408 Mr. T. Ayres on the Ornithology of Transvaal. 



white, as in the adult bird, the g-recn on these feathers as- 

 suming the form of longitudinal marks ; the entire breast is 

 barred transversely with markings of a similar colour on a 

 white ground, instead of being wholly white, as in the adult. 

 The female mentioned above seems also to be in partially 

 immature dress, all the quill-feathers of the wing^ and tail 

 being more or less variegated by hepatic spots ; the throat 

 and head show traces of dark green markings similar to those 

 on the same parts in the immature male previously referred 

 to; but in the present specimen these have nearly disappeared^ 

 and the remainder of the plumage resembles that of the adult 

 male, Avith the exception of a slight tinge of co})pery brown, 

 extending over the upper part and sides of the head and 

 neck, the lesser wing-coverts, the throat, and the breast. — 

 J. H. G.]. 



CoccYSTES sERRATus (Sparrm.). Crested Black Cuckoo. 



Male, shot 3rd November on the rocky ranges near Pot- 

 chefstroom. It was one of a pair, of which the other bird, 

 presumably the female, was excessively noisy. The stomach 

 of the bird sent contained caterpillars. 



CisTicoLA TiNNiENs (Licht.). Lc Vaillant^s Fantail. 



[It would seem that the males of this species are more 

 readily obtained than the females ; for of twelve dissected 

 specimens forwarded to Mr. Ayres, ten are marked as males 

 and only two as females. A specimen ticketed by Mr. Ayres 

 as " male immature, shot 19th December,^' is much less 

 dark on the upper surface than the adult birds, and bears 

 a striking resemblance to C. chiniana, from which, however, 

 it may be readily distinguished by the darker colour of the 

 rectrices, and especially of the central pair, which are blackish 

 brown, edged and tipped with paler wood-brown. — J. H. G.]. 



Bradypterus braciiypterus (Vieill.). Pavaneur Reed- 

 Warbler. 



Male and female, shot near Potchefstroom on the 12th and 

 19th of Uecember, the appearance of the abdomen in the 

 female indicating that she was a sitting bird. 



At this season the loud and harsh call-notes of this bird 



