28 On tlie Neslimj of some SoiitJi- African Birds. 



catclier {Parisuma subcceruleum) cliattering iu au excited 

 state, which suggested that au Owl or a snake was close by. 

 An examination at once revealed the presence not only ot* a 

 puff-adder (which was quickly dispatched), but also of a 

 nest, about 3 feet from the ground, containing three eggs — 

 two white, with faint grey blotches, of the usual type of 

 Parisoma ; the third larger and white, and showing the yolk 

 through the transparent shell. This, I have little doubt, is 

 the egg of the Didric Cuckoo, and although the identi- 

 fication is not absolute, it is nearly as good as one can expect 

 for a Cuckoo's egg. 



20. Chrysococcyx klaasi (Steph.) ; Shelley, Cat. B. xix. 

 p. 283. 



This is one of the commonest Cuckoos in the Albany 

 division. On November the 9th, 1892, 1 noticed one of these 

 birds flitting about some low bush in the Belmont valley 

 near Grahamstown, and, contrary to its usually shy nature, 

 perching Avithin a few feet of our heads. We searched the 

 vicinity thoroughly, and found several nests, but could not 

 discover the egg of the Cuckoo, although we were certain it 

 was close by. Later in the evening Mr. Pym, my companion, 

 found a nest of the Malachite Kingfisher [Corythornis cyano- 

 stigma) in the bank of a stream, just below where the Cuckoo 

 was calling; it contained six small round eggs of the usual 

 Kingfisher-type, and one longer egg, beautifully transparent, 

 showing the yolk through the shell. On blowing this egg 

 Ave found that the yolk was of a much deeper shade of orange 

 than that of the Kingfisher. 



21. Centropus natalensis Shelley; Shelley, Cat. B. xix. 

 p. 362. 



This bird is not parasitic, but builds a nest in a thick 

 hush. One I found near Belmont, in NoA^ember 1894, was 

 placed on a platform of dried stems of Aveeds and over- 

 shadoAved by a wild vine; it contained five white eggs (see 

 fig. 3, p. 27). 



