76 Mr. E. L. Layard on South-African Ornithology. 



been consequently deserted by the parent birds and left to 

 perish. 



550. CEdicnemus maculosus. I plead guilty to correcting 

 a gentleman who was better informed than myself (B. S. Afr., 

 p. 288, note) . CE. senegalensis (qu. CE. crepitans'^) has just turned 

 up on the vast flat plateau called the Strand Veldt, the south 

 coast of the continent, about L^Agulhas. It must, however, be 

 extremely rare, as Mr. H. Van Breda, who forwarded the spe- 

 cimen, has lived there for very many years, and never saw it 

 before. 



552. CuRSORius BiciNCTUS. Mr. Atmore writes that it 

 "lays only one egg [!!], on the bare ground, without even 

 scratching a hole. It prefers bare, grey places by the road- 

 sides. I picked up nearly twenty on my road home from the 

 Nieuw Veldt, in September and October, by watching them run 

 away from a small flock of sheep." 



565. Charadrius tricollaris. Mr. Chapman, the author 

 of ' Travels in the Interior of South Africa,^ informs me that 

 this is the bird mentioned in his volumes as living with the 

 hippopotamus and warning him of danger. 



GIO. ToTANUs sTAGNATiLis. Procured at Colesberg by Mr. 

 Ortlepp, and at George by Mr. Atmore, who says it is not un- 

 common there. 



617. Recurvirostra AVOCETTA. The mystery of thcsc birds 

 frequenting our parched inland wastes is explained ; Mr. Ortlepp 

 has found them breeding on the vleys near Colesberg, and 

 sends their eggs. Mr. G. C. Faure forwards it from a new 

 locality, Hope Town. 



621. Tringa subarquata. On the 26th of April last, a lad 

 brought a live example in full breeding-dress, captured near 

 the town. 



652. Mareca capensis. Professor Schlegel (Mus. P.-B. 

 Anseres, p. 4:8) gives this as a synonym oi Anas strepera, Linn. 

 Surely this is a mistake? And yet he quotes ''J. Veri'eaux" as 

 the source whence the specimen (number 10) was acquired in 



