128 somp: birds ok south Africa 



moner and most beautiful of them are the Emerald 

 Cuckoo and the Golden Cuckoo, both of which are 

 largely sought after for their skins ; fortunately, how- 

 ever, they are now to a certain extent protected. The 

 emerald-green back and bright yellow underparts of the 

 Emerald Cuckoo render it a most beautiful object. These 

 birds, as though aware of their attractive plumage, keep 

 for the most part in seclusion, and conceal themselves 

 among the dense foliage near the tops of the tall trees, 

 occasionally showing themselves to call. None of the 

 Cuckoos around Knysna, so far as I am aware, possess 

 the note with which we are so familiar in England, 

 perhaps the n(;arest approach to it being that uttered 

 by the bird which goes by the name of the Piet Mijn 

 Vroiiw, the distinctive notes of which bird are to be 

 heard almost any time of the day during the South 

 African spring. These notes have an almost exact re- 

 semblance to the three Dutch words quoted above. 



It seems odd to hear of a Cuckoo that makes its own 

 nest, and although the Cuckoos mentioned above are, 

 like the species with which we are familiar, parasitic, 

 yet there is at least one kind of Cuckoo which inhabits 

 the Knysna forest that builds for itself. This is the 

 Lark-heeled Cuckoo, which belongs to the family of 

 Bush-Cuckoos, the accompanying illustration showing 

 the nest and two young ones of this bird. The nest in 

 question, which was made entirely of straw, was placed 

 almost at the top of a high mimosa bush which formed 

 part of a tall hedge, and was constructed in a somewhat 

 slovenly way, as though the bird had considered it rather 

 out of its province to make a nest at all. There was 

 a large opening at one side, perhaps nine inches in 



