from the Colony of Natal. 347 



These birds swallow good-sized bones; the stomach of the 

 specimen which I shot was crammed with them. They had evi- 

 dently been swallowed without any meat : in fact, I saw this bird 

 alight and pick up a good-sized bone, with which he was making 

 off when I bagged him. The largest of these bones was, I think, 

 part of the vertebra of an ox, and measured about 4 inches 

 in length, nearly 3 inches in breadth, and 2 inches in thickness. 

 A considerable quantity of hair of the Rock Rabbit {Hyrax ca- 

 pensis) was amongst and adhei'ing to the bones in the Lammer- 

 geyer's stomach, proving that the bird also preys on this animal ; 

 and as the Rock Rabbits are very numerous in the rocky country 

 frequented by the Lammergeyer, and are particularly fond of 

 choosing exposed situations on the tops of rocks and large stones, 

 and of sleeping there in the sun on hot days, no doubt they are 

 often pounced upon and carried away by their powerful enemies, 

 though the feet and claws of the Lammergeyer do not appear 

 much formed for grasping. 



219. CoTYLE PALUDicoLA (Daud.). South African Sand- 

 Martin. 



Male dindi female. Iris dusky brown ; bill nearly black; tarsi 

 and feet dusky. These Martins I have never seen on the coast. 

 I found many of them during the winter months about the 

 stream near Pieter-Maritzburg ; they occasionally alighted to 

 rest on the overhanging reeds, where, I have no doubt, they roost 

 at night, as I have frequently found them thus perched before 

 the sun rose. 



Sometimes they hunted singly, sometimes in companies ; and, 

 their flight being very eccentric, I found them difficult to shoot. 

 The plumage of both sexes is alike. 



220. Nectarinia olivacba. Smith. Olivaceous Sun-bird. 

 Male dindi female. Iris dark; bill black; tarsi and feet dusky 



black. These birds are common on the coast and for some 

 distance inland; they are particularly fond of shady banana 

 groves, taking the nectar from the long drooping flowers of the 

 plant, and chasing one another about with great pertinacity. 

 The plumage of the female is not so bright as that of the male. 



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