea (Linn.). R. 1542. (2 M.)
Resident.
I. brown ; B. black ; L. brown. Leng. 301-305 ; W. 81;
Tl. 211-220 ; Ts. 15-lG ; C. 10-5-12.
These AVidow Birds were more often seen basking in the
sun in tli(! mornings tlian at any other time, usually
resorting to the dead to})S of trees on the edge of the clearing-
facing east as soon as the sun had dispersed the morning
mists, and a short time afterwards ihcy would rise higher
than the trees and disperse in all directions.
Petronia siPERCiLiARis BORORKNSis, subsp. nov. R. 15G0.
(1 M., 1 F.) Resident.
I. brown ; B. brown, horn-whito below ; L. dark slate.
Leng. ICO ct 157 ; W. 95 k .S9 ; Tl. 59 & 57 ; Ts. 17-5 & 10;
( '. il k 1 ;'..
Th(!S(' two specimens are very much judcr tlian those
fi-om Union territory, especially on tlu; uudci- surface of
the l>ody.
The Boror Yellow-throated Sparrow was common at Villa
Pereira and the neighbourhood of native villages. Its call
is an umiiusical grating chirp, which it is fond of uttering
while percliT'd on tin- to[> of some smtill tree.
the Tnin.^raal Museum from Boror. 47
POLIOSPIZA MENNELLI, E. C. Cliubb. E. 1584. (1 ]\I.,
2 F.) llesident.
I., B., & L. light brown. Leno-. 131-132 ; W. 81 k 78 ;
Tl. 52-53; Ts. 13 & 11; C. 11.
These are the specimens referred in tlie 'Check List' as
PoUospiza reicJiardi, Rchw., but they are obviously not of:
that species, the under surface being much whiter than
indicated in ( *apt. Shelley's 'Birds o£ Africa,' vol. iii.
pi. 24. tig. 2, and another figure in the " Journal fiir
Ornithologie," 1907, pi. i.
Mennell's Seed-eater was not uncommon at Yilla Pereira,
where it w^as often observed on the tops of trees, calling
very much like P. gularis.
Serinus icterus madaraszi, Rchw. R. 1598 a. (2 M.)
Resident.
I. hazel ; B. dark brown above, paler below ; L, ashy
lirown. Leng. 103-105 ; W. G6-G7 ; Tl. 39-41 ; Ts. 13 ;
('. 9-10.
Large parties were often noticed in native gardens, and
they were often seen in cages constructed by the natives,
who were in the habit of slinging the cages by means of a
running string to the top of a high pole.
Emheriza ma.jor (Cab.). R. 1615. (2 M.) Resident.
L light brown ; B. max. dark brown, base paler, mand.
horn-colour, tip dark brown ; L. flesh-colour, tinged with
bluish. Leng. 102-170 ; W. 70-80; Tl. C8-70 ; Ts. 17-18 ;
C. 14.
This Golden-breasted Bunting was not uncommon in open
forest, usually tlying from the grass when disturbed to the
lower branches of the nearest tree, and when approached
hiding themselves in the denser foliage higher \\\^.
Emberiza flaviventuis, Steph. R. Idld. (1 F.)
Sei)tember.
I. light brown ; B. max. dark brown, mand. horn-colour,
tip dark brown : L. dark flesh-colour. Leng. 157 ; AV. 78;
Tl. ('.5 ; Ts. 1<; ; C. 12.
48 Mr. A. Roberts on JJirds in
This and the foregoing species were thought to be one
and the same and no })articnhir note was made of it. The
specimen secured rose from the ground to a tree in the samo
manner as the others.
MoTACiLLA VIDUA, Sund. R. 1G30. (1 M.) April.
I. umber; B. & L. bhick. Leng. 210; W. 95; Tl. OG ;
Ts. 24 ; C. IG.
Tliis specimen was one of four found frequenting a marshy
piece of ground on the edge of a pool of water in the open
at ViUa Pereira. Others were also observed on open
stretches of sand in the river-bed.
MoTACiLLA LONGICAUDA, Kiipp, ]\. lluVL (1.) Resident.
(Data lost.) W. 77 ; Tl. 92 ; Ts. 20 ; ('. 13.
The Long-tailed Wagtail was not uncommon in parts of
the rivers amongst rocks, but very shy and ditiicult to
ap[iro:ich.
Macronyx croseus (Vieill). R. 15G9. (1 M., 1 F.)
Resident.
I. grey-brown ; B. max. diirk l)rown, maud, horn-blue,
tip darker ; L. pale brownisli yellow\ Leng. 203-214 ;
W. 98-101 : TL 78-79; Ts. 3.5 ; \\ 15-19.
Not uncommon in open marsh-land. It always took to
the tops of the nearest trees when alarmed.
PnYLLASTUKPnUS FLAVIVENTRIS OCCIDENTALIS (Sharpc).
R. 1758 A. (2 M.) Resident.
L d.ill red; r,. dark l)r()wn ; L. slate. Leng. 230-233 ;
AV. 103; Tl. 101; Ts. 21; V. 21-22.
Not maiiv of these YeUow Biilljuls were seen. Three or
four at Mjiimlia and a pair at Quelimano were found eating
small berries, and another pair at Ngamwe seemed to bo
sucking nectar from some red aloe flowers.
l*nYi.LASTiu;riirs caimonsis siaiirltci's (Kchw.). R.
1773 fl. (2 M., 1 !■'.) IJcsident.
I. slate-brown ; 15. ihiik brown; L. slate-bhie. Leng.
the 7'runsvaal Maseuiii from Boror 45^
203; ^X. 85-88 k 78; Tl. ^r)-^)^ & TO; Ts. 23 & 21;
C. 19-20 & 18.
These specimens have been kimlly identified by Dr.
Reichenovv. No measurements are ^Ivcmi in his descri{)tion
of the subspecies, but it would seem that it is smaller than
the typical capensls.
Family parties were found scratchino- about amono-.st
leaves on the ground in dense l)ush near J\Ipiml)a, and when
alarmed set up a cackle and nnule off further into the scrub,
where it was difficult to follow them.
Phyllastrephus cervixiyentris. Shell. 11.1770. (1 M.,
1 F. ?) Resident.
I. pearly grey ; B. brown, gape yellow ; L. [)ale flesh-
colour. Leng. 194-195 ; W. 80 ; Tl. 82 ; Ts. 20 ; C. IG.
These specimens were shot in bamboo-jungle at A' ilia
Pereira, and 1 took them to be the young of the preceding-
species as the alarm-note and habits were similar, and I was
therefore rather surprised to find that they were distinct.
One of these specimens has some light brown feathers on the
nape, which seems to support this, and both are undoubtedly
immature, judging by the appearance of the upper and under
tail-coverts ; but, on the other hand, the young of P. capeuKis
does not vary from the adults to such a great extent both in
regard to plumage and the legs and feet, and I (\o not doubt
therefore that cerc'inii'entns is a distinct S[)ecies.
Pycnonotus layardi pallidus, subsp. nov. R. 1795.
(2 M.) Resident.
I. i)rown ; B. & L. black. Leng. 197-201 ; W. 94 ;
Tl. 85-88; Ts. 21 ; C. 18.
T havf* given the^e si)ecimens a subspecific name for the
following points: — Generally paler than typical specimens
from Rustenburg and the Transvaal, more yellow on the
abdomen, a tinge of this colour exteiuling up the centre of
the breast, the brown of the crop shnr[)ly defined and not
extending down the white breast, and the throat lighter
brown.
Vol.. vni. 4
50 Mr. A. Roberts on Birds In
Blackcap Bulbuls were very common where oranfres were
grown. A nest containing three eggs was found on 22n(l
October, but as I was on the march, and, as is so often the
case when anything is wanted from the loads, the carrier in
charge of my collecting outfit was a long way l^ehind, in
the end they got broken.
Antiireptes hypodilus, Jard. R. 183.3 a. (1 ad., 2 juv.
MM., 2 ad. FF.) Resident.
I. dark brown ; B. & L. black. Leng. 100-lOG & 9G ;
W. 50-52 & 48 ; Tl. 30-34 ; C. 14-15 & 13-5.
The Transvaal Museum collection contains specimens of
this species from Beira, Hector Spruit, nnd the Umbellnzi
River near Delagoa Bay, and of collaris specimens from
Durban, Port St. Johns, and Grahamstown Districts.
The Northern Collared Sunbird was very common at
Mpimba and Ngamwe, resorting to a flowering Loranthus at
the former place and ITaUeria lucida at the latter.
Anthreptes longuemarii nyass.e, Neum. R. 1837.
(2 ad., 2 juv. MM., 2 FF.) Resident.
T. umber ; B. dark brown ; L. black. Leng. 136, 134, &
122-130 ; W. 80, 72-73, & G4-69 ; Tl. 55, 50-52, & 41-45 ;
C. 16-16-5x16-17 & 15.
The two FF. have a white mark below the eye. Adult
MM. have the ear-coverts grey-brown and juvenile MM. and
FF. brownish grey. One of the juvenile males has a trace
of metal'ic blue-green on the rump like oriental'iK, but the
others do not show it; both of these innnaturo specimens
still retain some of the grey feathers, which are mixed with
the new metallic ones. The metallic sheen is distiiiclly of a
different shade to that of orientalis, of which the collection
contains a single adult male colh'cted by the late J. v.
0. Marais, proliably in Fast Africa.
T did not see these Sunbirds at flowers, l)ut always search-
ing for insects in the leaves of trees, often in company with
other small birds. They were fairly plentiful at Villa Pereira
the Transvaal Museum from Boror. 51
amongst broad-leaved trees in open forest, and they were
also observed in similar forest farther inland.
Chalcomitra olivacina, Ptrs. R. 1839. (1 M., 4 ?)
July-August.
I. umber ; B. & L. black. Leng. 124-132 ; W. 55-00 ;
Tl. 38-45 ; C. 21-23.
Large numbers of these Sunbirds were found on a flowering
Loranthus at Mpimba, and a few also observed on flowers of
Halleria lucida at Nganiwe.
Chalcomitra gutturalis (Liun.). R. 1804. (3 ad.,
3 juv. MM., 2 FF.) Resident.
I. dark brown ; B. & L. black. Leng. 132-137 & 127-
132 ; W. 69-75 & 08; Tl. 44-51 & 43 ; C. 14-16 & 13-14.
This species was common wherever certain red aloe flowers
were to be found, usually in dry open forest. A pair was
noticed at Villa Pereira continually flying- to and fro from
some of these flowers to a certain part of the forest, in May,
and I have no doubt that they had a nest with young.
CiNNYRis microrhynchus, Shell. R. 1876/. (1 M., 3 F.)
Resident.
I. brown (F. grey-brown) ; B. & L. black. Leng. Ill &
103 ; W. 56 & 51 TtI. 38 & 33 ; C. 17 k 10.
This species was not uncouiinon throughout the prazo, and
was most partial to flowers of the Jjoranthus. A number of
nests were found during October and early November, two
of which contained eggs; they were attached to the ends of
branches of small trees, eight to fifteen feet from the ground,
and were made of woolly fibres, feathers, lichen, moss, a few
stiff grass-stems, and bits of leaves, and were of the usual
shape constructed by Sunbirds. In a clutch of two fresh eggs
taken at Buruma on 3rd October the colour is of a uniform
slate-grey, and measurements arc 17-2 x 1 1'7 and 1 7-I) x 1 1*5,
while in another clutch, of the identitv of which I am not
quite certaiti, tlioy measure l(r3 X ] 1 and 10 x 11*4 and arc
of the same ground-colour as the first but sj)ottcd and
streaked with black.
4*
52 Mr. A. Kohorts on Birds in
CiNNYRIS SHELLEYI, Alex. li. 1878. (2 ad., 1 juv. M.)
Resident.
Lumber; B. & L. black. Leng. 1 1 2-1 2-i; W. 01-02 ;
Tl. 39-41 ; 0. 18-20.
The iniiiiature specimen has not yet assumeil all the
metallic feathers of the back and the flanks are partly grey ; it
was shot on 7th July at M})ind)a.
Very few of these Sunbirds were noted ; in most cases they
were found perched near the tops of trees singing and acting
in a lively numner, and only one was seen at i^owers in
company with C. olicacina, A. coUaris, and C. mi<:>'orlii/)tc/nis.
PaRUS TALLIDIVENTRIS REVUMiE, Shell. R. 1020 rt. (2 M.,
1 F.) Resident.
I. hazel ; B. black ; L. dark slate-colour. Leng. 1-1 0-l")! &
145 ; ^^\ 81-84 & 78 ; Tl. G4-G8 & GO ; Ts. 19 & 18 ;
C. 11.
The Rcs'unia Tit was found in small parties or ])airs
actively creeping about the brandies of tall trees in search of
insects. A ])air was observed prying about old Woodpeckers'
nests at Namabieda, no doubt in search of a suital)lo
nesting-site.
Parisoma I'LUMBEUM (Hartl.). R. 1929. (1 M.) July-
October.
I. light brown ; B. black ; L. dark slato. Long. 142 ;
^v.e^ -, ti. gi ; Ts. i7; c. 125.
This specimen is paler than those from the Transvaal and
adjacent territory.
Only two specimens were seen, one at Ngamwe and the
other at I'unima, l)()th in thick busji on the l)anks of streams.
Li their maimer of spreading their tails and jeiking their
bodies from side to side they reminded me wry miieh of
Trochocerciis cjanomelas.
Anthoscopi'S rohkrtsi, Ilaagnor. (2 F.) Hesident.
These two sjjecimcns are types of the species deseribcsd by
Haagner in the ' Annals of the Transvaal ]\hiseum,' August
1909.
the Transvaal Museum from Boror. 53
Small flocks of these birds were frequently seen clinging
to the leaves as they searched for their insect food, and they
seemed to be always restlessly moving onwards from tree to
tree. They were often seen in company with other small
birds bent on the same quest.
Melocichla mentalis ORiENTALis (Sharpe). R. 1951a.
{2 M.) Resident.
I. hazel ; B. brown, tomia and mand. horn-blue ; L, slate-
blue. Leng. l'J3-212 ; W. 7G ; Tl. 8G-91 ; Ts. 27 ;
C. 18-18-5.
These interesting birds were found only amongst tall
matted grass in open glades, and seemed only to show them-
selves when the sun appeared early in the morning or during
the intervals between the showers on rainy days. During
the dry season I often saw quite a number scattered about on
the tops of tall grass-stems just after sunrise as they sunned
themselves and loudly warbled to each other ; but no sooner
were attem[)ts made to get near them than they would dive
into the dense grass and nothing could induce them to rise.
At Ngamwe I was once attracted by hearing a wild and
musical song proceeding from the depths of a tangled bed of
cane-grass, and carefully creeping in I was able to watch one
of these birds as it spread its tail, and showed oft' its fine
fluffy plumage and danced about on its perch while it sang
away with all its power ; I should never have thought this
sluggish-looking bird capable of such exuberance of spirits
had I not been an eye-witness, for its general appearance is
very much like that of the S. African Grass Birds
(Sj)hena'anis), and one gets accustomed to expecting similar
moods in birds of like appearance.
CiSTICOLA NATALENSIS (A. Sm.). R. 19G7. (1 M., 1 F.)
Resident.
(M. data lost.) ¥. : I. hazel ; B. max. brown, mand.
l)rownish yellow ; L. pale brownish pink. Leng. 130 ; \\ .
71 k 59 ; Tl. GG & 49 ; Ts. 27 <fc 2-1 ; 0. 11-5 & U.
The Natal Grass-Warbler was not unconnnon in the ojien
54 Mr. A. Roberts on Birth in
grass-land of the marsh region, and its harsh chiekino- note
was particuliirly noticeable during our journey from Mixixine
to Nhainacurra.
CiSTICOLA liUFICAPILLA BORORENSIS^ STlbsp. nOV. (1 F.)
Resident.
(Data lost.) ^\. -12 ; Tl. 37 ; Ts. IG ; (\ 10.
This subspecies ditlVrs from tyjiical birds from Ti-ansvaal,
being much smaller and having a distinct subterminal smudge
on the tail-feathers ; it is even more closely related C. dodsoni,
Sharpe, than C. miielleri of Alexander is to that species, both
in regard to size and the tail-marks.
The habits and voice of this tiny bird did not strike me as
being any different from the Transvaal birds, with which I
am well acquainted, and particular attention was therefore
not devoted to them nor more than this one specimen ])re-
served. I often met with small family parties in the o})en
forest close to my camp at Villa Pereira ; they invariably
flew up from the short grass under the trees into the branches
of the nearest tree.
CiSTICOLA PisiLLA, Gun. k Rl.ts. (1 M.) May.
This specimen was taken as the male type of the species,
which was described in the 'Annals of the Transvaal Museum,'
July 1911. It is distinguished from C. rvfa of West
Africa by the first primary being more than half the length
of the second.
Nothing w!is noted of this specimen beyond that it was
collected at Villa Pereira on 2;")tli May and was moulting.
CiSTICOLA EUVTiiuors (Jlartl.). P. 2002. (Ad. M. & F.
and juv. M. k Y.)
I. vellow isli grcv ; 15. max. brown, nmiid. 1ii>ni-c(il()iir ;
I;, flesh-eolour ; gape yellow. Lcng. (juv. M.) IMiV:(F.)
122-124 : W. o.'')-')*.) & 4H-4:t ; Tl. Til-ar) k 45-4(; ; Ts. 23
&20 ; (". 11-1 "> k V.\.
The juvcnib' male is the specimen mentioned in the 'Check
List' as Cisticola si/lria.
the Transvaal MuseuDi from Jjoror. 55
Tl)ese Grass- Warblers were not uncommon in open forest
near Villa Pereira and Mpimba. They were usually found
in small ]:)arties dilinently searching amongst the grass and
Lushes for insects, and seemed to prefer those parts of the
forest in which the trees were tall and free from tanoled
undergrowth.
Heliolais kirbyi, Haagner. (1 M., 1 ?) Resident.
These two specimens are the types of the species.
The first specimen 1 shot while perclied in an orange-tree
in which it had taken refuge on being disturbed from the
grass, and the second was one of a small party found searching
amongst small bushes and grass in o[)en forest at Mpimba.
I saw several more on different occasions at the last place,
but did not secure them. Their habits and appearance much
resembled those of the Wren-Warblers (Prima) ; but their
red wings served to distinguish them even at a distance.
Calamonastes stierlingi, Tlchw. R. 2009. (1 M., 1 F.)
Resident.
I. light cinnamon ; B. black (in F. toniia and genys
whitish) ; L. flesli-colour. Leng. 132 & 123 ; W. 61 & 54 ;
Tl. 50 & 40 ; Ts. 21 & 20 ; C. 13-5 & 12.
There is a specimen of stierl'imji from Matoppos, Rhodesia,
which does not differ from the two from Boror, and it does
therefore occur south of the Zambesi River.
Stierling's Barred Warbler was found in open forest amongst
grass and small bushes growing under tall trees. It was,
as a rule, seen to rise from the grass into the nearest bush,
from which it could watch the movements of the intruder.
CALAMOCICHLALEPTORHYNCHA(Uchw.). R. 2013. (1 M.)
Resident.
T. light brown ; B. max. horn-brown, mand, brownish
yellow, apex dusky ; L. light slate-grey. Leng. 139 ; W. G3;
Tl. 50 ; Ts. 25; C. 14; hind claw 8'3.
This s[)ecimen is much more rusty yellowish than the
described species; but I lliiuk it is probably in immature
56 Mr. A. Eoberts on Birds in
])lamago, as in all other niombors of this g(Mins, and also in
Lusci/iiola, the young are more nist-eoloured.
Kirby obtained this sjieeiiiKMi at jMuiicla on \'M\\ Jiin(»and
notei that he found it hopiting about near tb.e ground
amongst some reeds. I think that this is the same species
of Avhieh 1 saw a good many at Villa Pereira amongst the
beds of reeds in the river ; but they were shy, and the oidy
ones I could have shot were in reeds overhanging ugly-
looking pools into which I should not have cared to venture
to get them out.
TlUxN-IA MYSTACEA, lUi].!.. I^ 2040. (1 M., 1 F. juv.)
Ivcsident.
Ad. : I. yellowish brown ; B. black ; L. biownish flesh.
Leng. 12G^; W. 48; Tl. 53 ; Ts. H» ; C.12. Juv. F. :
I. dark slate ; 1*. max. brown, mand. yellow, apex brown ;
L. i)ale flesh-colour ; gai)e yellow. Leng. 10*J ; ^V, 44 ;
T1.51; Ts. 18-5; C. 11.
The Tawny-fianked AVren-Warl)ler was common throughout
the prazo in suitable locaUtic^s. At Quelimaue I t'ouiul it
amongst weeds under cocoanut-palms, and farther iidaud
usually near open streams.
ApALIS NEGLECTA, Alex. 1J.2081. (2 M.) Kesideut.
I. orange-brown ; B. black ; legs })iidvisli grey, feet
ochreous. Leng. 114-11'J; W. 40-51 ; Tl. 45-48 ; Ts. 18 ;
C. 12-1:5.
fSoine douljt still a])})ears to exist in the minds of ornitho-
loo'ists as to the specilic distinctness of A. J/oristtr/a and
^\. neylecta, and I nuiy here explain that though the litcrat iiic
on the subject is not <|uite cU'ar, the two species are (juite
distinct, the males of thosi' fotuid in Natal and the eastern
])arts of the Cape Provinc<' ne\<T lia\ ing tiie black ciiot-lnind
which is characleiistic of tiiose found from Delagoa Bay
northwards. In descriijing A. neylecta a mistake was mad(s
in taking a fenuile of A. Jlorisuya as the type female of
neijh'ria.
the Transvaal Mnseuui from Doror. 57
Tlie Eastern Black-breasted Bush- Warbler was found to
be fairly connnon at Queliniane, Mixixine, and Villa Pereira,
and was most commonly found in orange-trees. Only the
males were noticed to have black chest-bands, and they were
always found either in })airs or small j)arties of four or five
actively searching for insects and lestlessly moving- from tree
to tree. The call is ii harsh charring note, something like
that of the Batis Flycatchers.
Camaroptera brachyura bororensis, Gun. & ]{bts.
(1 M.) August.
This specimen is the ty])eof the subspecies described in the
' Annals of the Transvaal ]\[useum/ July 1911. It difif'ers from
the typical southern race in being much brighter on the back
and Avings, paler on the flanks, darker on the breast, less
yellowish on the crop, and the tarsus is slightly longer.
I only met with this bird in the dense scrub on the banks
of the river at Ngamwe. Its habits and voice seemed to bo
the same as those of the southern race.
Sylvietta whytei (Shell.) (1 M., 1 F.) Resident.
I. brownish yellow ; B. max. brown, mand. light horn-
brown ; L. yellowish flesh-colour. Leng. 95 & 8<S ; W. h^}
k 54 ; Tl. 21 ; Ts. 17 & IG ; C. 12 & 11.
The female specimen has the sides of face, ear-coverts,
eyebrow, and entire under surface rufous, and an indistinct
collar on the hind-neck |)ale rufous ; it agrees with the
descrii)tion of S. jacksoni, but is, I think, the female of
S. ichytei. The male is much paler.
The Nyassa Crombec was first met with at Ngamwe, and
it was not often observed until the latter part of October and
early November, when quite a number of nests were found,
altliough the birds themselves were not often seen about in
their vicinity. Two clutches, of two eggs eacdi, were taken
at Matiwe : in one the eggs are speckled witli piirplisli,
plate, brown, and red, and measure 17'() X 11*7 and Jd-ti x 11*7;
while in the other, of which one of the eggs was subs('«piently
broken in transit, the marks are very much largt.T. the single
58 Mr. A. Roberts on Birds 'm
eog now in the collection nieasurino- about tlie same as tlie
other two, lG*<Sxll'5. The ne>ts were inaih' oC wliite fibres
and grass- stems, neatly IjoiuuI together with cobwebs and
ornamented outside with bits of s{)iders' egg-bags, and
suspended to the ends of branches under the shelter of some
small tree, usuall}' at a height of about four or five feet from
the ground. The nest closely resembles that of the Sunbirds
in shape, but instead of the entrance being at the side under
a hood, the top is open and only half covers the nest, the sides
looping downwards from the twigs to which the nest is
suspended ant! forming a neat rim in front.
Eremomela scoTors, Siind. R. 2137 (2 M., 2 F.) Ai)ril-
July.
I. creamy white ; eyelids brownish pink ; B. black ; L.
brown, feet brownish pink. Leng. 100-115 ; W. 55 &
4G-4.S ; Tl. 44-48 ; Ts. 17 ; C. 10-5-11-5.
These Bush-Warblers were common at Villa Pereira and
the marsh region generally. They are very restless birds,
constantly moving from tree to tree in search of insects,
every now and then setting up a noisy chatter, in which they
all join, suddenly sto})ping to go on with their restless
searching.
CRATEUOrUS JARDINEI KIRKI, Sliarjic. J{. 2174 a. (1 M.)
Resident.
I. scarlet ; B. black ; L. light brown. Leng. 228 ; W. DD;
Tl. '.•7; Ts. 29 ; C. 20.
Kirk's Bal)bler was not uncommon in the sernb growing
in old clearings. Its voice and habits do not ditrer from the
larger southern race. I found a nest at Namabieda on 30th
8e|)tember, placed in the tangled bianehes of a tree which
liad fallen to the ground ; but I was too early for eggs and
the birds deserted the nest when they saw me inspect it.
TURDI:S LIBONVANUS TROPICALIS, Rtrs. ]{. 222!) I>. (4 M.,
3 F.) Resident.
I. light ijrown ; B. orange ; L. and bare skin of face palo
the Transvaal Museum from J3oror. 50
yellowish. Long. 228-231 & 2U-21G ; W. 107-113; Tl.
"«1)-'JG ; Ts. 28-32 ; V. ll)-22.
These specimens are all uiuloubtedly referable to the siib-
sjtec'ies desc'rll)ed by Peters; but other specimens in the
collection from Beira, while agreeing in colour, somewhat
exceed the measurements given by lieichenow ; specimens
from the Eastern Transvaal again are smaller than those from
Beira, but in colour come nearest to the llustenburg
specimens.
As can be seen from the number of specimens obtained,
this Thrush was fairly common, but, like all its African
congeners, very shy when once alarmed. Most of the
specimens were secured while they were searching for their
food in open, moist ground on the border of the clearing at
Villa Pereira or under the large trees where there was little
undergrowth. Three nests with eggs were found during the
latter part of September and October near Buruma — the tirst
situated on a stump surrounded by sprouting twigs, the
second in the fork of a large tree, and the third amongst the
leaves of a ])arasitic ])lant ; all at a height of about twelve
feet from the ground. The clutches varied both in shape
and colour, some being almost round, others elongated, and
the spots were distributed either more profuselvat either end
or evenly over the whole surface. The two clutches pre-
served give the following measurements : — 30. 9. 08: 24 x 20,
25-Gx2i), and 23-7 X 19-4. 18.10.08: 27-1 x 18-8 and
20-3x1 9.
COSSVPHA HEUGLINI, Hartl. P. 2339.
The wild and varied notes of this species were always much
in evidence near tangled patches of scrub and reeds in the
river-beds ; and though I tried again and again to secure a
s])ecimen, I did not succeed in shooting one by following its
song, although I frequently came suddenly on it as it was
singing, but it invariably saw me just as I was in the act of
shooting and darted away in a flash. I shot one sj)ecimen
quite by chance one evening just before dark, when I could
not see what I was tiring at, but this specimen, together with
GO Mr. A. rvo])ei-ts on Birds in
a good many luore, was missing from the collection when it
"was finally un])acked. The following j)articulars were
recorded: — "Xgainwe, 2;>. 7. 08, M. I. umher, B. black,
L. pale brownish slate ; Leng. 198, W. 0.'), C. 14/'
CiCHLADUSA ARCUATA, rtrs. T{. 2347. (IF.) 21th Jimc.
T. cream-colour; B. black ; L. slate-brown. Leng. l'J7 ;
AV. 84 ; Ti. HI ; Ts. 23 ; C. 15.
I only saw this one specimen ; it was actively dancing
a])Out and singing a liv(dy song at dusk amongst the leaves
of a tall palm-tree growing close to the river at Villa Pereira-
'Ihis top of the ])ahn was a favourite roosting-place for a
number of different kinds of birds, on account of its in-
accessibility from the ground, and I have no doubt that this
bird was also in the habit of roosting there.
MOXTICOLA ANGOLENSIS NYASS-K, HcllW. Ii. 223G a.
(4 M., 1 F.) Resident.
I. grey-brown ; B. black ; L. ihirk brown (pahn* in F.).
Leng. 183-185 & 170 ; W. DG-lOl & ?2 ; Tl. 07-73 ;
Ts. 23-20 ; C. 20.
These Chats were never seen on or near the ground, but
always high up in trees, usually i)erched on bare twigs at
.some forty or fifty feet from the ground, in the clearings or
o])('n forest. The call i-eminded me very much of thai of
'Jarsif/er atellains. Specimens secured at Namal)ieda appeared
to be breeding, but I did not succeed in finding a nest. I
met with them in all parts of the prazo, but they were not
common anywhere.
Myrmkcocicfila siir.LLKVi (.Sharpe). R. 2248. (1 F.)
Resident.
T. dark brown ; B. tt L. black. Leng. 180 ; AV. 'JO ;
Tl. 74 ; Ts. 20 ; V. 10.
I met with this vivacious and interesting (liat only
amongst large trees in dry parts of the interior, first in a
certain patch of forest some eight miles north of Ngamwo
and subsequently near Muandama and Nama])ieda. At the
last place a jtair were seen examining logs and holes in trees
tJie Transvaal Musemn from Boror. ' 61
close to tlic ground, evidently on the look-out for a suitable
nesting-site, but when I searched for the nest a few davs
later thej took alarm and left the neighbourhood. They are
very lively birds, delighting to show ofif their handsome black-
and-white plumage, spreading out their tails, slightly-
expanding their wings, and dancing about on the larger
horizontal branches and sometimes clinging to the trunks
of the trees. The males have the crown white and the
throat l)lack, while in the females this is reversed, the
crown beins; black and the throat white.
ErYTHROPYGIA QUADRIVIRGATA, PicllW. E. 2352. (1 M.)
Resident.
T. dusky ; B. black ; L. pale flesh-colour. Leng. 173 ;
W. 7G ; Tl. 76 ; Ts. 23 ; C. 16.
This specimen may have been wrongly sexed, as I find
that three males from Beira are larger, measuring : AV. <S1-
«5, TI. 78-80, Ts. 25-27, C. 16-17.
I found this species only in the drier parts of the i)razo.
Near Matiwe, on 1st November, I found a nest with two
fresh eggs, which got broken through my not having any-
thing to carry them in ; it was a cup-shaped structure of
grass lined with fine roots and placed in a small bii.,li,
about two feet from the ground, and hidden by some fresh
green shoots and young leaves.
EKYTHROrVGIA ZAMBESIANA, Sliarpc. }{. 2361. (3 M.)
Resident.
I. brown ; B. max. dark brown, nuuid. horn-colour, apex
dark brown ; L, pale flesh-pink. Leng. 148-154 ; W. 6!) ;
Tl. 63-65; Ts. 22; C. 15.
In almost every patch of scrub in the open forest,
particularly in the neighbourhood of Villa Pereira and
Mpimba, these noisy birds were to be found, their loud
scolding notes often lasting until dark, starting again at
dawn and continuing at intervals throughout the day.
('2 Correspondence.
VI. — Correspondence.
The Editors, Journal of the S. A. 0. U., Pretoria.
Dear Sirs, — In registering the specimens in the Transvaal
Museum collected by Mr. Noome at Blaaiiwberg, on which
an article appears in the present issue o£ the Journal, I
have found that those recorded as Si/lria nisoria have been
wrongly identlHeil, as also anoth(;r specimen recorded in the
' Annals of the Transvaal Museum ' last year. I am advising
you at once in order to prevent further misconcei)tion, and
I hope you will be al)le to insert this in the next issue of the
Journal.
The mistake arose in the following way: — The specimen
from Venterskroon was not sexed, and as it often happens
that young birds are difficult to make out on dissection, and
marked with a query, as in this case, I thought it not un-
likely that this was a young bird. I did not, however, come
to this conclusion until after I had failed to locate the speci-
men in Reichenow's ' Die Vrigel Afrikas.' In that work
tlje wing-measurements of Ilifpola'is oVivctovinn are given as
80-8G and 'S////"/a nl.sorla as 85-lM); and as the sj)eeini('ii
before me exceeded even those of the latter, being i>l5 mm.,
I concluded that it could not be the former and was more
likely to be a young bird of the latter ; but being in doubt
I sent the specimen to Dr. Ueichenow for contirmalion of
the identity, with the result already recorded. At that time
the genus flj/polais was not represented in the Museum col-
lection, hence my difficulty ; l)ut recently Mr. Noome has
collected three specimens of IfijjioUiis h_i//>o}(fls in i\\(\ Trans-
vaal (two at Blaauwberg and one in l*r(>t<>iia Hislrict). and
two specimens of Si/lvia )i'Ks<>riii from luminaiiia lia\<' Keen
actpiired by the ]\luseum by ex(rhange, so that I am fully
convinced thes(! specimens from Venterskroon and lilaauw-
berf^ can onlv be relVired lo I/i/jxilcis oliretonnn, and not to
Correspondence. 63
Si/Jvia nhor'ia. Thoy are somewhat larger than those pre-
viously recorded, measuring as follows : —
Locality, Date. Sex. Wing. Ist Prim. Tl. Tar>!. Culm.
IJlaauwberg 10.2.12 M 89 11 70 22 10
„ 11.2.12 M 85? 8 69 22 16
„ 13. 2. 12 M 93 11 68 22 16
„ 15. 2. 12 M 90 10 68 22 16
„ „ F 87 11 68 23 16
„ 16.2.12 M 83? 11 68 22 16
M 89? 10 71 22 lO-o
,, „ M 90 11 72 22 16-5
19. 2. 12 M 91 12 67 22 16
„ March 1912 M 89 10 67 22 17
In some of the specimens the wing-feathers are moulting,
and these are indicated by queries. It will be noted that
the first primary is rudimentary, and there can be no doubt
that this species is a migrant, especially as Mr. Noome writes
that their habits were sedentary at Blaauwberg.
Trusting that this will reach you in time for insertion in
the next number of the Journal,
I remain, yours truly,
Austin Roberts.
Trausvaal Musoum, Pretoria,
30. 4. 12.
Quail in South Africa.
Dear Mr. IIaagner, —
Can you confirm the view expressed on i)age 222, vol. iv.
o£ Sclater's ' Birds,' that though some European Quail may
reach our area and actually interbreed Avith the red-cheeked
species which swarms through South Africa year after year,
yet there is at least a subspecies distinction between the
two?
If Coturnix a/ricana does not occur in Europe, tlien where
is it a migrant from ?
Yours truly,
i:ast London, Jxo. Wool).
6.6. 11.
(14: FAiihth Annual General }Ji'eling.
\\\. — Account of till' K'lglitli Anintal (icncral Meeting.
TiiK Eiolitb Annual General Mectino- of the S. A. 0. U.
IT) O
Mas held in the Board Room oE the Transvaal Museum on
25th November, 1911, at 3.45 p.m.
Dr. J. W. B. Gunning, President, in the diair. There
were also present : Ivan Ayres, M, L. Gunnin<r, ]j. G. R.
Langford, F. 0. Noome, Austin Roberts, and Dr. Theiler, of
Pretoria ; J. P. Murray, of Basutolaud ; E. M. Skea, of
Johannesburg ; F. E. 0. MJirs, of Brits ; and the Hon.
Secretary.
The President welcomed the Menilicrs jn-csent, and gave a
short rt'sumS of the work done in IS. A. Ornithology during
the past year. He also touched upon the losses sustained
])V the Union through deaths, and asked those present to
rise from their seats as a mark of resjx'ct to the dejjai-ted
i\leiid)ers : Messrs. E. H. U. Di'ajier, of Johannesburg ; Di". J.
B. Greathead, of Norvals Pont : Alfred JMillar, of Durban ;
and ('ajitain G. E. Shelley, of London.
Alter the minutes of the Seventh Annual General Meeting,
h(dd in Gape Town, were read and conlirmed. the subjeet of
AV.ill-piclures of some important S. A. Bii-ds for S. A.
Schools was discussed, and the (*liaii-man explained the
cause of the delay in the matter.
The Chairman also announced that on the subject of lli(»
Protection of Birds we had got a step further, inasmncli that
a circular liad been issued to all Municipalities in the Tians-
vaal, re(|U(^^ting that a bye-law be added p<resei'viiig birds
from iiidi<ciMminate capture and slaughter by the schoolboy
and <)tli(M's.
The matter of a new ('onnniltee foi- I\Iigfalion was left in
the liaiiil- of the ConncMl. The Secretary's and Ti-easiu'er's
reports were duly read and passed. These will be found
printed at ihe end of this aecouni.
in connection with the rcpoi-t. Dr. (JiNKlNCJ slated thai all
Korhaan ami Paauw had be(Mi declared Royal Game for tho
next five years, also that it had l)een rei)ort(Ml that the crops
of these birds contained ItO per cent, of insects.
Khjlith Annual General Meethuj. 65
Dr. Theiler reoretted the fallinfj ofF in Momhersliip,
and siio-ae.sted that school toachors should he circuhirised.
Mr. Haaon^er proposed that an Associate Memhership he
created for them at a snhscription of half a guinea and
that this he added to liuh's 3 and 15. This was unani-
mously adopted.
The follo\vin<^ office-hearers were elected : —
President Dr. .1. W. B. (iuNXiNG.
I 1. Dr. J. E. DuKRDKX, Ciipe Province.
7>.-P,../,/..^.....^-^l^-I^-C-C»i'BB, Natal.
/ •■). C. Mc(t. Johnston, Free State.
4. C. SwYNXERTON, Rhodesiii.
Fdito -ial Com ^ ^^^' ^-'-^^'•^^ORD, who retired by virtue of Rule 10,
I was unanimously re-elected.
{Mr. A. K. ITaagneu was once more re-elected
to the Quai oilice, and the Chairman requested
Mr. Ilaagner to retain oflice for another year.
iMeiiihci-fs of Council.
Cape Province Frank A. 0. Pym, Kingwilliamstown.
I'ran&vaal Austin Roberts, Pretoria.
Free State Roland Chambers, Lindley.
Natal Dr. J. E. Briscoe, Charlestown.
Basutolaud J. P. Murray, Maseru.
Rhodesia James L. TIkward, Sehikwe.
Portuguese S.E. Africa .... P. A. Siieitarp, ]5elra.
^ew Memhers. — The following new Memhers were
elected : — C. E. Gvdh, M. L. Gunning, while Mr. Ivan
Ay RES was re-elected.
A vote of thanks to the Chnii-nian concluded a successful
and intcrcstino- nnM'ting.
Mr. Austin Roberts exhihited a nuinhcr of new species
of S. A. Birds and an interesting collection of hiids' eggs,
collected hy him recently in the Bushveld, and I\lr. MoRS a
packet of pieces of hroken china and glass ejected hy a
Vulture.
\(i|,. VIII. 5
G6 JC'h/Jitlt Annual General Meeting.
Secretary's Report.
Gentlemen, —
The last Animal Moetino; was held in Cape Town
daring the Pageant week, antl although many jNIenihers o£
the Union were in Town at the time, few took the trouble
to attend the Meeting, and it would, therefore, not seem
advisable to arranoe meetings to coincide with such aflfairs
for the future.
For this reason we are holding the Meeting at the Head-
quarters of the Society this year, and if the 8. A. A. A. S.
holds its annual congress at a suitable centre next year,
a Meeting in conjunction with them again might be
considered.
Members. — I regret to state that the past year has been
far from prosperous or successful, as will be seen from this
Report. We have lost three good Members by death:
E. TT. U. Draper, of the Govt. Labs., Johannesburg ; A. D.
Millar, of Durban (a Vice-President of our Union) ; and
Dr. Greathead, of Grahamstown. The former was, in spite
of ill-health, a valuable working Member. You know the
record of Alfred Millar, while Dr. Greathead's name is
known to some of you as a genial gentleman and keen
sportsman - naturalist. The details of these gentlemen's
deaths liave been notified to you in the Journal. Besides
these losses, three of our Members have resigned and two
of our hanl-working ^lembers — the brothers Taylor — have
left South Africa, so that we can look to them in vain for a
continuation of their interesting j)apers. Our loss is another's
gain, and we li(i|ie that Mr. Lioncd Taylor wiM do as good
work in Pritish ('oluml)ia as he has done here — he carries
with him the good wishes of the S. A. (). U.
The following new Members arc* nominated for election : —
M. L. Gunning, proposer Dr. J, W. B. Gunning, seconihu-
A. Haaonkh ; C. E. Gydk, proposer P. (\ H. Laxgf()Ki>,
seconder A. Haagner; Ivan Ayres, to be re-elected (election
postdated 1911).
Khjlith Animal General Meeting. 67
The Meniborship at date, after deJuctiii<r deaths, resigna-
tion, and defaulters, numbers 93 Ordinary and 8 Honorary —
a falling off of over 2^) on the figures of two years ago.
Publications. — Two numbers of the Journal were issued
during 1910, forming Vol. VL, with 81 pp. letterpress,
one photographic and one coloured lithographic plate of
eggs.
Migration. — The Third Report, consisting for the most
part of observations made during 1909 and 1910, is now in
the press, being included in No. 2, Vol. VII. In order to
get this woriv pushed a bit during the coming year, I would
beg that a new Committee for the purpose be elected, as my
official duties are now too heavy to warrant my continuing
the work alone and unaided. ^Several Members of the old
Committee are now al^sent from Pretoria.
Obituary. — Besides the Members of the Union previously
mentioned, we have also to record the death of Capt. G. E.
Shelley, the author of the unfinished but somewhat exhaus-
tive ' Birds of Africa.'
Office-Bearers. — Mr. Langford, on the completion of his
term of office on the Ed. Com., retires by virtue of Rule 10,
thus creating a vacancy on the Ed. Com. He is, however,
eligible for reelection. Owing to the transference of Mr. E.
C. Chubb to the Durban Museum it will be necessary to
elect a new Member of Committee for Rhodesia, and, owinir
to Mr. Taylor's departure for Canada, a new Member for
Transvaal.
Agents. — The stock of back numbers and the business was
transferred from R. H. Porter to Messrs. Witherby & Co.
at the beginning of this year.
A. K. Haaon'kr,
Tvl, Zoological Gaideii.x, rretoria, JLm. Si%\
June 1, 1911.
C8 Orcas'ionaJ JS^oies.
SoiTH AfIMCAX OKNITlloLOCilsTs' UnION.
Statement of L\'cei/its and ExjiendUare ll'lO.
liilO. £, s. d.
.liui. 1. To Balance 58 5 5
Dec. 3\. ^Subscriptions 76 13 0
Sales of Journal 10 12 9
£ s. (I.
By J'rinting and Publisliiiip- Journal .... .... 76 1 0
]*ostage and Stationery , .... 2 510
Commission and Bank Charges ..,. 1 04
Sundries and Indexes .... 11 0 0
Cover Account .... 0 1;5 0
11. II. Porter .M 0 0
Bv Balance in hand , . , . .... 51 11 0
£-145 11 -2 £145 11 2
A. K. IIaagneu,
JIoii. Treasurer.
Books and Accounts examiiie'l and found correct.
AlSTlN BoBEIJTS.
A' IT I. — Orcti/ioual jyofcs.
1. Nesting of S. African Bittern {Jioi.uints Ktclhtr'if;
rapenaiii). — On tlu; 12tli inst. wliile out Diick-sliootiiio- on
t^ome pans nciir this place, I round two iiosts of tliis .species ;
they were witliin 20 yards of each other, in a shallow grassy
pan, situated in clumps of grass raised ahout a foot out of
the water, which ^\■:ls only a few in(dK's deep. The nests
were rather flat -tnictinw-, cniiipo-ed of ih-y grass, ahout a
foot in ilianu'tfT : one eonlained three eggs and a young
hird, whieh had pr<»hal)ly hatched out tliat morning ; the
latter was covered with long down of a \in()us hrown colour,
the legs and feet pale pink, and the hill, which still had the
egg-toofli adiiering, was pinkish yellow, the eyes dark hrown.
Althou'di so voung and very weak this little fellow was \QYy
ficrco, and ojiencd its beak and tried to attack nie ; all the
other eggs were very hard-set and one was already chipped.
In colour the eggs were olive-brown, exactly like those of
the European Bittern (B. stellaris). The second nest con-
tained four eggs, which were also on the ])oint ot" hatching,
so that four appears to b(> the fall clutch. A nest found last
year, containing three fresh eggs (now in the Transvaal
Museum), was situated in a large pan, in a clump of rushes
standing in about three feet of water; but was otherwise
similar to those (l('scril)ed above. Close to tlie two Bitterns'
nests I found a Marsh Harrier's (Circus raniroru.s) nest
containing two eggs. C. G. Davies^ Sgt. C.M.K.
Miitatiele, East Griqualaiicb
22. 11. 11.
2. Great Locust Bird {Cironia alba). — On the 20tli
A]»ril last I saw a single AVhite Stork on the Bailey Estate,
near Colesberg, and at Berlin — nearly 30 miles up the line
from here — there has been a solitary bird stalking about for
quite a month during May and June 1911. It has been
noticed to fly when run at by a dog, but has not actually
left the neighbourhood of that village these last four weeks.
Jno. AVoud.
East London.
3. An Albino SrAJutow ix I'asutolaxd. — I send you
herewith a female bird which 1 take to be an albino variety
of the Common Cape S{)arrow (Passer nielanuriis). This
bird has reared a brood of three young ones, and was mated
to an ordinary cock Cape Sparrow. She was accidentally
killed. The young ones are normal birds. The albino in
question is of a dirty white, with very pale brown markings.
J. r. MlRRAV.
Ma.«eru,
15. 4. 12.
70 Short yolices of Onniholotjuxd PiihlicrJiomt.
4. DuiUNG last inontli sportsmen friends of mine, who can
be relied upon, told me th(\v saw Quail in fair numbers at
Aliwal North, that six were shot in the JStutterheim district,
and a i>;ood few at the Chalumna IJiver mouth near here —
all during last month.
Melanism seems of such frequent oeeurrence amongst the
Quail down this way that it is becoming the practice to speak
of the " black" as distinct from the common species.
The large Locust Bird seems to have left a good detach-
ment behind this season. Over and above a few specimens
here and there throughout Kaflraria last month, no less than
<S0 were rejjorted from Debe Nek a few weeks ago. The
('ommon Curlew is also on our tidal rivers just now — but
only a few.
The Speckled, or Hock, Pigeon has invaded oiu* coast bush
in its tens of thousands this season: said to Ije due to severe
cold in our near Ijack country and also owing to abundance
of berries consequent upon late rains. Jnu. Wood.
Eai^t London,
4. 7. 11.
IX. — Short Notices of Ontifholof/lcal ri(l>Hr((tioin^.
]. 'I'lie Ihl.^, duly I'.tll, October 11)11, an.l January li)12.
The July number contains Tart 2 of IMr. W. L. Sclater's
account of the birds collected by Mr. ("laude Grant during
Iiis " Kudd " Zoological Survey of South Africa.
A new species of Stonechat is described under the name
of Pratincola tonjuata orienlalis, from the Eastern ( -ape
Colonv, Transvaal, &c., also a new race of C<)s.'<i//>h(i eafra,
(•;ill<'d ii(tin(t(/in'ii,<is, from K lipfoiitcin in Nania(|ii;ilaiid.
This bird was given the local name of " (ieelgat."" 1 have
never in all mv journeyings in South AlVica — north, south,
east, or west — heard this inajipiopiiatc name apiiHcd to (ho
Kobin (hat. It is a common Jjoer nam<' f((r the lilack-
cajiped Bulbul {Pi/rnonofns hii/nn/i).
Mr. (j. L. Bates gives us a long a( ('(Mini on the liirds of
SJiort JVoth'e's of' Oniitholoylcal Pahllcatioits. 71
Southern Cameroon, illu.strated by a well-coloured plate
oF Lohotiis oi-ioHnns, and another ofc" eggs of West African
birds.
From the account of the Annual General Meeting we see
that the British Ornithologists' Union now numbers 419
Ordinary, 3 Extraordinary, 9 Honorary, 4 Lady Hononirv,
10 Colonial, and 19 Foreign ]\hMnbers. Mr. J. Lewis
Bonhote, M.A., was electi^l Secretary.
In the OctolxM" 1911 number Mr. Bates continues his paper
on the Birds of Southern Cameroon, illustrated bv two more
lovely ))lates of eggs. Then we have also a further contri-
bution to the Ornithology of Cyj)rus by our one-time Editor
and President, Mr. John A. Bucknill, M.A.
Mr. W. L. Sclater (another ex- President of our Union)
continues his account of Claude Grant's collections in South
Africa. Merops supercUiosus is recorded from Masambeti and
Beira, forming an addition to the South African List.
The January number contains the 4th and last })art of
Mr. Sclater's articles on Claude Grant's collection. Herein
Vinculo wakejiehli is recorded from Tambarara and Tete
in Portuguese East Africa, while Mr. Sclater njiholds
Dr. Reichenow's separation of the Green- and Blue-metallic-
spotted Doves.
2. T)le Vor/elfaiina des MitteJafr'damsclien SeeiK/ehiefes.
By Prof. Dr. Anton Reichenow.
This is an account of a collection of birds made in the
Lake Regions of Central Africa by His PL'ghness the Duke
Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg. A bibliography of works
and papers that have aj)peared on the territory since 1905
is given, as also a sketch-map of the region under view.
Many new forms are described, five of which are illustrated
in two coloured plates.
3. A List of Ih-itisli Birds shoxcing at a glance the E.mct
Status of each Species. Revised to August 1910 by
W. R. Ogilvie Grant.
This is a handy little puldication sold by A\'itliei-b\- \- ( 'o.
72 S/iort ^Votices of OrnUlioIoij'ical Pnhlu'ations,
at \s. ()(/. net, and may l;o used either for reference or for
labelling s[)eeiniens.
4. Revista Italiana di OrnitJtoloffla.
We have received a specimen copy of the first number of
this new (Italian) Journal of Ornithology, which promises to
be an interesting publication. This number contains several
])a|)ei-s — none of much interest to South African Ornitho-
logists,— short notes, reviews, &c., and a coloured plate of u
hybrid Pheasant.
0. TJie AquUa : J\\'porf of the T^oijul I /inn/. Bur. of
Ornithology. \o\. xviii., ]itll.
This number contains, amongst other a it ides, the ITtli
Annual Report of the Royal Hung. Bur. of Ornithology for
lino. Also an encpiiry into the stomachs and pellets of Owls
liy II. E. (Jreschik. One instance in this latter seems worth
recf)rding for the benefit of sceptics. 1'he ))ellets of the Forest
Eared Owl (vl.s/o ofis) showed the following result: harmful
animals '.>7 ])er cent., useful 2'^) ])er cent., of no account
()*5 per cent. The Barn Owl is less praiseworthv — the
j)ercentage of harmful to useful aninuds being iJT'ti })er cent,
to ?)'! per cent.
The Report on the marking of birds in 1 '.M 1 . bv Jakab
Schenk, is of especial interest. G4'J AVhite Storks and 412
( "hininey Swallows were nuirked during the yvav.
G. The Ilome-IJfe of the ().y>r{>i/. Photographed and
Described by Clinton d. Abbott, Assoc.A.O.U.
Witherby & Co., London.
This is tli<' iird of the series of " l^ird-Iovers' llonie-life,"
and. like its prcMleeessors, is remarkal)le for tlu^ beaut ii'idly
(•le;ii- ;ind interesting j)hotographie plates. These depict the
bird in miinv phases of its life-history. The book is sold at
b.v. net. for clotli-boniid eopie-, and lOy. i'li/. li.ilf-boniid
leather, ami can be recommended to ;iii\- bird-loNcr or
ornitlioloei.-t.
Short Notices of OrnitJiolocjical Publications. 73
7. The Game Birds of South Africa. By Major BojJ
Horsbrugh, A.S.C. IllusfcrateJ with Coloured Plates
by Sergt. C. G. Davies, C.M.R. Witlicrby & Co.,
London. Price 21s. per Part.
Part I. of the above work has reached us. The coloured
plates (16 in number) are from the admirable drawings of
Sergt. Davies, C.M.R., whose work is now well-known to
Members of the Union. We have been favoured with a
sight of the original drawings and only wish it were possible
to reproduce them in all their beauty. Messrs. Witherby's
plates, however, are very good and no difficulty should be
experienced in identifying species at a glance.
The backgrounds, it is believed, are not by the same artist,
and we must be allowed to say that in some instances (notablj-
that of the Dikkop) they might have been so handled as to
give a truer idea of the haunts of the species depictetl. We
are, of course, well aware of the difficulty of exhibiting birds
— especially game birds — ^in their natural surroundings and
at the same time bringing out the colours with the boldness
required in a work of this nature.
A book like this is necessarily somewhat expensive and
purchasers naturally like to feel tbat the letterpress is as
complete as may be. In this regard we must confess to a
feeling of disappointment at the brevity of some of the
descriptive matter.
We do not understand why Otis riippeUi has been omitted.
It should have been incUuled even without a plate.
This much being said, we have nothing but praise for a
book Avhich should be in the hands of every South African
sportsman and lover of birds.
We look forward with pleasurable anticipation to the
ensuing parts.
Part I. contains plates and letterpress of the following
species : — Otis kori, 0. ludwitji, 0. caj'ra, O. arrnh'scens,
0. barrovii, 0. vigorsi, 0. melanogaster, 0. ru/icrista, 0.
afroides, and O.afra ; the two Dikkops (G^dirncnius nf/wnsis
VOL. VIII. ()
74 Short Kotii'es of Ornithological FuJiIicationf.
and CE. vermiculatus), the two Snipe (GaJIinago media and
G. niffripennis), the Painted Snipe, and the Coqui
Francolin.
8. Messrs. "Witherby & Co. are shortly j)ublishing ' A
Hand-list of Britij^h Birds,' givino; a detailed acconnt of
the distribution of each bird in the British Isles, and a
general acconnt of its range abroad, together with details of
the occurrences of rarities. The hand-list is the joint work
of Messrs. E. Hartert, F. C. R. Jourdain, N. F. Ticehurst,
and H. F. AVitherbv.
THE JOURNAL
OF THE
SODTH AFRICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION.
Vol. VIII. DECEMBER 1913. No. 2.
X. — Random Notes on South African Ornithology.
By C. G. Davies, M.B.O.U.
I HAVE written the following random notes on various
ornithological matters in the hope that they may be of some
interest.
In the volume of ' The Ibis ' for 1911, and the first part
for January 1912, Mr. W. L. Sclater has given a most
interesting account of the largo collections of birds made by
Mr. Claude Grant in various parts of South Africa. These
articles should be studied by ornithologists in this country
as several new species and subspecies are described. I have,
unfortunately, only got the last part by me now, but should
like to make a few comments on one or two of the species
mentioned in that part.
Cerchneis naumanni. Lesser Kestrel.
Mr. Sclater notes that two immature males are assuming
the blue head by a feather change and by abrasion of the
edges of the feathers, not by a moult. I have shot
numbers of these birds in all stages of change^ and without
exception they were all getting the blue head by a moxdt^
not by a change in the colour of the featlier.s — the new blue
feathers being sprinkled about amongst the old feathers, which
were very much faded and worn. T might mention, however,
VOL. VIII. 7
76 Mr. C. G. Davies — liandom ^otcs on
that a specimen lent me by the authorities of the Transvaal
Museum had already got the blue head, with the exce]>tion
of a strong rufous wash on the crown of the head. Last
year I shot a very curious example which had just completed
its moult, and differed from the usual form of adult male in
having the blue head strongly streaked with Ijlack, as in
C. ri(picola, the breast, underparts, and under wing-coverts
strongly spotted with dark brown, and in having a few slate-
grey spots on the scapulars ; it also had rather more grey on
the wing-coverts than the average adult male. Another
remarkable specimen is a very fine adult male in the Trans-
vaal Museum, shot in the Pretoria district. It differs from
typical specimens in having the whole of the breast and
underparts quite uniform, without spots, in this respect
resembling C. peUnensis of Eastern Asia ; it is also a very
large bird with a wing-measurement of 10 inches as against
9 inches in average males.
CiRCAETUS ciNEREUS. Brown Harrier-Eagle.
Mr. Sclatcr separates this species, which has hitherto been
considered the young bird of the black-breasted, white-l)ellied
bird usually known under the above name, but originally
described by Sir A. Smith as C. pectoralis, and gives the
following reasons for this decision, viz. : —
(1) Although in other respects the two birds do not
differ in size, the bill in C. pectoralis is constantly and
markedly smaller than in C. cinereus.
(2) That there seems to be no intermediate form between
the two.
(3) That Mr. C. Grant has found the brown birds
(C. cinereus) ])reeding in this plumag(\
Through the kindness of the authorities of the Transvaal
Museum I have good specimens of both these ])ir(is before
me, and the differences, especially in the size of Ihc bill, are
very striking, even without measuring.
I would, however, remark ihat Mr. Sclater is not \\m first
naturalist to uphold the distinctness of these two birds. Long
South African Ormlhology. 11
ago such well-known ornithologists as lUippell, Schlcgel,
and Von Heuglin gave their reasons for believing the two
birds to be distinct, and also pointed out another character —
/. e., that in C. dnerei(s the tarsus and foot were longer than
in C. pectoraUs. Another point is that, to the best of my
knowledge, C. ijectoralis has never been recorded from north
of the Equator, whereas C. cinereus has been recorded from
far to the north.
There appears to be no description of the young of cither
species in any of the text-books on S. African birds. The
young of C. cinereus appears to be still undescribed — that is,
unless they are exactly like the adult ; but good descriptions
of the young and immature birds of C. pectoraUs will bo
found in 'The Ibis' for 1878, where Mr. J. H. Gurney, in
the course of a series of articles on vol. i. of the ' British
Museum Catalogue of Birds,' discusses the various species
of the genus Circaetus. Mr. Gurney thus shortly describes
the quite young bird : — " Above brown, with fulvous
edging to the feathers, broadest on the interscapular feathers,
narrowest on the wing-coverts. The under surface (except
the throat) is decidedly rufous and whole coloured, except
the tibial and abdominal feathers, where the feathers have
white bases, and most of them are also tipped with white.
Tail dark brown, crossed with five somewhat indistinct bars
of darker brown, the last bar subterminal, and followed by a
narrow whitish tip."
From this plumage the bird appears to get gradually
whiter below, the flanks crossed with dark brown bars, which
ore gradually lost as the bird approaches maturity, at the
same time the upper breast becomes gradually darker until
it reaches the final black stage.
In one of the later numbers of the ' Annals o£ the Trans-
vaal Museum ' a specimen of the European Harrier-Eagle
(^Circaetus galUcus) is recorded from the Pretoria district. I
have this specimen now before me, and, although agreeing
fairly well with descriptions of C. gaUicu.% I think there can
be no doubt that it is really only an immature specimen of
C. pectoraUs. My reasons for saying so arc : — Firstly, that, to
i
78 Mr. C. G. Davles — Ihouhm N'otes on
the best of my knowledge^ C. galliciishas never been recorded
from south of the Sahara. Secondly, that MM. Verreaux
and Des Murs, writing on the genus Circaetus in ' The Ibis '
for 1862, page 209, while treating of C. gallicus, say : " One
of us has had in his possession, at the Cape of Good Hope,
young specimens of C. thoracicus (pectoralis), ^Yhich have
moulted under our eyes, and which, Avliile altogether
resembling C. (/alUctts, have finished, two years later, by
assuming the plumage of C. thoracicus [pectoraUs)y
Mr. J. H. Gurney, in the article mentioned above, draws
attention to the above remarks, and adds : — " The most perfect
example of this plumage which has come under my eyes is
exhibited in a S. African specimen preserved in the Liver-
pool Museum, which might almost pass for an example of
C. gallicus."
PoDiCA PETERSi. Pctcrs's Finfoot.
Some of Mr. Claude Grant's field-notes on this bird are so
much at variance with my observations that I think a few
comments are necessar}'. T have had a good deal of ex-
perience of this bird in E. Pondoland, where it is not un-
common, and where I must have seen a considerable number,
and shot at least a dozen, and so far I have never seen one
either dive or fly, and yet Mr. Grant says that it does both.
I will take the subject of diving first. Near my camp on the
Umtamvuna River there was a large deep pool surrounded
with reeds, where I often spent an afternooi\ sitting on the
bank fishing ; this pool was also the homo of a Finfoot,
which I saw almost daily, and as it was by no moans shy I
had good o})portunities of watching its habits. It often swam
about quite close to me, feeding on insocts in the water and
on the reeds, and T once saw it Jump right out of tlio
water to reach a gra>shopj»or sitting on a reed-stem overhead;
it did not swim particularly deep, and looked much like a
young Muscovy Duck while swimming ; but 1 never once saw
this bird dive. ]\rost <living birds if suddenly surprised will
dive ; but I have often come suddenly onto a Finfoot and
it has injuiediately swam or fla])pod along the surface of the
South African Ornitholo<j)j. 70
water into the nearest cover. Diving birds, and even those
water-Lirds that do not habitually dive,usually diveif wounded
and pursued. I have even seen a wounded Common Sand-
piper {Tringa liypoleucus) dive and swim under water ; but
I have chased a wounded Finfoot all round a pool without
it attempting to escape by diving. Then Mr. Grant describes
the flight of one o£ these birds as being " extremely fast and
straight, resembling that of a Teal, but more rapid. This
individual also dived straight under water with hardly any
slackening of speed." As I said before, I have never seen
one of these birds fly, unless flapping and paddling along
the surface of the water may be described as flying. When
pursued in a boat this has been the invariable way of escape
of all those I have seen ; after flapping along for a short
distance they always dodged into cover and hid until routed
out again, when they would repeat the manoeuvre. One
would think that if they could fly they would take to their
wings at once.
In the former number of the ' Annals of the Transvaal
Museum ' referred to, a new Falcon is described as Falco
liorshrufjld. It would be interesting to know whether the
two so-called " type " specimens have been compared with
young specimens of F. ruficollis, as they agree very well
with the description given of two young * by Mr. Sclatcr
in the 'Fauna of S. Africa : Birds,^ vol. iii., and still better
with the description given by Mr. J. H. Gurney (' Ibis,'
1882, p. 1G2), who says : — " In F. nijicoUis the young bird
has the plumage throughout of a darker hue than the adult ;
this is especially the case on the crown of the head, whero
the rufous tint is deeper than in the adult, and, in addition,
each feather has a somewhat broad black shaft-mark ; all
the feathers of the upper part of the mantle are more or less
edged with rufous brown, this edging being broadest on the
lesser wing-coverts ; the transverse bands on the lower
surface are less regular than in the adult, and all the inter-
* [The specimens in the Transvaal Museum were obtanied at tlio nest,
which contained young ; presumably, therefore, they are adult birds.
— Edd.]
80 Mr. C. G. Davies — Eandom Notes on
mediate spaces are a rich fulvous, instead of being white as
in the old bird.''
In the last number of this Journal, ]\Ir. E. i). Chubb
contributes an interesting article on the rare birds in the
Durban Museum. Mr. Chubb seems, however, to have
overlooked the fact that I have already recorded some of
them in my articles on the birds of E. Poiidoland and
Matatiele. I should mention the following three sjx'cics in
particular, viz. : —
Dendrocygna fdlva. Whistling Duck.
I have recorded a specimen from Matatiele ; seen by
myself and others shot by a friend near the same jiiace.
Nycticorax leuconotus. White-backed Night Heron.
I have recorded this species from E. Pondoland, where I
shot five specimens and saw others.
AcROCEPHALUS PALUSTRis. Marsh Warbler.
I have recorded this species both from E. rondolaml and
Matatiele. In both these places it is not uncommon in
•suitable localities. Here in Matatiele there is a privet hedge
opposite my window : every summer this is the home of one
or two of these birds, and all through the summer they sinr^
almost continuously. I have a suspicion that this bird
sometimes breeds in these parts, as towards the end of last
summer one of these birds used to frequent our garden, and
I used to see it daily, often quite close, and it was always
followed by another, which, judging by its manner, appeared
to be a young bird, as it continuously uttered a weak cry and
quivered its wings after the maiinci- of young birds when-
ever the other came near it, and I often saw it led by llio
other.
ClCONlA CICONIA. Wllitc Stork.
Jn that number there arc also several notes as to AViiito
Storks having been seen in various parts of the country
(iuring the winter months. I can add that during the whole
V inter of 1910 large numbers of these birds were observed
South African Ornithology. 81
in this district, and in the following winters of 1911 and
l'J12 a few have also remained about the district. 1 also
know of a single Greenshank which has spent the whole of
the present winter on a pan near here.
I should like to conclude these notes with a protest
against what seem to me to be the two great evils of modern
Ornithology, viz., the constant search for priority in
scientific nomenclature and the rage for creating subspecies.
It would seem as if, now that the birds of the world are
becoming so well known and new species getting scarcer, a
certain class of naturalists must turn their busy brains to
something, and having no new species to describe and name
they must search about amongst ancient books and unearth
long-buried and disused scientific names that, according to
them, must take priority over names that have been familiar
since the days of our great grandfathers, to the no small
confusion of the average ornithologist. This is well
exemplified in a recent number of ' The Ibis,^ where such old
friends aa Strix flammea and Anas hosclias have had their
names altered beyond recognition. Luckily, the author of
the article in question has added the more familiar names in
common use. With regard to the modern rage for creating
subspecies, of course it is well known that some birds have
a very extensive distribution, and naturally, in some parts of
their range, they are subject to changes of plumage, &c.
By all means let these be named if the differences are icell
marked ; but nowadays the smallest difference in the length
of a bill, toe, wing, or slight variation of colouring seems to
be an excuse for the bestowal of a name. Some naturalists
seem to consider because a bird occurs in some small island
it 7nust differ from the same species on the mainland. A recent
writer on the ornithology of a certain island has even gone so
far as to differentiate such a migratory bird as the Cuckoo
(^Citcidus canorus). Is this bird resident on this small island,
or does it shorten its visage when it arrives ? Creators of
geographical races often name these races after their friends
or the discoverer, which conveys no meaning to the orch'nary
82 Mr. B. C. R. Langford on the South African
ornithologist; it would be far better to name them after the
country, province, or district they come from. Let me
express a Lope that it will be a long time before the Members
of this Union worry themselves about these matters
(although I see signs of it already). But, as very little has
yet been recorded of the habits and distribution of South
African birds, I would suggest that every Member should
contribute to the Journal a list of all the birds found in his
district, with full field-notes on habits, nidification, &c.,
from his own personal observation.
XI. — The South African Lanner Falcon (Falco biarmicns)
and its Congeners. By B. C R. Langford.
(Plate.)
The typical Lanner {F. lanarius *), of which F. biarmicus
is the South African representative, may be said to have
been rediscovered in comparatively recent times.
Though well known to, and sufficiently accurately
described by, the old writers on Falconry, it was lost sight
of on the decline of that art, and naturalists either denied its
existence as a distinct species or wrongly attributed the
name to other members of the genus. Thus, the Lanner of
Linuceus and Nilsson is the Norway Gerfalcon (7". gyrfalco).
Briinnich and Mohr under the name of Lanner describe the
Merlin [F. a'salon). Pennant's Lanner is an immature
Peregrine, whilst the young Peregrine figured by Buffon is
in reality a young Lanner.
In 1829 M. Feldegg found the Lanner (F. lunaj'ius) in
Dalmatia, and it was considered by Natterer to bo the
/''. peregrinoides of Temminck. Scldegel, on examining
Feldegg's s{)ccimens, perceived Natterer's error, but
believing it to bo a new species named it feldef/r/il f. Jiuter,
however, when preparing his magnificent folio work on
* Lanarius" qwod pliimas multafl, densasqiie et moUcs in luuiluiii luiiic
habet."
t Abh. aus dem Gebiete der Zoologie, etc. labb. ]0 &. 1 J.
Journ. S. Afr. Orn. Union, Vol. VIII.
[To face p. 82.
Lanner Falcon and its Cvnfjeners. 83
Falconry *, he found that the so-called F./ehlerfr/ii answered
quite well to Belon's description of the true Lanner, and
reintroduced it therefore to science under its right name t-
F. lanar'ms is a native of Eastern and South-eastern
Europe and North Africa ; in Egypt it is found breeding
on the Great Pyramid +. In Central and North (Antral
Africa its place appears to he taken by F. tanypterus (the
Alphanet Lanner of the old writers), and in South Africa
by our F. hiarmicus. How far these two latter forms
may overlap does not seem to have been accurately
determined.
The Lanners belong to the group of " Desert '' Falcons
[Genncva of Kaup), which differ from the true Falcons in
having relatively longer wings and tails, looser and softer
plumage, and smaller feet and beaks. Insects, reptiles, and
small mammals form a large proportion of their diet.
In the adults the breast-markings never become transverse,
and in the Lanners consist of cordate or sagittiform spots — in
lanarhis fairly evenly distributed over the whole under
surface, but in hiarnimis confined to the flanks and thighs.
With their light bodies and weak plumage they cannot fly
well in a high wind.
Photographs of a male Lanner of two moults — i. e., three
years old, — trained by the writer, accom[)any this article.
The following are the })rincipal dimensions : — "Wing \'l-^
inches, tail G|- inches, total length 1G| inches. The wings when
closed reach almost to the end of the tail. The second
primary is the longest, the first shorter than the third.
Middle toe If inches; greatest length of foot 3f inches.
Legs, feet, cere, and eyelids bright yellow; irides dark hazel.
Weight ly oz. The tooth on the upper mandible is
prominent and acute and there is some trace of a festoon.
Though swift of flight the Lanner is by no means
persevering, and for held work is far inferior to the
* ' Traitd de Fiiuconnerie,' par II. Schlcgel et A. VtTster van
Wiilverhor.st. Leiden et Diisscldorf, 1844-53. Atlas folio.
t Vide ' Itevue critique des Oiscaux d'Europc,' p. 12.
I C'f. Gurney and Salvln.
84 On the South African Lanner Falcon.
Perc^^rine. It is lazy and, unless sliarp set, will not stick to
difficult quany. I have, unfortunately, had little oppor-
tunity of observing this bird in its wild state, but it appears
generally to content itself with very humble quarry, though
it is a great enemy to Quail and will follow a shooting-party
with great boldness if unmolested, as Mr. Davies has told us,
and will carry off birds that are sprung by the dogs *. An
officer of some experience with these birds tells me that he
has a poor opinion of their courage and that he has known
them, when trained, to check in midllight at locusts or
other insects.
Nevertheless, it was formerly in some repute in Europe,
especially in France and Italy, where it could be flown
more successfully than in the more boisterous weather of
Great Britain ; thither, however, as appears from old
account books, it was imported in considerable numbers. I
am, of course, speaking of lanarius, though tani/pterus was
imported into Europe from North Africa too.
The male was formerly called a Lanneret, and a|)poars to
have shared with the Merlin and Sparrow-Hawk the dis-
tinction of being the lady's Hawk f.
The stoop of the Lanner is neither so forcible nor direct
as that of the Peregrine, and in my experience it seems to
})refer clutching to giving a knock-down blow. It can
follow every turn and twist of the quarry, and a pair of
them were seen to capture a Swallow after a long chase.
Pro[)erly handled they ought, I think, to make good IMover
Hawks.
In Humbe, according to Anchieta, the native name signifies
"liare-killer," but on what grounds I do not know. Canon
Tristram, however, tells us that the Arabs train their Lanners
[tanijpterus) to hares ; the Algerian hare, however, is a puny
quadrui)ed. Lanners have been known to stooj) at a cat, and
Mr. L. E. Taylor shot one in the act of so doing. \\\ this
* Journal of the Union, July 1911, p. ;38.
t " Lc3 dames/' f-ays llabeljiis, " inuntt/cs sur bullcs hacquouues ....
portaient chascune ou uu t5pervier, ou un luncnt, ou uii iSnionllou."
Wild Birds of the Pretoria Zoological Gardens. 85
case the cat was a white one and could not have been
mistaken for a hare or any wild mammal. Probably the
Falcon thought that the cat was an intruder on her special
rat preserve.
The male Lanner described above at one time, when put
on the wing to the lure, would stoop at my Irish terrier and
either make him lie down or drive him off the ground. In
Basuto folk-tales, Mr. Murray tells me, the Lanner is called
" Pakhui," or the Policeman.
Though in Europe, where Peregrines can easily be
procured, no falconer at the present day would think
Launers worth training, out here, where they ought to bo
easily procured, they are worth a trial by anyone whose tastes
lie that way. They arc easily trained and become very
handy and even affectionate.
I say ought to be easily procured, as in certain districts
they are fairly common, but, as a matter of fact, I find the
greatest difficulty in obtaining them ; and if any reader of
these lines will put me in the way of getting either Lanners
or Peregrines {F. mino7'), young or old, newly taken and
uninjured, he will earn my lasting gratitude.
XII. — The Wild Birds of the Pretoria Zoological Gardens.
By Alwin Haagner, F.Z.S., Col. Member B.O.U., Hon.
Mem. Royal Hung. Bur. of Ornithology (Superintendent
Tvl. Zool. Gardens).
During the last couple of years the wild bird-life in the Zoo
has been on the increase, and every now and then I see a
bird here not previously noticed. In fact, there have been
one or two birds seen here which are rare so far south, and I
thought, therefore, that if a list was compiled, and added to
occasionally, it might bo of some interest.
1. RuiNOrTiLUS ciiALCOPTERUS (Tennn.). Bronze-wing
Courser.
I saw two examples of this (to the Central Transvaal) raro
86 Mr. A. Haagner on the Wild Birds of
C^ourscr on the northern extension of the Zoo on two separate
occasions. The first one I saw in April and the second in
June. I could not help noticing how well the bird's colour
harmonised with the half-dried grass-tufts and stones which
surrounded it, and how it cowered in a half crouchino:
attitude when approached, before taking wing. A specimen
was caught in a I'retoria garden ami brought to the Zoo.
2. Charadrius tricollaris, Yieill. Threc-bandeil
Plover.
One or two may be seen poking about the banks of the
Aapies River almost any day.
'^. ToTANUS glareola (L.). Wood Sandpiper.
I have so far only seen one of these birds on the river.
4. Tringoides iiyfoleucos (L.). Common Sandj)iper.
Several of these seen at odd times.
f). Ciconia cicoNiA (L.). "White Stork.
Often seen flying over the gardens. One flew over and
circled round the large duck-i)0uds on the 4th June.
(1. Scopus umbretta, Gm. Hammerkop.
An occasional visitor to the river.
7. Aruetta I'AYESi (A^M-r. llartl.). Hed-ncckcd Little
Bittern.
1 saw what I feel sure was an example of this species,
standing at the edge of the water in front of u bed of reeds
and rushes in the river. It disappeared into the thicket as
I apjiroached, and did not reappear althougli I waited some
considerable time. The keeper in charge of the Birds tells
mo ho saw an example of this species on two sej)arate
occasions near the same spot whei-e 1 had seen my bird.
5. TruTUR SENECALEXsis (L.). Laughing Dove.
Very common in thf ( Jardens, wlici(\ it breeds freely.
the rretorla Zooloyical (Jardens. 87
9. TuRTUR CAPicoLA (Siind,). Capo Turtlc-Dove.
Also fairly common in the Gardens at times, but rather
local in distribution and uncertain as to time.
10. NuMiDA CORONATA, G. R. Gr. Crowncd Guinea-
fowl.
Often invade the Gardens from Eloff's Plantations.
Last year wq captui'ed a few young ones only a couple of
days old. The instinct of these liny creatures is worthy
of note. We would wait until we heard the young ones
calling and then dash up to the spot ; unless very quick
one would lose sight of them all, the warning note of the old
birds causing the little ones to scatter and crouch down
amongst the shrubby herbage and stones of the hillside.
The only way was to stand dead still for some minutes until
one of them moved, and then catch it quickly with the hand.
The protective coloration of the little ones in their striped
downy covering is wonderful.
11. Kaupifalco moxogrammica (Temm.). African
Buzzard- Eagle.
One would not have expected this species to occur in the
Gardens, but one of the keepers winged one on August 23rd,
1912. The bird recovered, and is now in the aviary with
another of its species from Rhodesia.
12. AsTUR POLYZONOIDES (A. Sm.). Little Banded Gos-
hawk.
This is (piite a common little Hawk in the Gardens, and I
have seen as many as three of them together.
13. AcciPiTER MINULLUS (Daud.). Little Sparrow-IIawk.
An occasional visitor. A pair used to fre(|uent the
precincts of the Squirrel (jamp and carry off the young
guinea-pigs, until they were shot.
14. MiCRONiSUS gabar (Daud.). Gabar Goshawk.
A solitary individual haunted the neighbourhood of one of
the camps where there were young IVaibwl for sonu' days.
88 Mr. A. Ilaagner on the Mild Birds of
15. Cerciineis rupicola (Daiul). Soutli ACriean
Kestrel.
A solitary individual may occasionally be seen on the
rocky ritlgo beliind the Ostrich-breedino- camp.
16. Chrysococcyx cupreus (Bodd.). Golden Cuckoo.
A regular visitor to the Gardens, where its call often
heralds the advent of summer. This year they seem to be
late, as I have not heard them yet (23/9/1912). I took
a young one out of a Sparrow's nest last year.
17. COLius iNDicus, Lath. Red-faced Coly.
Sometimes visits the northern extension in flocks, espe-
cially when the wild medlars and " Stamvrugte " are
ripening.
18. Halcyon albiventris (Scop.). Brown Hooded
Kingfisher.
I saw a pair last summer, which haunted the precincts of
the duck-ponds for some days.
19. Ceryle RUDis (L.). Pied Kingfisher.
Single examples have on various occasions visited the
duck-ponds.
20. Merops apiaster, L. European Bee-eater.
The tall trees at the bottom of the Gardens, on the banks
of the Aapics River, form a regular roosting-place for this
si)ecies, where their shrill cries may be heard every evening
at sunset during the summer months.
21. Caprimulgus rufigena, a. Sm. Rufous -cheeked
Nightjar.
I saw a Nightjar on several occasions, and look it fo be of
this species.
22. Aprs CAFFER (Licht.). Whlte-rumj)ed Swift.
Several seen crossing the terrain at odd limes.
the Pretoria Zoological Gardens. 89
23. HiRUNDO ALBiGULARis, Stfickl. Wluto - tliroatccl
Swallow.
Often seen sitting on the fences. I saw another species,
but it was too far off to determine with certainty.
24. SiGELUS siLENS (Shaw). Fiscal Flycatcher.
Very common in the Gardens, and breeding in the privet
and macrocarpa hedges.
25. MusciCAPA GRisoLA, L. Spotted Flycatcher.
Very common during April of last year, and March and
April of this year, prior to its immigration home.
26. TcHiTREA PLUMBEiCEPS (RchAv.). Lead-hcadcd Fly-
catcher.
I have seen a number of these beautiful birds in the
grounds at odd times, but never more than one at a time.
At Irene and the Fountains near Pretoria they are quite
common. It seems as if both this and the commoner
T. perspicillata inhabit the district.
27. Pelicinius zeylonus (L.). Bidcbakiri Bush Shrike.
One heard calling in a macrocarpa hedge on the 20th
September, 1912. I saw an immature bird in a quince
hedge last summer, so conclude they breed in the grounds.
28. Ploceus cabanisi, Ptrs. Masked Weaver.
A colony nested in a couple of old oak trees last summer.
It seems to me that both P. velatus and the present species
are found in the district, but the subject requires working
up.
29. Ploceus auricapillus, Sw. Lesser Masked Weaver.
Common in the Gardens in summer and breeding. They
suspend their nests to the twigs of the silver wattle, and
also to the pendent branches of the weeping willows.
30. Ploceus capensis olivaceus (llahn). Olive Weaver
Bird.
Builds in the willow trees overhanging the duck-ponds.
1*0 Mr. A. Haa filler on the Wild Birds oj
31. QUELEA SANGUINIROSTRIS LATIIAMl (A. Sill.). Plllk-
billed Weaver.
These birds enter tbroiioh the meshes of the hirge flight
aviaiy in hundreds, and take up their abode there for the
winter montlis.
32. Pyromelaxa taha (A. Sm.). Taha Bishop Bird.
I have seen a few of these at various times, flitting about
ill the reed-beds near the river.
33. PvROMELANA ORiK (L.). Ked Bishop Bird.
Very common in the summer months and breeding in the
reed-beds of the Aapies River.
34. CoLiusPASSER ARDENS (Bodd.). Ked-coUurcd Widow
Bird.
Breeding in the reed-beds, but not plentiful like the
preceding species.
35. Amadixa fasciata (Gm.). Cut-throat Weaver Bird.
I saw one liopping about near the small birds' aviary for
some davs in August of this year, and thoufrht it was an
escaped specimen until some boys brought in a couple of
dozen caught with bird-lime at Daspoort, not a mile
from us.
30. Ortygospiza polyzona (Temm.). Quail Finch.
I saw a small flock of these tiny birds on the northern
extension of the Zoo in March of this year.
37. Hypochera funerea (Tarrag.). Black Widow
Finch.
I saw a solitjiry individual on the 3rd January of this
year.
38. Passer imelanurus (St. Miill.). (!ape Sjtarrow.
Very common and breeding fr<'ely.
^)0. Frinoillaria taiiai'Isi, a. Sm. Jtock IJunting.
I saw a ]»air on the hill iluring the month of February last
vcar.
the Pretoria Zoological Gardens. 91
40. MoTACiLLA CATENSis, L. Cape Wagtail.
A single example entered the large flight aviary tbrough
the wire netting on the 25th June this year, and has lived
there happily ever since. The bird is fairly common in the
Gardens and an early breeder, A nest with three young
ones was found in a clump o£ pampas grass in September of
last year.
41. Pycnonotus latardi, Gurn. Blackcap Bulbul.
Visits in the fruit season.
42. ZosTEROPS viRENS, Suud. White-eye.
Common at times.
43. Chai^comitra amethystina (Shaw). Black Sun-
bird.
Common in the Gardens, especially when the Erythvina
trees are in bloom. I took tw^o ticks [Hyalomma agyptiiim)
from the forehead and throat of an example brought in for
sale from the bush veld. The ticks were kindly identified
by the Gov. Vet. Research Laboratories of Pretoria,
44. CiNNYRis LEUCOGASTER, Vieill. White-breasted Sun-
bird.
I have seen several of these pretty little Sunbirds haunting
the grounds.
45. CiNNYRis MARiQUENSis, A. Sm. Bifasciated Sun-
bird.
I had seen only a solitary individual now and then prior
to this spring, but during September of this year there wor*^
dozens in the grounds. They seem very partial to the white
flowers of an acacia, and have a sweet little song, not unlike
that of the Mountain Canary.
46. CiSTicoLA TiNNiENS (Lcht.). CommoH Grass -
Warbler.
Fairly common along the river.
VOL. viii. 8
92 Mr. J. Buckland on
47. Prinia mystacea, Riipp. Tawny -flanked Wren
Warbler.
A few haunt the rocky ridge along the northern extension.
48. Crateropus jardinei, A. Sm. Jardino's Babbler.
There are quite a number of these birds in the grounds
now, probably attracted there by those in captivity. They
must breed here too, as I saw one feeding a couple of young-
birds, apparently just flown, one day last summer. They are
very noisy birds.
49. TuRDUS cabanisi (Bp.). Cabanis's Thrush.
Resident and breeding in the Gardens.
50. CossYRHA caffra (L.). C'iipe Robin Chat.
Common and breeding.
XIII. — The Value of Birds to Alan. By James Buckland.
[A Paper read at a Meeting of the British Empire Naturalists' Asso-
ciation, held at the Hall of the Roynl Society of Arts, John Street,
Adelphi, December 1, at 8 p.m., Walter Crane, Esq., R.W.S., in the
Chair.]
The Use of the Birds in Nature.
Man has become the dominant power on the earth. He
has delegated to himself the right to adopt a utilitarian
standard ])y which he measures the usefulness or dostruc-
tiveness of all other forms of life. All animals which
injure his j)erson or his property he classes as injurious.
All animals that contri])ute to the increase in value of his
property, or to his comfort, he considers beneficial. Beauty
he disregards, devastating the wild places of the earth in
mere wantonness of strength. But let that pass for the
present. To take him from his own standpoint, is he not
sometimes in error ? In his grasp for the useful, has he
not overlooked the beneficent power of the bird ?
To answer this question wo must first determine wliat
particular functions it is in the economy of Nature that
birds alone are fitted to perform.
tlie Value of Birds to Man. 93
Vegetation is the prime requisite for the perpetuity of all
other forms of life upon the earth. It is the only form in
organic nature that does not war u})on other forms. The
greatest known enemy to vegetation is insect life ; while
bird life, by virtue of its predominating insect diet, wields
a most important balance of power against the ravages o£
this the chief pest of vegetation.
This is the principal mission of the bird in preserving
the balance of Nature's forces ; and when we remember
that birds are distinguished from all other animals by
organs of perfect flight, when we remember that the sense
of sight in birds is developed to a degree unparalleled
in the animal world, when we remember the surpassing
breathing-power possessed by birds, their wonderful mus-
cular strength and activity, the high temperature ^nd rapid
circulation of their blood, and, as necessary fuel for all
these fires, their extraordinary capacity for assimilating
food, we must admit that these marvellous cr 'atures are
admirably fitted to pursue and capture their nat iral prey,
or, by making earth-wide sweeps from zone to zone, to
follow the seasonal ebb and flow of the tide of ijisoct life.
We must admit that no other class of animals could fiU
their peculiar place.
Number and Repropuctiveness of Insects.
That you may see how essential the bird is as a part of
Nature's great plan I propose making brief mention of the
enormous number of insect species, of their stupendous
powers of reproduction, and of their insatiable voracity.
The number of insect species is greater b^ far than that of
the species of all other living creatures combined. Over
300,000 have been described, and it is considered not
improbable that twice that number remain to be described.
Practically all living animals, as well as most plants,
furnish food for those incomputable hordes. More than
this, Kirby, in the ' Introduction to Entomology,' devotes
no less than five entire epistles to the injuries wo sustain
8*
94 ^Ir. J. Buckland on
from insects, whilst two only are sufficient to describe the
benefits they yield.
The fecundity of certain insect forms is astounding, the
numbers bred reaching such prodigious proportions as to be
almost beyond belief. Riley once computed that the hop
aphis, developing thirteen generations in a single year,
would, if unchecked to the end of the twelfth generation,
have multiplied to the inconceivable number of ten sextillions
of individuals. Noting the preceding, Forbush says if this
brood were marshalled in line, ten to the inch, it would
extend to a point so sunk in the profundity of space that
light from the head of the procession travelling at the rate of
184,000 miles per second would require 2500 years in which
to reach the earth.
Kirkland has computed that one pair of gipsy moths,
if unchecked, would produce enough progeny in eight years
to destroy all the foliage in the United States.
A Canadian entomologist has determined that a single
pair of Colorado beetles, without check, would multiply in
one season to 60,000,000 units.
The filibusters of old, who carried on their nefarious
business chiefly within tropical areas, declared that of all
dangers, and of all })ains, they dreaded most the wounds o£
insects. No surgical instrument ever invented by man
could inspire more terror than the implements insects
possess for piercing, cutting, dissecting, and rending. These
appliances, which are used to do battle with animal and
vegetable life, are equalled in horror only by the furious
ravenousness of the insects.
Indeed, the voracity of insect life is as astonishing as its
power of reproduction. ]\lany caterpillars consume twice
their weight of leaves per day, wliich corresponds to a
horse eating daily a ton of hay. Forbush says that a certain
flesh-feeding larva will consumn in twenty-four hours 200
times its original weight, a ]i:ir;illel to wliich, in the lunnan
race, would be an infant consuming, in the first day of its
existence, 1500 pounds of beef. Trouvelot, who made a
special study of the subject, affiims that the food taken by
the Value of Birds to Man. 95
a single silkworm in fifty-six days equals in weight
86,000 times its original weight at hatching. What a
destruction this single species of insect could make, i£
only a one-hundredth part of the eggs laid came to
maturity I
Man at "War with Nature's Laws.
The development of young birds is so rapid, and the
demand upon the vitality of older ones so great, that an
enormous amount o£ food is necessary to sustain the vital
processes. Digestion is exceedingly rapid in birds, and they
feed for the most part throughout the day, especially when
rearing young. The number of insects daily passed into the
insatiable maws of the nestlings during this period almost
exceeds belief.
But the most valuable services of the adult bird are
rendered when it is feeding in winter or early spring ; for
then it destroys countless numbers of insects in the embryo
state, and thus prevents myriads of depredators from coming
forth.
Grave and far-reaching results invariably follow the sup-
pression of this perennial regulative influence which is
exerted by birds individually everywhere as a check on
insect life.
Some years ago the agriculturists of Hungary, moved to
the insane step by ignorance and prejudice, succeeded in
getting the Sparrow doomed to destruction. Within five
years these same men were crying frantically for the bird
to be given back to them, lest they should perish ; and it
cost the Government 230,000 rix-dollars to re-instate the
outlaw. So the Sparrow was brought back, and, driving out
the hordes of devastating insects, proved the salvation of the
country.
In the Island of Bourbon once, because of the same
ignorance and prejudice, a price was set on each Martin's
head. The birds all but disappeared, and grasshoppers took
possession of the island. Then the edict of banishment was
90 Mr. J. Buckland on
hurriedly revoked and the exile recalled. And fortnnatd
indeed was it for the Island o"f Bourbon that the bird waia
not beyond recall.
Daring the year 1861 the harvests of France gave an
unusually poor return, and a Commission was appointed at
the instance of the Minister of Agriculture to investigate the
cause of the deficiency. By this Commission the deficiency
was attributed to the ravages of insects which it was the
function of certain birds to check. These birds, it appeared,
had been shot, snared, and trapped throughout the country in
such numbers that but little repressive influence had been
exerted upon the insects. In one department of the east of
France the value of the wheat destroyed in a single 3'ear was
estimated at 5,000,000 francs.
For some years prior to 1877 vast numbers of red-winged
Blackbirds were poisoned in the spring and autumn round
the cornfields of Nebraska. This was done in the belief that
the Blackbirds were damaging the crops, especially the wheat*
Great numbers of Prairie Chicken, Quail, Plover, and various
other insect-eating species were destroyed at the same time
by eating the poisoned grain. Then came 1877, and with it
Nemesis. The locusts appeared in countless numbers, and
Nebraska mourned. Hardly a field of grain escaped.
An astounding number of bird-skins are collected annually
for hat decorations in Russian Siberia. In 1895 the ravages
of two species of cut-worms and some ten species of locusts
produced a famine in the region of Ekaterinburg, which is in
Russian Siberia* The local Society of Natural Sciences
inquired into the cause which had permitted such a numerous
propagation of insect pests, and reported that it was due to
+ho almost complete destruction of birds, most of which had
been killed and sent abroad by wagon-loads for millinery
purposes.
Though I could give a hundred cases similar to the fore-
going, I must rely on the few 1 have cited to convince you
that the whole.sule destruction of birds is Burely followed by
disaster to man.
the Value of Birds to Man. 97
Value of the Bird in (Checking Insect Irkuptions.
The marvellous powers of flight and perception possessed
by birds ably fit them to perform the office of a swiftly-
moving aerial army, large forces of which can be massed at
any given point to correct disturbances caused by abnormal
outbreaks of animal or vegetable life.
When the Mormons first settled in Utah their crops were
destroyed utterly by myriads of black crickets that streamed
down from the mountains. Promising fields of wheat in the
morning were by evening as bare as though the land had not
been sown. The first year's crop having been destroyed, the
Mormons had sowed seed the second year, and again the crop
promised well. But again the crickets appeared, devouring
every blade of wheat, and the followers of Joseph Smith were
on the verge of starvation. At this juncture Franklin's Gull
came by hundreds of thousands, and, feeding greedily on the
crickets, freed the fields of the pest. The settlers at Salt
Lake regarded the advent of the Gulls as a heaven-sent
miracle, and practically canonised the birds. Several times
afterwards the crops of the Mormons were attacked by the
crickets and were saved by the Gulls.
In the early days of the colonization of New Zealand
swarms of caterpillars infested the open tussock-clad
country. When the white man began to cultivate the
land this caterpillar disappeared from its old haunts and
attacked the English grasses and cereal crops, increasing
so enormously in numbers by reason of a more favourable
environment that they quickly became a blasting plague.
They came not singly, or even in battalions, but in mighty
armies, which laid waste the land. I have seen regiments of
this invading force cover the pastures in such numbers as to
make the green one brown. I have seen them march out of
one cornfield — having stripped every stalk bare — cross the
road in solid phalanx and pass into another. I have seen big
mobs of sheep mustered in hot haste and driven backwards
and forwards to crush the atoms with their hurrying feet.
I have seen every available horse-roller in a district brought
98 Mr. J. Buckland on
up hurriedl}', like engines to a fire, and dragged to and fro
over the crawling masses until the huge cylinders stuck fast
in a mire of crushed insects. I have seen large ditches dug
in an attempt to stop the invaders' progress. The effort was
as futile as that of a child who builds a bank of sand by the
sea, thinking it will stem the oncoming tide. Even railway
trains were brought to a standstill, the wheels of the engines
being unable to grip the rails owing to the countless hordes
of caterpillars which were crossing the line.
In time it became abundantly clear that if this disastrous
condition of affairs continued it would bo useless to attempt
to carry on agriculture in New Zealand. Realising that any
attempt which they might make to rid the smitten land of
the plague would be but a mockery, the farmers turned their
eyes longingly to the natural enemy of the caterpillar — the
bird. But the native birds — though they had lived in
closest companionship with the Maoris — had been taught
the treachery of the white man in a school that reeked with
blood, and those that had not been killed had retreated from
the vicinity of the settlements, visiting the insect-ridden
fields occasionally only.
Wherefore insectivorous birds from the old country were
introduced, and the one that multiplied most rapidly was the
Sparrow. And the Sparrow soon cut short the career of the
caterpillars.
I have said that birds, because of their unrivalled powers
of locomotion, are peculiarly adapted to suppressing unusual
outbreaks of vegetable as well as of animal life. Here is an
instance of this.
That formidable imjiorted weed, the variegated Scutch
thistle, threatened at one time to overrun the whole of New
Zealand. AVliero it had once fairly established itself it
seemed well-nigh impossible to eradicate it ; and it was
spreading with the speed of scandal. Much time and money
■were spent in cutting off the plants close to the ground, and
in pouring tur[)entine upon the stumps. But the wind-
driven clouds of thistle-down, which were planting the weed
far and wide, grew yearly denser and more frequent. At
the Value of Birds to Man. 99
length the fields became a thickly-packed growth of prickly
plants, which nothing could face.
The Sparrows took to eating the seed. In tens of
thousands they fed on it, giving it the preference of all
other hard food, and the weed was conquered.
To-day, in New Zealand, the Sparrow is looked upon
as an impudent thief, without a redeeming feature in its
character.
No one, of course, can say what would happen if the
Sparrow was dismissed from New Zealand, but it is as
certain as anything in this world can be that the Dominion
would be again overrun with caterpillars and thistles.
As it is, the good the Sparrows do must far outweigh
the mischief which is laid to their charge. This state-
ment receives the amplest confirmation in the bountiful
harvests with which New Zealand is blessed. Never
were the Sparrows more numerous, never the complaints
against them more bitter; yet the yield of grain is without
precedent.
The growling of the New Zealand farmer at the Sparrow,
again, justifies Virgil's complaint of the " miserly husband-
man." Miserly, indeed, and blind. Not a grain will he
give the bird which has laboured unceasingly for eleven
long months to free the soil from grubs ; but whole fields of
wheat to the caterpillar !
In Australia a plague of grasshoppers periodically visits
the paddocks to devour the crops. But the ruin they would
otherwise bring on the farmer is checked by large flocks of
Glossy Ibises, Spoonbills, Cranes, and other native birds. It
has been computed by an eminent naturalist that a flock of
200,000 of these saviours will consume in a single day
25 tons of grasshop[)ers.
It is for this reason that the people of the Commonwealth
view with such grave apprehension the continual slaughter
of native birds, for their loss is rendering the country ever
more prono to the plague of grasshoppers.
100 Mr. J. Buckland on
The Plumage Bill.
Here I intend to make a slight digression. Quite
recently the Textile Trade Section of the London Chamber
of Commerce submitted to the consideration of the Melbourne
Chamber of Commerce a book, issued for the purpose of
attempting to refute certain statements made to the detriment
of the feather-dealers.
In its reply the Melbourne Chamber of Commerce pointed
out that the work performed by the wild birds in the
Commonwealth alone, in keeping in check the ravages of
myriads of noxious insects, was worth many millions of
})ounds sterling. The natural enemies of insect pests were
the birds, and were they destroyed Nature would become
unbalanced and successful agriculture become impossible.
The London Chamber of Commerce was also informed that
the value of birds in life was infinitely greater to the
community than would be the profit accruing from the
sale of their feathers, and that, therefore, the Melbourne
Chamber of Commerce was unable to support the position
taken up by the book in question.
Yet bird-skins from Australia, every one of them illicitly
exported, are regularly trafficked in by London feather-
dealers. More than this, the President of the Board of
Trade and the Secretary of State for the Colonies, ignorant
of, or indifferent to, their responsibilities to the Empire, are
heedless of the awful calamity their neglect is fostering.
The Value of Birds in Forests.
Birds attain their greatest usefulness in the forests, because
the conditions there closely approach the ja-imeval.
Forest trees have their natural insect foes, to which they
give food and shelter ; and these insects in turn have their
natural enemies among the birds, to which the tree also
gives food and shelter. Hence it follows that the existence
of each one of these forms of life is dependent upon the
existence of the other. Birds are not only essential to the
the Value of Birds to Man. 101
Well-being of the tree, but the tree is necessary to the life o£
the bird.
Consider for a moment the life of a tree in connection
with the insects that prey upon it. At the very beginning,
before the seed or nut has germinated, it may be entered by
a grub which destroys it. Should, however, the seed or nut
be permitted to gfow, the roots of the seedling may bo
attacked by beetles. Escaping this danger, a worm lays its
eggs in the cracks of the bark. On hatching, the worm^ or
borer, perforates a hole in the stem. This hole, admitting
water from every passing shower, causes a decay in the
wood to commence, from which the tree may never recover.
Other borers feed upon the bark, eating the soft inner layer
and the sap. The twigs are affected by the larva) of certain
beetles, which act as girdlers, sometimes destroying limbs
over an inch in diameter. Weevils bore under the bark and
into the pith, making excavations in which the eggs are laid.
For the same purpose the cicada makes a terrible wound,
which often proves fatal. The limbs of trees arc affected by
aphides, which puncture them and feed upon their juices,
exhausting the sap. Many species of plant-lice and scale-
insects infest trees, doing great damage ; while over 100
different species of gall-flies are parasitic upon them. The
buds of trees are entered and destroyed by the larvae of
certain moths, while the leaves are devoured by caterpillarsi
To take the oak as an example, it is known that altogether
over 500 species of insects prey upon it. Finally, bo it
remembered that in the bark and the underlying tissues
lie the vital energies of a tree.
It is difficult to perceive the usefulness of these insects
which feed on the different parts of the tree, though they
may, perhaps, when in normal numbers, exert a useful
influence by a healthful and necessary pruning. It is
certain, however, that if they were not in turn preyed upon
by birds, they would so increase in numbers, that the tree
could not survive the injuries they would inflict.
I spent the formative period of my years in, or in close
proximity to, primeval forests, and going often to Nature's
102 Mr. J. Bucklaud o/i
mighty school to learn her secrets I was lastingly impressed
by the way in which the care of the tree is kept up
throughout the changing seasons by bird life, each species
exerting its peculiar repressive influence upon the increase
of this or that one of the various forms which insects
assume.
How dependent trees are on birds for their existence may
be gathered from the following illustration, instances of
which 1 have often seen when the services of one or more of
their natural protectors have been withdrawn. As many of
you probably know, trees breathe through their leaves.
Consequently, if the buds of the leaves are prevented from
developing, or are eaten, when developed, by caterpillars,
the tree is weakened. Many coniferous trees will die if
stripped of their foliage for one year. Deciduous trees, if
deprived of their respiratory organs for several years in
succession will also perish, though these trees linger as a
rule for two, or even three, years before finally succumbing.
Nor is injury to its breathing-organs the only danger to
which a tree afflicted in this way is subjected. The tree, being
in a weakened condition, is at once beset by beetles and other
borers, who, multiplying rapidly under such favourable
conditions, tunnel under the bark until all the vital tissues
of the poor tree are wasted. Thus a tree, which might have
recovered from the injurj' to its lungs, falls a victim to the
attacks of an insidious enemy which took advantage of its
feeble state.
Woodpeckers, or other birds of similar feeding-habits,
would have flown to the rescue of the tree and possibly
saved its life ; but when that corrective influence is missing
the tree must die.
This illustration of the dependence of the tree on the bird,
and of the bird on the tree, is, of course, but one of a long
series that could be cited, and it is because of this most
delicate adjustment between the tree, the insect, and the
bird that I regard as })rofoundly true Frank M. Chapman's
statement " that it can be clearly demonstrated that if we
should lose our birds wo should also lose our forests.''
the Vahie of Birds to Man. 103
I stated at the commencement of this paper that man had
attained to a predominance over the wild things of the earth.
I was wrong. Tigers man may be able to subjugate, but
against insects, which are even more dangerous to human
life and property than tigers, he is powerless. If, in his
folly, he drove out the bird, thinking himself capable of
taking its place, he might be able to make shift with his
sprays to save some portion at least of his orchards and
gardens ; but of what avail would be his puny efforts to
protect from the ravening maws of insects the forests of
South America and Africa, the jungle of Asia, or the bush
of Australia ? Should he not, then, protect by every means
in his power every one of the forest birds, who, as a matter
of course, and without trouble or expense to him, ordinarily
accomplish, on his behalf, this superhuman task? One
would think so. Yet in these very regions, in these vast
areas of valuable timber, every trunk of which man will
some day need, there are being killed annually millions of
the feathered guardians of the tree, and killed, too, for no
worthier purpose than that, dead, they may defame a
woman's head.
The Value of the Bird in the Orchard.
For man's purposes the work of the bird in the orchard is
not so thorough as that done by them in the forest. Birds
are the slaves of Nature, and, in the main, Nature's
endeavours are put forth only to produce such fruits as will
ensure the perpetuity of each species of tree. AVith man
the case is altogether different. His main object is not the
propagation of trees, but the production of a giant goose-
berry. Moreover, by introducing arsenical spraying, tarred
and greased bands, and other devices to counteract the evil
action of insects, ho has, to a certain extent, taken upon
himself the office of the bird. In this he is wise, for it must
be admitted that if he wishes a large crop of fruit he must
himself prevent the inroads of those insects which attack the
fruit directly. It cannot be expected of the bird that it will
104 Mr. J. Bucklaiid on
bceome an efficient all}" of man in protecting the artificially
produced fruit from the attacks of the numerous insects that
are drawn to the orchard by a vastly increased quantity of fruit
of a vastly better quality than the natural product.
For all that, fruit-growers are largely indebted to the bird
for a great part of their annual crop. There are a host of
tiny creatures that are not affected by spraying. These
lilliputian pests are the plant lice and their allies, bark lice
and scale insects. Usually their presence is unnoticed on
account of their diminutive size ; but they suck out the
juices of the tree and are exceedingly harmful. If their
multiplication remained unchecked, the ultimate result upon
the development of the fruit, if not upon the life of the tree,
would be very great. But nothing, however small, escapes
the prying eyes of a bird, and it clears the trunk, branches,
and twigs of the tree of these encumbrances.
Birds are charged, as though the case were one of theft,
with feeding to a greater or less extent on the fruit which
they help to produce. In Nature, such services as the
bird renders in direct protection of the fruit is placed to its
credit and it receives its reward. Does man expect it, for
his sake, to deviate from those habits which it has con-
tracted under natural conditions? In other words, does
he expect the bird to assist him in producing an unnatural
surplus of fruit ?
Call the bird in the orchard an evil — if you will. But it
is a necessary evil, and the fruit-grower must make up his
mind to pay the bird its wages, even though at times they
may seem exorbitant.
But let us suppose for a moment — though the supposition
is absurd — that the modern fruit-grower conld do Mithout
the services of the bird. Would that give him a right to
slay it? Apart altogether from the agriculturist, what of the
millions of people who, as an increment to their ordinary
livelihood, grow fruit, but who cannot afford either the time
or the money to treat their trees in the most approved and
scientific way ?
"What would happen to this poorer class of fruit-growers
the Valve of Birds to Man. 105
if they were deprived o£ the services of the bird is best seen
in what happened to Frederick the Great. This worthy, in
a fit of passion because a flock of Sparrows had pecked at
some of his cherries, ordered every small bird that could
be searched out to bo instantly killed. Within two years
his cherry-trees, thouoh bare of fruit, were weighed down
with a splendid crop of insects.
The Services of the Bird in the Garden.
The garden is the insect's paradise. It fares sumptuously
every day on the most succulent of vegetable foods. Every
opportunity is thus offered for its increase. The greatest
insect ejiemy of the gardener is a small, dull-coloured,
hairless caterpillar, known as the cut-worm, which is the
larva of a Noctuid moth. This chief of the brigand band of
garden pests usually hides during the day beneath matted
grass, or under the loose soil along the rows of plants. It
comes forth at dusk to feed. The bird is abroad at the first
peep of day, and it finds the robber-v/orm in the morning
before it has retreated to its place of concealment.
The cut-worm, by the way, is the worm which is
associated with the early bird in the well-known proverb.
But the bird has to come stealthily to the garden. Its
visits are regarded by man with more than suspicion, and it
is fortunate if it escapes with its life. In consequence, it
snaps up a caterpillar and is off again, leaving thousands
it would have eaten, if unmolested, to run riot among tho
vegetables.
Occasionally a bird more bold than its fellows will visit
the garden in broad daylight to dig the cut-worms out of
their hiding-places. Nature never having begrudged it tho
reward of its toil, the bird takes a few peas before
leaving.
The gardener notices the damage done to his peas, and
next morning is up betimes. He sees the early bird running
along a row of peas, stopping frequently to peck at some-
thing. There is a loud explosion, followed by a puff of
106 Mr. J. Buckland on
smoke. The smoke slowly drifts away, to disclose a bird
lying dead.
Caterpillars are not gifted with a voice. If they were
they -would scarce forbear to cheer.
The bird is dead. Mark the secinel. One fine morning
the gardener issues proudly forth to cut his mammoth
cabbage — the one with which he intends to put to utter
confusion all other competitors at the local fruit and flower
show. Alas for human hopes and the depredations of
caterpillars. The cabbage is riddled like a colander.
The gardener, when he shot the ])ird, forgot, if, indeed, he
ever knew, that the ancient law forbade a muzzle to the ox
that threshed out the corn.
Utility of Birds in the Meadow.
Each season, until hay-making commences, the grass offers
cover and shelter for the nests of such birds as breed on the
ground. The fields also provide food for birds, and for the
insects on which birds feed. Thus there is established a
natural interrelation and interdependence between the bird
and its food and shelter — that is to say, the insects and the
grass. This simulates the condition of the earth before man
made discord in the grand harmony of Nature's laws.
Where the birds of the field are undisturbed they tend to
hold the grass insects in check. On the other hand, when
the numbers of birds in the field are, for any reason,
insufficient, the insects increase.
Hero is an instance of this. Some years ago in Bridge-
water Massachusetts, a great battue was held by the
ignorant townspeople in the spring of the year, and so
many field birds were killed that their dead bodies were
ploughed into the land for manure. The following summer
whole fields of grass wither(!d away and died. This was due
solely to the fact that the mnnber of field birds had l)een
reduced, and, in conseriuenec, the i)ressure which Nature
demands the field birds shall exert upon the field insect had
been released.
the Value of Birds to Man. 107
Again, at one time, in New Zealand, it was no uncommon
tiling to see English grass wither up in large patches, as
though scorched by fire. This was due to the work of a
crane-flj and click-beetle, the Inrvse of both of which were
addicted to the habit of eating the roots of the grass, just
under the surface. English grass was then comparatively
limited in the up-countrj^ districts, and, as there are large
tracts of land in New Zealand destitute of native grasses, the
depredations of these insects became a serious matter to
those settlers who had stock to feed, and who were relying on
the English grass to feed them. It was all the more serious
because the insects were without any natural chock, the
native birds which had kept their numbers down before the
advent of the white man having been scared from the
vicinity of the homesteads. So the beetles continued to
make merry, to marry, and to multiply. In a corresponding
ratio the grass continued to fade, to wither, and to die.
Then came the English Starling ; and so voraciously did it
feed on the larvpe that soon all was green again.
Without birds, provided insects were present, grass could
not be grown. The grub of a single species of beetle, if
unchecked, could destroy all the grass roots of our meadows,
or any one of the several species of cut-worms might be
sufficient to destroy all the verdure above ground.
Hawks and Owls.
The injury to crops and grass by insects is not the only
evil that threatens man as a sequence to the destruction
of birds. Rapacious birds hold a chief place among the
forces which are appointed to hold in chock small rodents,
which breed rapidly, and, unless ko[)t within bounds, are
exceedingly destructive. Yet, notwithst;uuling the unani-
mous testimony of careful students of birds and thoir food
habits, to the effect that almost all Hawks and Owls are
beneficial, a wide-spread prejudice still exists against them.
Tliey are slain as relentlessly as if they were enemies instead
of friends of the farmer.
VOL. viii. y
108 Mr. J. Buckliind on
The destructive habits of the small rodents, which are the
natural prey of Hawks and Owls, are much the same all the
world round. They do an incalcula])le amount of damage
to standing corn, to corn in the stook or when stacked, to
grain, to root crops when growing, or when piled on the
ground, or stored in pits, to orchards and forest trees, to the
roots of clover and other grasses, to ground-growing fruit,
and to gardens, both flower and vegetable. In addition to
this list of crimes, certain rodents are active agents in
carrying and disseminating the germs of plague and other
diseases.
Here in Enoland — thouoh on account of their small size
and secretive habits they are often undiscerned by man's
dull eyes — they swarm in such numbers in the fields and
hedge-rows that the damage they do must prove a steady
drain on the resources of the farmer.
The number of small rodents eaten b}-- the rapacious
birds is almost as remarkable in proportion to their size as
is the number of insects eaten by small insectivorous birds.
During the summer of 1890 a pair of Barn-Owls occupied a
tower in a building at Washington. After their ch'parture,
there were found in the regurgitated pellets, with which the
floor was strewn, 454 skulls of small rodents.
The young of Hawks and Owls remain a lung time in the
nest, and require a great quantity of food. During this
period the resources of the parents must be taxed exces-
sively in the effort to satisfy the hunger cravings of their
()ffsi)rin<T, and it is not to be wondered at if some individuals
arc forced occasionally to snaj) up a chicken. But what is
the worth of the chicken, or of the young pheasant,
occasionallv taken compared with the hundreds of thousanils
of pounds' worth of damage that is wrouglit in the orchards
and field by rodents that Hawks and Owls, had they been
spared, would have fed upon for the maintenance of their
species ?
At one time the destruction of bird life in the United
►States was trulv lamentable, but the old order has changed
the Value of Birds to Man. 109
—due entirely to tlie work of the Biological Survey in the
interests of agriculture — and to-day the farmer is only too
willing to admit that the bird is his best friend.
This is magnificent, and bygones should be bygones ; but
that you may realise the value oF Hawks and Owls to man, I
am obliged to rake up an ugly past.
In 1885 the Legislature of Pennsylvania passed an Act,
known as the "Scalp Act,'' which provided a bounty of 50
cents each on Hawks and Owls killed within the State limits,
and a fee of 20 cents to the notary taking the affidavit. As
the result of this Act, 90,000 dollars was paid in bounties
during the year and a half subsequent to the passage of the
Act. But the vengeance of Nature's laws is speedy and
never fails. An irruption of small rodents followed, and did
damage to the agricultural interests of the State to the tune
of 3,850,000 dollars. And even these figures, enormous as
they are, do not represent the entire loss. Years must
elapse before the balance of Nature, which was destroyed,
can be restored.
In Montana the destruction of Hawks and Owls was so
complete that rodents, freed from the pressure of their
natural check, became as one of the plagues of the Book of
Exodus. Then the Legislature passed a law offering
bounties for the destruction of these four-footed pests.
During six months of 1887 such large sums were paid out
in bounties for the destruction of small rodents — a work
that the Hawks and Owls had previously done free of charge —
that a special Session of the Legislnture was called to repeal
the Act, lest it should bankrupt the State.
In 1907, Nevada went through a very trying experience
with mice, while Utah, Wyoming, (Jalifornia, and several
States further east have all had occasion to bitterly rue the
day that they shot their Hawks and Owls.
But the destruction of small rodents is not the only
function of rapacious birds in the economy of Nature.
Several species are voracious insect feeders. Nor is this all.
It is well known that when small insectivorous birds increase
9*
110 Mr. J. Biicklaud on
abnormally in numbers they, too, become a pest. Hawks
and Owls materially assist those other agencies of Nature
which act as a check on the undue increase of small binls.
If rapacious birds were rigorously protected in this country,
we should have fewer complaiuts of the daniage done by
Sparrows.
It is a law of Nature that the destroyer is also the
protector. Birds of prey, if unmolested, not only prevent
the over-production of small birds, but they also confer a
salutary benefit on each species on which they prey by
checking the propagation of w^eakness or disease by killing
off the sickly and most unfit individuals, for these are the
most easily seen and the most readily captured. This is
particularly true of game fowl, and one of the most plausible
hyj)otheses explanatory of the occasional outbreaks of
disease among Grouse has been the removal of this
corrective by ignorant gamekeepers.
Yet it is my belief that nothing but a miracle performed
by the Lord will ever make these men see the error of their
ways.
Some years ago, when lying in the sweet-smelling heather
on a mountain-side in Scotland, I pleaded for the life of the
Hawk before one of its executioners. The gamekeeper
listened in silence until my somewhat fervid address to the
jury, so to speak, was concluded. Then he said : " Ye've a
cold i' the luiid." F did not see the relevancy of this
remark, but I nodded assent. After a pause, he added :
" Ah, weel ; ye canna complain. The cold aye attacks the
weakest i)lace first.''
TiiH Ec'oNOMrc Valt'r of riiK Wiiitk TTkhon.
The destruction of the \\'liit<' llcroii for its sca])idar
])hunes — destruction which i> marked by the most brutal
savagerv — has robberl half the world <•!" a liiiil which is most
useful to man. Its loss to India and to (Jhina is most
serious. It never tonches grain, but feeds solely near
water and over damp ground, the bi('c(ling-places of
the Value of Birds to ^Jan. 111
innumerable biitrachians, small crustaceans, and pestiferous
insects, all of which directly or indirectly injuriously atf'eet
croj)S in the neighbourhood. The presence of the White
Heron in the rice-fields, for instance, is distinctly beneticial
to the farmer, and rice is one of the most extensively grown
crops of India and of China.
Tiie slaughter of this bird in India is all the more repre-
liensible, not only because the bird is protected by law, but
because the Hindus arc strongly averse to the taking of
animal life, on religious as well as economic grounds.
In no country in the world do insects impose a heavier
tax on the agriculturist than in India, and it is infamous that
the British Government should connive at the illicit ex])ort
of the plumage of locally protected birds, not only because
the very species that are relentlessly and clandestinely slain
for their plumage are those that are most destructive to
insects and other field and orchard pests, but because they
are held sacred in the religious belief of a race that in
conscientiousness and purity of mind is in no wise inferior
to the Semitic.
I say this because Jews are the principal culprits in the
matter of dealing in these contraband goods, and because
there comes drifting into my mind, down from my old
Sunday-school days, the recollection of being told that Jews
were merciful children of the Merciful ; that they were the
first in the world to preach about mercy to animals ; and
that in their Temple there were no other images exce})t those
of birds.
Turning to Australia for a moment, before ilismissing the
question of the destruction of the Egret, I nuiy mention that
the slaughter of this and other wadino- birds for their
plumage is causing in that country a decline in its fish
resources. As these birds grow fewer in numbers, so do the
crustaceans that destroy the fish-spawn inci'ease in hosts.
Value of Birds to Livestock.
The injury done to domestic animals by biting and
parasitic insects is very great. Herds of cattle are often
112 Mr. J. Bucklaiul on
stampeded by these tormenting creatures, wliicli carry
disease and death among them. Another great aftiietion is
the warble, which is a small tumour produced by the larva
of the gadfly on the backs of cattle, and the constant
irritation of which causes considerable deijreciution in the
value of hides, besides a lessened quantity and poorer quality
of beef.
Horses, sheep, and other farm animals are subject to the
attacks of similar parasites and other persecuting insect
foes.
If it were not for the services the bird renders in alighting
on animals in search of these parasites, or in catching the
flies on the wing, or in eating them in their embryo state,
man would be unable to keep his livestock.
More than this, man himself would be unable to inhabit
many places on the earth which he now cultivates, or where
he carries on other lucrative industries.
For every fly-catching or parasite-eating bird of the
untold thousands that are now allowed to be killed. Nature's
fitdit for the care of her children is weakened by the loss of
a very active agent.
Not long ago Sir Harry Johnston told us that the con-
tinual destruction of certain birds in Africa for their plumage
was resulting in the increase of the venomous tsetse-fly»
whose bite carries the infection of that dread disease, sleep-
ing sickness.
The Bird as a Weed Destroyer.
Uncjuestionably weeds serve a useful purpose in Nature,
but that par])03e is not the occuj)ation of cultivated land.
Without check tluty would speedily elioke all ^rain to
death.
Constant use of harrows and hoes will do much on larm
lands and in gardens to keep down weeds, but as most earth
is full of weed seed, which retains its vitality for years, the
life of tli(! tiller of the soil is one continuotis struggle against
these troublesome plants. In thi^lialtle the bird is of great
the I'alue of Birds to Man. 113
assistance, for the number of weed seeds eaten by birds on
cultivated land must be beyond an}^ assignable quantity.
One of the greatest weed destroyers is the Quail. It is
doubtful, indeed, if the Quail is not more useful to man than
any other bird. It is very nearly wholly beneficial. During
spring and summer it feeds on many of the most destructive
of insects, and in autumn and winter it eats an enormous
amount of seeds of many harmful weeds.
The report of the United States Biological Survey says : —
"It is reasonable to suppose that in the States of Virginia
and North Carolina from September 1 to April 30 there
were four Quail to each square mile of land. The crop of
each bird holds half an ounce of seed and is filled twice a
day. Since, at each of these two daily meals harmful weed
seeds constitute at least half the contents of the crop, a half
ounce daily is consumed by each bird. On this basis, the
total consumption of harmful weed seeds by Quail from
September to April in Virginia and North Carolina amounts
to 1341 tons. As destructive insects form about one-third
of the bird's food from June to August, Quail consume
341 tons of these pests in these States within those two
months."
But perhaps the most valuable service that Quail render
the people of the United States is the greedy way in which
— and they stand almost alone among birds in this par-
ticular taste — they eat the evil-smelling potato-bug or, as
we call it, the Colorado beetle.
In addition to this inestimable service it is partially due to
this bird that that pernicious thing, the cotton boll w^eevil,
has not swept over the entire cotton belt of America,
bringing ruin to thousands of huuuin beings on both sides
of the Atlantic.
As I am speaking of the Quail, what I am about to say
may not seem, for the moment, pertinent — but it is.
According to statistics published in April by the Govern-
ment Biological Survey at ^Vashington, it is shown that the
cost of living last year in the United States was raised to
cover a loss of one billiuii dollars in iigricullural produce,
114 Mr. J. Bucldand 077
due to the inroads of in?ects and rodents. Or, to put this
clearer, the damage done by these pests in the pa^t year
amounted to over ten dollars per head tor every person in
the United States. This loss, it is pointed out by the
Government experts, is due largely to the lack of a sufficient
number of insect and rodent-eating birds to keep the enemies
of the crops in check. This means, letting our thoughts
range beyond the United States, that for every bird killed
that can be classed as beneficial, man must pay in increased
costs of food and clothing.
There is therefore — now that Great Brilain has harnessed
Old Nile — a plain economic reason for revolt against the
present-day practice of catching Egy})tian Quail and sliij'])ing
them by hundreds of thousands to Europe and to America.
The Bird as a Scavenger.
The fishing population of these islands has declared war on
the Gulls, and is demanding the withdrawal of certain species
from the list of protected birds on account of the damage
they are alleged to do to the fishing industry. People who
believe fishermen's tales are apt to be duped and led into
repeated errors. The Gull is a surface feeder. It may
occasionally levy toll on useful fish when they are indiscreet
enough to come to the surface of the water, but to say that
they do any appreciable injury to the fishing business is
absurd.
On the other hand, the presence of the Gull is essential to
man's health. While the bird fulfils many useful minor
offices — such as destroying larva' in land along the seaboard,
and in eating enemies of fish that are exposed during low
tide — its chief function in the economy of nature is that of
scavenger of tlie harl)ours and of the littoral, just as Vultuies
are the scavengers of the mainland. I do not know if any
of you have been in the East or in ]\Iexico. If you have you
will know that "Vultures are protected both by law and jiulilic
sentiment because of their sanitary services. I'ut to return
to the Gull. The wholesale destruction of the birds for their
the Value of B'lnh to Man. 115
plumage in Yucatan was followed by a great increase of
liuuian mortality among the inhabitants of the coast, which
mortality was irrefutably due to the loss of the birds that
formerlj' assisted in kee])ing the harbours and bays free from
the decaying matter which the sea is constantly casting
ashore.
I wonder if these men who wish the Gull destroyed ever
give a thought to what would happen to their own smelling
villages if this bird was not present to eat the refuse they
throw about ? Or, again, if they ever reflect on that feeling
of relief they experience when, in thick weather, they hear,
through the fog, the clamour of these feathered bell-buoys,
warning them that they are ncaring rock or bar.
The Bird as a Guano Producer.
Now that I am on the subject of pelagic birds, I will
speak of their value as guano producers.
Undoubtedly the present enormous trade in fertilisers
owes its origin to the bird, for the fertilising properties of
the phosphoric acid and nitrogen contained in fish was not
recognised until guano — which is the excrement of sea-birds
mixed with fish — became a, stimulus to intensive agriculture,
and furnished a source of revenue to civilised nations.
It is true guano has depreciated in price since the manu-
facture of fertilisers, but it has still a considerable commercial
value.
Because of this, and because their slaughter is characterised
by practices which are abominable and full of horror,
tolerance of the wholesale destruction of sea-birds on their
breeding-grounds by the agents of feather-dealers is a blot
on our civilisation.
Not many years ago, William Alanson Bryan, United States
S})ecial Inspector of Birds, reported that on several islands
in the North Pacific — which islands are the property of the
United States, and legally established bird reservations — he
walked waist-high through heaps of dead x\lbatrosses. Terns,
and Gulls, the feathers of which had been strijtped off to bo
sold as hat-trinnnings, and the bodies thrown aside to rot.
116 Mr. J. Buckland on
On other islands he found that the immense colonies of birds
which hitherto had bred there had been wiped absolutely
out of existence.
Last year a gang of plumage pirates were surprised in
their dastardly work on Laysan Island, which is in the same
region, and which is famous for its rich deposits of guano.
These miscreants had already clubbed to death on their
nests, or when feeding their young, 259,000 Albatrosses.
Albatrosses lay but one egg, and as they can be killed
with profit to the feather-dealer only when massed on their
breeding-grounds, their destruction, at this appalling rate,
must inevitably mean the loss to the United IStates of its
guano suj)ply.
It is my opinion, though the British Government is not
in agreement with me on this question, that every agent
that conserves the natural resources of the present millions,
as well as the heritage of unborn millions, should be given
every measure of protection.
Usefulness of the Bird to Man as Food.
So far I have considered only the good offices the bird
voluntarily takes on itself in the service of man.
1 will now proceed to show how invaluable the bird is to
man, under certain conditions, as a food-supj)ly. The flesh-
pots of the world have been already acquired, and man is
now reaching out for less favoured regions u])on which to
domicile his increasing millions. This action of his produces
the pioneer, who must, for the most part, live on the wild
l)roducts of forest, mead, river, lake, and sea. Now let us
consider how a scarcity of birds will allect these hardy
forerunners of civilisation who drive tlic pl()ii;;li in tli(.' trail
of the axe. The sore straits to which they will i)c put will
1)0 best understood, perhajis, by vi(!wing the results of the
slaughter of the Duck in North America. Not morn than
fifty years ago the numljcr of these birds in that country
was beyond conn)utation. But man could not slay them
fast enough to glut his blood-lust. Sportsmen, professional
the Value ojBivds to Man. 117
hunters^ and agents of the millinery interest smote them
by the million. It is on record that hundreds o£ tons of
these birds were killed merely for their green wing-feathers,
and the bodies thrown away.
What the present-day slaughter of birds in the primitive
places of the earth will mean to the pioneer of the future
is foreshadowed by what is happening in Hudson Bay at
the present time on account of the blind and wanton
destruction of the Duck in North America in days gone by.
Ducks are now becoming so scarce along the west coast
of Hudson Bay, where there are no moose, caribou are few,
and the fishing is poor, that the people living there, who
have always depended largely on the Ducks they could pack
away in the autumn, find it difficult to get food enough to
carry them through the winter.
I have not touched upon the aesthetic side of the question
of the value of birds to man, since that is a boundless
realm, sacred to sentiment, art, and poetry — a realm of which
it would be impossible for me to treat this evening. Even
as it is — and I am leaving unmentioned many a benefit
that birds confer on man — I have already put too great a
strain on your patience.
I have come to my last words upon my subject. Birds,
unquestionably, are one of man's greatest possessions ; yet
it is just the possession on which he sets the least value.
Wherever there are birds whose feathers are suitable to
millinery, there will the plume-hunter be found, dealing
death and destruction. Wherever there are species that
have been harried by man to the verge of extinction, there
will be the collector also, anxious to obtain the last linger-
ing representative of a race before his rival gets a chance
to do so. Wherever there are birds whose eggs are valuable,
there the egg-collector hurries, to destroy not only the
embryo life, but often the mature life as well by killing
the bird that laid the egg for the purpose of identification.
Wherever there are birds that are considered " game,*' there
hastens that vandal of creation, tliu •' s^jortsnian '' ol means
118 Occasional Notes.
and leisure, to expend upon his harmless and liel])less
victims his barharons, inherent desire to kill in response to
instinctive promptings.
No member of that doomed race ever flies forth in the
morning with any certainty that it will return, for there is
always the man with the gun waging war against it, and his
instrument of destruction annihilates space and is beyond
the power of escape.
It is the nature of infamies, as well as diseases, whose
progress is not checked, to daily grow worse; and if this
wasteful and depraved practice of killing birds wholesale is
not checked there will be wrought a mischief, a universal
disease, more far-reaching than words can express.
XIV. — Occasional N^ofes.
5. Bird Migration in South Africa. — In accordance
with the resolution passed at the last Annual General
Meeting, to the eftect that an attemj)t be nuide to infuse a
little more interest as regards Bird Migration, the Council
desire the Members of the S.A.O.U. — and others willing — to
undertake a few simple observations during each year.
We a]){)eal especially to the school teachers, for whom
we have now created an associate membership paying a
uominul subscri{>tion of half a guinea per annum, which
covers receipt of Journal, Pcjpuhir Bulletin, and any other
publication which might be issued. The Transvaal Education
Dept. I'.ave been good enough to have a series of wall-pictures
priute<l depicting some of the more interesting birds, so that
identification of some of the following will be now com-
paratively easy.
You are asked to look out for the arrival and deparlure of
any or all of tlx.- undernoted kinds : —
1. Eviioi'KAN Ukk-kater (McrojK apifistd).
2. Ked-lkggki) Ivk.strkl ('J'. vespertimiH).
3. European .Swallow {Ilirundo rmlica).
4. Golden OniOLE {Oriylus yalhula).
5. Lesser J^estrel {'liiuiunciilus nauiiiainii).
Occasional Xotes. 119
6. ErnoPEAN Cuckoo (C canorua).
7. Grrenshank {Totanus littoreus).
8. White Stork or Largk Locust Bird {Cicnnia rirotiia).
9. Black-winged Pratincole or Little Locust Bird {G/areola
melanoptera).
We would ask all observers to carefully note the dafrs of
arrival and departure — i. e. the first and last dates upon
which each of the above birds were last seen — on one of tho
post-cards enclosed for the purpose, and ])ost the sauio. If
possible also note the force and direction of the wind,
i.e. N,, N.E., N.W., &c., as the case may be, and gentle,
mediam, strong or very strong, whichever ol)tains at the
time the bids were first seen. Any other ol)servations, such
as "arrival in flocks'^ or pairs, would be of interest.
The cards could either be posted immediately after the
arrival of each species, or retained and posted once a month.
Unless the observer is a regular one, the former course
would be preferable.
The question of the migratory movements of birds — what
governs it, whence they come, where they go, kc. — is an
all-absorbing one, so we would exhort all Members to lend
their assistance, or if they find that they cannot m;inage it
themselves they might induce someone else to undertake the
observations — as the local schoolmaster or resident minister,
for instance.
Those not sure of the identity of a bird can sever and
forward one wing, a leg, the tail and the beak, which will
genernlly suffice to distinguish a bird with some degree of
certainty.
The resjwnse to this Circular when first issued was very
poor, and wo would again urge upon our readers the
iuij)ortance of this matter. Jf they have not tho time to
make a regular habit of observing, let them take one or two
birds — the Euroj)ean Swallow, for instance, and watch for
its arrival. Tiiis bird is easily recognisable from others of
its kind (with one exception) by its small size, reddish fore-
head, cliiu, and tliroat. The only species it can easily ho
confused with is the Wln'te-throated Swallow, which has the
120 SJiort Notices of Ontithohu/iral pKhUcatious.
throat wliite, and in addition the sides of tlie nock — these
wliite portions heino; very conspicuous even wlien the bird is
on the wing. The South Afri'^an Swallows are laro;er and
have a reddish rnnip and stri{)ed underparts, which the
European Swallow does not possess.
Much valuable information lias of late years been
collected in S. Africa on the movements of the White Stork,
and many birds have been shot or picked up dead with an
aluminium ring on the leg bearing a No. and letters, placed
thereon by kindred European Societies. Please watch for
these, and any found should be forwarded to the Transvaal
Zoological Gardens, Pretoria, with all data.
We sincerely hope that a genuine effort will be made by
our Members and the teachers to identify themselves more
closely with the work of the Union, and render what assistance
they can.
Note. — Copies of this circular and a supply of post-cards
can be obtained on application to the Hon. Secretarv, South
African Ornithologists' Union, Transvaal Zoological Gardens,
Pretoria. The Secretary will also be pleased to receive
applications for membership at all times.
Alavix Haagxkr, Sec. S.A.O.U.
XV. — Short Notices of Ornithological Piihlications.
9. 1 he <i(ime Bir(h ami Waterfoicl of South Africa. By
Major B. R. llorsbrugh, A.S.C., &c. With Coloured
Plates by Sergt. C. G. Davies, C.M.R.
A\ e have now received Part IT. of this lovelv work (see
review of Part I. .fiipra p. 7!^), which seems an improvement
on the first part all round. The species dealt with ar(^ the
Francolins — Crested, Kirk's, Grey-wing, Cape i{cd-wing,
Orange River, Pjiittikofer's, Sliclley's, Red-billed, Natal, and
Cape ; the Red-necked Francolins — Humboldt's, Northern,
Southern, and Swanison's; the <^'a[»e and Harlf'r|nin and Blue
Quails; ami the Kuirichuine l>iitton-<,»naiI. As aheadv
Shoyt Xotices of Orni(holo<jicul PuhUcations. 12L
stated, the Avork should be in the hands of every sportsman
and naturahst in the sub-continent, as Mr. Davies's beautiful
plates render the species easy of recognition. Messrs.
Witherby & Co., of 326 High Holborn, London, who are the
publishers, deserve every credit for the reproduction.
10. The Journal of the East Africa and Uganda Natural
History Society. Vol. ii. No. 4.
In an otherwise interesting number of this pu1)lication we
find only two short ones dealing with ornithological subjects,
viz., " The Flight of the Marabou Stork," by F. J. Jackson
(in which he tells us that the Marabou holds its legs out
behind and folds up the neck like an Heron, with this
diffei'ence, that whereas the latter carries bill ;iiid legs
horizontally those of the Marabou are depressed and pointing
slightly downwards). Mr. Woosnam gives new localities for
Hubbard's Francolin.
11. A Hand-List of British Birds. By Ernst Hartert,
F. C. R. Jourdain, N. F. Ticehurst, and H. F.
Witherby. Demy 8vo. Price 7^. (uL net.
Witherby & Co., 326 High Holborn, London, W.C.
A work which gives a detailed account of the distribution
of each species in the British Isles and a general account of
its range abroad, with details of the occurrences of rare
visitors. The nomenclature is revised strictly in accordance
with the International Rules of Zoological Nomenclature, and
trinomials are largely employed. Exact references to the
original description and locality are given, which makes the
book of considerable value. An index is provided.
12. The Flight of Birds. By F. W. Headlcy. With 16
Plates from Photograjihs and jnany Text Diagrams.
Crown 8vo. 5.s. net. London : Witherby & Co., 32G
High Holborn, W.C.
This book is a simple account of the flight of birds. Though
an ornithologist iind not an aviator, the author kcejis the
aero])lane in view, and compares and contrasts it with the
bird.
122 Short Notices of Orn'itlioJnqkal PuhVieaf'iom.
13. The Binls of Africa. Bj Captain G. E. Shelley.
Vol. V. part 2. Completed and edited b}^ W.
L. Sclater, M.A., F.Z.S. Heniy Sotheran & Co.,
43 Piccadilly, W.
Captain Shelley got as far as part 1 oE yol. y. of his
now well-known work on South African Birds, when a
stroke oE paralysis rendered hini in 1906 unfit for further
work. He died on 29th November, 1910, but shortly before
his death Mr. W. L. Sclater was asked by Mvs. Shelley to
undertake the completion of the work. Tiie present part
was accordingly brought up to date, revised, and put
through the press, and the publishers hope to see the work
completed with another four or five volumes. The present
part deals with the Section Lanii, comprising, amongst
some l\fadagascar genera which do not concern us, the
Dicrurida3 or Drongo Shrikes, the C/ampophagidre or Cuckoo
Shrikes, and the Laniida3 or True Shrikes. Amongst the
eight l)eautiful plates by Mr. H. Griinyold we have figures
of y^lr.ator chloris, y. (/alaris, and Enrocephalns anqnitimens.
There are again some changes of nomenclature, our Common
Shrike being called Fi.scus coUaris, the genus Lanins being
retained for the " ininor " group only. The Red-backed
Shrike, so well-known as Lanins coUurio, is called Knneoc-
tomis collurio, while the genus PoviatorJii/nchus (Ix^tter
known to English ornithologists as TelepJtoitus) is now calhni
Tschagra. Mr. Sclater considers Pomatorht/nchiis of Boie
untenable, because it was evidently a misprint or a correction
of Horsfield's J^omatorhinus given to the Scimitar-bills of
the Oriental R(^gion. The genus Pelicinius is discarded in
favour of Telojthorus of Swainson, owing to the type of the
former Ijeing Lanins barharus, Linn., vvliich makes Pelicimus
synonymous with T^aniarius. Tt will be a fortunate lliing
for ornithologists when scientific names liave been .set I led
once and for all by an internationnl congress.
The 'Birds of Africa' should bf in ihc hands of every
serious student of African Ornithology. It is well got u]),
clearly printed, and exhaustive.
NAME INDEX.
Abdimia abdimi, 15.
Accijnter mimdlus, 87.
Acrocephalus palmtris, 4, 80.
African Buzzavd-Eagle, 87.
Hobby, 3.
Hoopoe, 25.
Rook, 10.
Alseonax ccerulescens, 30.
Amadina fascinta, 90.
Amblyospiza albifrons, 42.
Anaplectes rubriceps, 38,
Anas boschas, 81.
capensis, 1.
Anthoscopus rohcrtd, 52.
Anthreptes hypodilus, 50.
longuemarii ni/assce, 50.
orientalis, 50.
Anthus trivialis, 20,
Apalis Jlorisuga, 56.
neyhcta, 50.
^;;!<A' barbatus, 4, 0, 10.
caffer, 5, 88.
inelba africamis, 4, 10.
Ardetta payesi, 86.
^se'o o^/s, 72.
Astur polyzonoides, 87.
B.
Babbler, Jardino'.-, 92.
viii.. VIII.
Babbler, Kirk's, 58,
, Tit, 20.
Bakbakiri Bush Shrike, 89,
Barbatula extoni, 20.
Barbet, Yellow-tVonted, 20.
Barn Owl, 72.
Barred Wren Warbler, 20.
Baits puella noror, 31 .
Bee-eater, Cariniue-breasted, 20.
, European, 18, 88, 118.
Bifasciated Sunbird, 91.
Bishop Bird, Red, 90.
, Taha, 90.
Bittern, Red-necked Little, 86,
, South African, 6f<.
Black-capped Bulbul, 70, 91.
crested Cuckoo, 8.
Cuckoo, 8.
Shrike, 20.
headed Oriole, 37.
Saw-wing Swallow, 12,
Stork, 7, 13.
Sunbird, 91.
Swift, 4, G, 10,
Vulture, 3.
Widow Fincli, 90.
winged Pratincole, 119,
Blue-breasted Wa.vbill, 45.
metallic-spotted Dove, 71,
Boror Yellow-throated Sparrow, 40,
Botaurus stellaris, 08, 09.
BradoniiK pa/lidi(s inKrinus^ 30.
10
124
NAME INDEX.
Bronze-wing Courser, 85. I
Brown Harrier-Eagle, 76.
hooded Kiugtislier, 20, 88.
throated Bush Warbler, 20.
Jiucnrvus cdfer, 22.
Bulbul, Black-capped, 70, 91.
Bunting-, Rock, 90.
Buphagus crythrorhynchus, 37.
Bush-AVarbler, Dusky-faced, 4.
, Eastern Black-breasted,
.57.
Buzzard-Eagle, African, 87.
L'yccmisfes buccinator, 22,
cristatics, 22.
c.
Cabanis's Thrush, 92.
Cafamocic/ila leptorJiyncha, 55.
C'alavwnastesfasciolatus, 20.
stierlingi, 55.
Camnroj>tera hrachyura hororensis,
57.
yriseoviridis nooinei, 18, 19,
20.
sttndevalli, 18, 19.
Carupephuya niyra, 20.
Cape Fruit- Pigeon, 20.
Robin Thrush, 92.
Sparrow, 09, 90.
Turtle-Dove, 87.
AVagtail, 91,
Wit^eon, 1.
Caprimulyus fervidus, 27.
fossei, 27, 28.
pecfrnvdis, 27.
rufiycmt, 88.
Carniino-breastcd Bee-eater, 20.
C'asnrcd cann, 2.
CWchneis naumanni, 9, 14, 18,
7.5.
peJcinensis, 70,
rupicola, H\ 88.
Ciryle rudis, 88.
Chalcomitra amethystina, 91.
yutturalis, 51.
olivacina, 51.
Chanting Goshawk, 20.
Charadrius fricol/itris, 8fi.
Chat, Whito-sliouldered Robin-, 20.
Chimney Swallow, 72.
C/ilorophoneus sidphureopectus
similis, 20, 35.
Chrysococcy.v cupreus, 14, 88.
Cichhdiisn arcmttn, 60.
Ciconia alba, 09.
cico7iia, 6, 12, 13, 16, 20, 80,
86, 119.
niyra, 7, 13.
Cinnyricinclus verreari.vi, 37.
Cinwjris coUuris, .50, 52.
leucoyasier, 91.
mariquensis, 91.
microrlujnchus, 51, 52.
olivacina, 52.
sheUeyi, 52.
Cir cactus cinercus, 76, 77.
(jaUiciis, 77, 78.
pectoralis, 7(5, 77.
thoracicus (pectoralia), 78.
Circus ranivorus, 9, 10, 14, 69.
Cisticula chiniana, 20.
dodsoni, 54.
eryfJirops, 54.
muclhri, 54.
natalcnsis, 53.
pusilla, 54.
I'ufa, 54.
ruficapilla bororensis, 54.
Sylvia, 54.
tinnicns, 91,
Claynatar serratus, 8.
Clill-Swallow, South African, 5, 12.
Coliua indictui, 88,
CoUuspusser ardcns, 45, 90.
Coly, Red-faced, 88.
C'olyinbus ciistatus, 1.
Common Cira.s.«!-Warbler, 91,
NAME INDEX.
125
Common Sandpiper, 14, 79, 86.
Coqui Francoliu, 74.
Coracids yarrulus, 15.
Curacina pectoralis, 32.
Corvus scajndatus, 15.
Cossypha caffra, 92.
namaquensis, 70.
henglini, 59.
humeralis, 20.
Coturniv africnna, 63.
Courser, Bronze-wing, 85.
Crake, Ilartlaub's, 2.
Crateropiis jardinei, 92.
kirki, 58.
Crested Grebe, 1.
Crimson-breasted Busb Shrike, 20.
Crombec, Fleck's, 20.
Nyassa, 57.
Crow, Pied, 15.
Crowned Guinea-fowl, 87.
Ilornbill, 22.
Cuckoo, Black, 8.
, crested, 8.
, Emerald, 8, 13.
, European, 13, 119.
, Golden, 88.
, Red-chested, 7, 8, 13.
. -Shrike, Black, 20.
C'uculus canorus, 13, 81, 119.
clamosus, 8.
solitarius, 7, 8, 13.
Curlew, 70.
Cut-throat Weaver Bird, 90.
D.
Dendroq/ffna fulva, 1, 80.
Dicfoeercus hirundineus, 25.
Dicrurus afer, 37.
Didric, 14.
Dove, Blue-metallic-spotted, 71.
, Cape Turtle-, 87.
, Green-metallic-spotted, 71
, Laughinji', Hfi.
Dnjoscopus ciilla, 36.
hamatus, 36.
Duck, Whistling, 1, 80.
Dusky-faced Bush- Warbler, 4.
E.
Eagle, African Buzzard-, 87,
, Brown Harrier-, 76,
, European Harrier-, 77.
Eastern Black-breaeted Bush-
Warbler, 57.
Egyptian Kite, 9, 14, 18.
Emberizajlaviventris, 47,
major, 47,
Emerald Cuckoo, 8, 13.
Enjieoctonus coUurio, 122.
Eremomda scotops, 4, 58.
usticollis, 20.
Erythropijf/ia Icucophrys, 20.
quadriviryata, 61.
zambesiana, 61.
Estrildii astrild, 46.
incana, 44.
polioyasfra, 44.
Euplectes xanthomelas, 43.
Eurocephalus anyuitimens, 122.
European Bee-eater, 18, 88, 118.
Cuckoo, 13, 119,
Harrier-Eagle, 77.
Quail, 63.
Roller, 15,
Swallow, 6, 10, 18, 118.
F.
Falco ccsalon, 82.
biarmiaiSy 82, 83,
cuvicri, 3,
Mhmh 82, 8i.
Vyrfako, S-2.
horsbruyhi, 79.
lunar ius, 82, 83, 84.
minor, 85.
pcreyrinoides, ^2
12G
NAME INDEX.
Faho ru/icoUis, 79.
tmiypterus, 83, 84.
Falcon, South African Lanner, 82.
Finch, Black Widow, 90.
, Melba, 20.
, Quail, 90.
Finfoot, Peters's, 78.
Fiscal Flycatcher, 89.
Fiscus collaris, 122.
Fisl;ii)g-Owl, Pel's, 3.
Fleck's Crombec, 20.
Flycatcher, Fiscal, 89.
, Lead-headed, 89,
, Paradise, 10, 15,32.
, Spotted, 20, 89.
Forest Fared Owl, 72.
Francolin, Coqiii, 74.
, Hubbard's, 121.
Fnntjillaria tuhaptsi, 90.
Fruit-Pigeon, Cape, 20.
G.
Gabar Goshawk, 87.
Gallinayo media, 74.
7iif/rij>ennis, 74.
Garden-^^'arbler, 1 7.
Genntea, 83.
Gerfalcon, Norway, 82.
Glareola melunopiera, 119.
Golden Cuckoo, 88.
Oriole, 118.
Goshawk, Chanting-, 20.
, Gabar, 87.
, Litflo IJanded, 87.
Grass- Warbler, Common, 91.
, Natal, o3.
Great Locust Bird, GO, 70, ll9.
Grebe, Crested, 1.
(ireen Sandpiper, 2.
metallic-spotted Hove, 71.
Greenshank, 119.
Ground Ilombiil, 22.
Guinea-fowl. Crowned, 87.
H.
Halcyon tilhiventris. 20, 88.
oricntalis, 24.
chelicuti, 3, 24.
ITaninierkop, 80.
Harrier, Marsli, 09.
— -, South African, 9, 10, 14.
Fa<^le, Brown, 70.
, European, 77.
Hartlaub's Crake, 2
Hawk, Little Sparrow, 87.
Hehhiis Ixirhyi, 55.
Ili'mipteryx minnta, 3.
Heron, AVhite-backod Night-, 3,
80.
Ilcieroeorax cape7isis, 10.
Hirundo albiyuhtris, 5, 11, 29,
89.
cuniUata, 5, IL
diniidlutu, 6.
monteiri, 29.
puellu, 6, 29.
rudica, 6, 11, 18, 118.
mnithi, 29.
Hobby, African, 3.
IIoney-Guide, Lesser, 12.
Hoopoe, African, 25.
, Scimitar-billed, 20.
, South African, 10, 15.
Ilornbill, Crowned, 22.
, Ground, 22.
Hubbard's Francolin, 121.
Ihjdrohatcs pelu(iictt», 1 .
Jlyliola Jlaviijastra burbuza, 31.
Ilypargos niveoyuttattts, 43.
Ilypochera fimcrpa, 45, 90.
llypolaiK hypoldin, 1 7, 02.
olivctorum, (\2.
Tcfcrinc Wnrblor, 17.
Iiidicdtnr minor, 12.
NAME INDEX.
127
Irrisor erythrorhynchus, 26.
brevirostris, 26.
viridis, 26.
J.
Jameson's Waxbill, 20.
Jardiue's Babbler, 92.
Kaupifalco jnonoyrammica, 87.
Kestrel, Lesser, 18, 7o, 118.
, Naiuuann's, 9, 14.
, Red-legged, 118.
, South African, 88.
Kingfisher, Brown-hooded, 20,
■ , Pied, 88.
, Striped, .3.
Kirk's Babbler, 58.
Kite, Egyptian, 9, 14, 18.
Lagonosticta hrunnciceps rcndaUt, 45.
rubricata, 20.
Lamjjrocolius chalybcBuSf 38.
Lnninrius, 122.
atrococcineus, 20.
major mossambicus, 35.
ru/ivenfris, 36.
Lanius harbarus, 122.
collurio, 15, 18, 20, 30, 122.
Large Stripe-breasted Swallow, 5,
11.
Laughing Dove, 86.
Lead-headed Ilycatcher, 89.
Lesser Honey-Guide, 12.
Kestrel, 18,75, 118.
Masked Weaver, 89.
Stripe-breasted Swallow, 6.
Limnobcenus murginalis, 2.
Little Banded Goshawk, 87.
Locust Bird, 119.
Pinc-Pinc \\'arbler, .'5.
Little Sparrow-ITawk, 87.
Lobotus oriolinus, 71.
Locust Bird, Groat, 69, 70, 119.
, Little, 119.
Long- tailed Wagtail, 48.
LojjJioceros melanoleucus, 22.
7iewnanni, 23.
Lusciniola, 56.
M.
Macrodipteryx vexiUarius, 28.
Macronyx croseus, 48.
M(daco7iotus olivaceus starki, 36.
Marabou Stork, 121.
Marsh Harrier, 69.
Warbler, 4, 80.
Martin, Piock-, 6.
Masked Weaver, 89.
Melcenornis ater tropicalisy 30.
Melba Finch, 20.
Melierax canorus, 20.
Melittophayus vieridionalis, 25.
Melocichln mentulis orientalis, 53.
Mennell's Seed-eater, 47.
Merlin, 82.
Merops apiaster, 18, 88, 118.
nubicoides, 20.
stiperciliosus, 71.
31etalloeocci/x smaraydineus, 8, l.j.
Microiiisus yabar, 87.
Mili'ics ceyyptim, 9, 14, 18.
Monteiro's Swallow, 29.
Monticola angolensis nyassce, 60.
Motacilla capensis, 91.
lotigicaiida, 48.
vidua, 48.
Muscicapa yrisola, 20, 89.
Myrmecocichla shelleyi, GO.
N.
Natal Grass- Warbler, 53,
Neumann's Kestrel, 9, 14.
128
NAME INDEX.
H'icnior chhris, 122.
yularis, 35, 122.
Niglit-Heron, "White-backed, 3, 80.
Nightjar, Ixufous-cheeked, 83.
Kilaus i}i(/rite7npor(ilis, 33.
Norway Gerfalcon, 82.
I^'ionida coronata, 67.
Nyassa Crombec, 57.
Kydicorax leuconolus, 3, 80.
O.
(Edicnemus eapensis, 73.
vermiculatus, 74.
Olive Weaver Bird, 89.
Oriole, Black-beaded, 37.
, Golden, 118.
Oriolus sp., 37.
galbula, 118.
larvatus roUeti, 37.
Orti/fiospiza poli/zomi, 90.
Olis afra, 73.
afroides, 73.
harrovii, 73.
carulesccns, 73.
caffra, 73.
kori, 73.
hulu-iyi, 73.
vidanof/aster, 73.
ruficrista, 73.
jiippclli, 73.
vifforsi, 73.
Oioyyps auriculaiis, 3.
Owl, Barn, 72.
, Forest Eared, 72.
, rd's Fishing-, 3.
r.
Tainted Snipe, 74.
Palm Swift, 28.
Paradise Flycatcher, 10, 15, 32.
Parisomn phonbeum, ryj.
■ suljcccrulcmn, 20.
ParttB 2>'dlidiie?itns rcvuvuc, 52,
Passer nielanurus, 69, 90.
Pearl-brea^sted Swallow, 6.
Pelidnim, 122.
zeyloHHs, 89.
Pel's Fishing-Owl, 3.
Peters "s Finfoot, 78.
Petrel, Storm-, 1.
Petrochelidon spilodera, 5, 12.
Petronia siq)crciliaris bororeiisis, 40.
Phyllastrephus capensis, 49.
suahelicus, 48.
cerviniventris, 49.
fiaviveniris occidcntalis, 48.
Pied Crow, 15.
Kingfisher, 88.
Pigeon, Cape Fruit-, 20.
, Speckled or Rock, 70.
Pink-billed Weaver, 89.
Pipit, Tree, 20.
Plcdysteira peltata, 31.
Ploceus aureoflavus, 41.
auricapillus, 89.
cabanisi, 89.
capensis olivacens, 89.
niyriceps, 40.
ocularius crocatus, 39.
sfictifrons, 39.
velatus, 89.
a'atithops, 41.
xanthopterus, 41.
Plover, Three-handed, 80.
Podica petcrsi, 78.
Poliospiza yularis, 47.
mennelli, 47.
rcichardi, 47.
Pomatorhinus, 122.
PomatorliyncliHSj 122.
uustrulis, 20.
comjenevy 34.
tcneyalus, 34.
Pratincola torquata orient alia, 70.
Pratincole, Black-winged, 119.
Prinia, 55.
niy.slacca, 50, 92.
PnoH0])8 talacoma, 32.
NAME INDEX.
X29
rsali'l'pi'ocne hohmelana, 12.
rielia af?-a, 44.
Pycnonotus layardi, 70, 91 .
2)allidtis, 49.
Pyroinelana Jiammiceps, 42.
orix, 90.
taha, 90.
Fytilia vielba, 20.
Q.
Quail, 70.
, European, G3.
Finch, 90.
Quelea erythrops, 42.
sanguinirostris lathami, 42, 90.
H.
Red^backed Shrike, 15, 18, 20.
Bishop Bird, 90.
chested Cuckoo, 7, 8, 13.
coUared Widow Bird, 90.
faced Coly, 88.
legged Kestrel, 118.
necked Little Bittern, 80.
Revuma Tit, 52.
Mhinopomastus cyanomelas, 20.
schaloici, 26.
RMnoptilus chalcopterus, 85.
Ixiparia fuliyula, G.
Robin, White-browed Ground, 20.
Chat, Wliite-shouldered, 20,
Rock Bunting, 90.
Martin, 6.
or Speckled Pigeon, 70.
Roller, European, 15.
Rook, African, 16.
Rufous-cheeked Nightjar, 88.
Sandj)iper, Common, 14, 79, 8G.
, Green, 2.
Sandpiper, Terek, 2.
, Wood, 14, 8G.
Scimitar-billed Hoopoe, 20.
Scopus umbretta, 86.
Scotopelia pelt, 3.
Seed-eater, Mennell's, 47.
Serinus icterus madaraszi, 47.
Sheldrake, South African, 2.
Shrike, Bakbakiri Bush, 89.
, Black Cuckoo-, 20
, Crimson-breasted Bush, 20,
, Red-backed, lo, 18, 20.
, Three-streaked Bush, 20.
, Yellow-fronted Bush, 20.
, Zambesi Red-wing, 34.
Siyehis silens, 89.
Siymodus retzii tricolor, 32.
Smithornis capensis, 31.
Smith's Grass Warbler, 20.
Snipe, Tainted, 74.
South African Bittern, 68.
. Cliff-Swallow, 5, 12.
Harrier, 9, 10, 14.
Hoopoe, 10, 15.
Kestrel, 88.
Banner Falcon, 82.
Sheldrake, 2,
Sparrow, Boror Yellow-throated, 46,
, Cape, 69, 90.
Hawk, Little, 87.
Speckled or Rock Pigeon, 70.
Sphenosacus, 53.
Spotted Flycatcher, 20, 89.
Steyanura paradisea, 4G.
Stiorling s Barred Warbler, 55.
Stork, Black, 7, 12, 13.
, Marabou, 121.
, White, 6, 13, 16, 20, 72, 80,
80, 119.
, White-bellied, 15.
Storm-Petrel, 1.
Striped Kingfisher, 3.
SfrixJlatMuea, 81.
Sunbird, Bii'asciated, 91.
, Black, 91.
180
NAME INDEX.
Siinbird. White-breasted, 91.
Swallow, Black Saw-wiug, 12.
, C'liimiiey, 72.
■ , European, 0, 10, 18, 118.
, Large Stripe-breasted, 5, 11.
, Lesser Stripe-breasted, 6.
, Monteiro's, 29.
, Pearl-breasted, 0.
, South African Cliff-, 5, 12.
, White-bellied, 4, 10.
, runiped, 5, 88.
, throated, 5, 11, 89.
Swift, Black, 4, 6, 10.
, Tulm, 28.
Sylvia nison'a, 17, G2, 63.
simplex, 17.
si/lvifi, 17.
Syloicttajlechi, 20.
jacksotii, 57.
wJn/tei, 57.
T.
Tachjornis jyarvus myochroKS, 28.
Tabu Bishop Bird, 90.
Tarsiyer stellatus, 60.
iransvaaleitsin, 21.
typica, 21.
Tawny-flanked Wren-Warbler, 56,
92.
Tchitrea 2)erspicillatf(, 10, 15, 32, 89.
plutnbeiceps, 89.
Telephonits, 122.
Telophorus, 122.
Terek Sand])iper, 2.
Tcrchia cinercn, 2.
Three-banded I'lovcr, 80.
streaked Bush Shrike, 20.
Thrush, Cabnnis's, 92.
, Cape liobin, 92.
Tinnuncidus nanmanni, llH,
venpeftintvi, 118.
Tit Babbler, 20.
, llevuma, 52.
Tutanus ylarcola, 1 4, 80.
Totantis littorens, 119.
ochropuK, 2.
Tree Pipit, 20.
Trinya hypoleuciis, 79.
Trinyoides hypoli'iicoii, 14, 86.
Trochocercus cyanoiiielas, 52.
Ttichayra, 122.
Titrdus cahanisi, 92.
libo?>yanus tropicaU)>, 58.
Turtle-Dove, Cape, 87.
Turtur ccipicohi, 87.
seneyalensis, 86.
U.
Upj/pa (ifricana, 10, 15, 25.
Urayinthus anyolenns, 45.
Urobruchya axillaris, 43.
V.
Vidua i^erena, 45, 46.
Vinayo delalandei, 20.
wakefu'ldi, 71.
Vulture, Black, 3.
W.
Wagtail, Cape, 91.
, Long-tailed, 48.
Warbler, Barred ^^'ren, 20.
, Brown-throatod Bush, 20.
, Cnmnion Grass-, 91.
, Dusky-faced Bush-, 4.
, Eastern Black-breasted Bush-,
57.
, Garden, 17.
, Icterine, 17.
, Little Pinc-Pinc, 3.
, Marsh-, 4, 80.
, Natal Gross-, 53.
, Smith's (irnss-, 20.
, Stierling's liarrod, 55.
, Tawny-flanked ^\'rcn-, 56, 92.
N'AMK INDEX.
X3X
Waxbill, Blue-breasted, 45.
, Jameson's, 20.
AVeaver, Cut-throat, 90.
, Lesser Masked, 89.
, Masked, 89.
, Olive, 89.
, Piuk-billed, 90.
Wiiistling Duck, 1, 80.
White-backed Night-Heron, 3, 80.
bellied Stork, 15.
Swift, 4, 10.
breasted Sunbird, 91.
browed Ground Robin, 20.
eye, 91.
rumped Swift, 5, 88.
shouldered Robin-Chat, 20.
- ^tork, 6, 12, 1.3, 16, 20, 72, 80.
86, 119.
White-throated Swallow, 5, 11, 89.
Widow Bird, Red-collared, 90.
Willow-Wren, 14.
Wood Sandpiper, 14, 86.
Wren- Warbler, Tawny-iianked, -CiG,
92.
Wren, Willow-, 14.
Y.
Yellow-fronted Barbet, 20.
Bush Shrike, 20.
Zambesi Red-wing- Shrike, 34.
Zosterops viir/i-i, i)l.
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I. On some Birds in the Durbim Museum. Bj E. 0. Chubb, Curator 1
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VIT. Account of the Eighth Annual General Meeting 64
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IX. Short Notices of Ornithological Publications 70
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X. Random Notes on South African Ornithology. By 0. G. Davies,
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