Mr. H. Seebohm oh the Birds of Natal ^c. 3^7 



very mucli. Messrs. Butler, Feildeu, aud Reid make the 

 variations nine in number, but it is just as logical to make 

 them nineteen. Some of these variations are unquestionably 

 due to age, but others appear to be so erratic that the only 

 hypothesis which will reconcile them is that of interbreeding. 

 How otherwise can you explain the fact that birds with a pure 

 white crown are apparently confined to the extreme west of 

 South Africa, and that the white crown is found associated 

 both with black aud grey backs ? Until a bird has been 

 seen to moult from one plumage to the other, I submit that 

 the theory that all the variations are due to age is pure 

 hypothesis. 



The extraordinary influence of the Gulf-stream upon the 

 climate of the British Islands naturally prepares the English 

 traveller to find similar effects produced by oceanic currents 

 in other parts of the world. A notable example of this 

 climatic variation is within easy reach of the visitor to Cape 

 Town. A cold current comes down from the Antarctic ice, 

 and passes along the west coast of Africa, materially assisting 

 the progress of homeward-bound ships, but lowering the 

 temperature of the water in Table Bay so much as to make 

 bathing on the coast near Cape Town practically impossible. 

 A few hours drive across the isthmus, through a charming 

 country, full of vineyards and avenues of oak-trees, leads to 

 False Bay, where the water is so warm that many Cape 

 Town families migrate thither during the heat of summer 

 to enjoy the sea-bathing and the country air. A warm cur- 

 rent from the equatorial regions of the Indian Ocean flows 

 down the east coast of Africa, and its influence extends as 

 far as the Cape of Good Hope. The result is that the east 

 and south coasts enjoy an almost tropical climate and dis- 

 play a more or less tropical vegetation. For some miles 

 inland the country is well wooded. Near Knysna there are 

 extensive forests, where wild elephants still roam. But the 

 country rises rapidly from the coast, and for some hours the 

 railway from Port Elizabeth passes through an ostrich-farm- 

 ing district. Nothing could be less like an English land- 

 scape than this part of South Africa. The hills are rugged. 



