Mr. T. Ayres on the Ornithology of Transvaal. 295 



as they appear to know the sight of a gun. They generally 

 occur in small companies. 



[The young male hird sent by Mr. Ayres is in nestling- 

 plumage^ and entirely of a dull blacky except the wings and 

 tail, which are iridescent, as in the adult, but less tinged with 

 purple; the tail is imperfect, but. seems to have been shorter 

 than in the adult ; the bill not only differs in colour from that 

 of the adult, but is very much shorter, the culmen, which 

 measures 2-2 inches in the adult male sent by Mr. Ayres, 

 being only 1"15 in the young one. — J. H. G.] 



BucEROs NAsuTus, Liuu. African Grey Hornbill. 



Female adult, June 10th. Irides reddish bro^m■^; bill 

 dusky red at the tip, the base of the upper mandible dingy 

 white, but dusky brown round the nostrils, the base of the 

 lower mandible black, with narrow transverse white stripes ; 

 the bare skin at the base of the lower mandible pale green; 

 tarsi and feet dusky. Insects in the stomach. 



This Hornbill is certainly not common about Rustenburg 

 during our winter months. When found it is almost always in 

 pairs ; but a solitary bird is seen occasionally. 



BucEROs FLAViRosTRis, Riipp. Yellow-billcd Hornbill, 

 This species, like the preceding one, is found solitary or in 



pairs ; it is sparsely distributed about the wooded hill-sides 



of the Magaliesbergen. 



Trachyphonus cafer (Vieill.). Le Vaillant^s Barbet. 



Male and female. Irides lake-red ; bill greenish yellow^ 

 dusky at the tip ; tarsi and feet dusky ash-colour. 



This curious Barbet is common enough; but as it is gene- 

 rally of quiet habits, slinking about dense bushes, it is not 

 often noticed. Its note is peculiar, I can only compare it to 

 the alarum of a clock going off at full speed, and then re- 

 peated constantly at intervals of a second or two, just time 

 enough, I suppose, for the bird to get breath to run the 

 alarum off again ; sometimes they utter this call from the 

 centre of a dense bush ; at others they select a conspicuous 



* In anotlier adult female, killed July 26th, tlie irides were liazel, aud 

 the bare skin adjoining the lower mandible pale dingy green. 



