the Birds of Zuhdund. 223 



handsome in confinement. Guinea-fowl are plentiful ; we 

 found them very good eating, not unlike turkey. 



After spending a few weeks here we descended to the flats, 

 and five hours' walking through the thorns brought us to the 

 wide Pongola river, which forms the northern boundary of 

 Zululand. At the drift there is a boat and an elevated 

 wire with a cage for conveying the mail across Avhen the river 

 is flooded. We were told that it is sometimes impassable 

 otherwise for six months at a time. There are a great many 

 crocodiles here : two or three times we a saw big yellow 

 brute lying in the shallows or airing itself on a rock. The 

 White-headed Fish -Eagle frequented this river and used to 

 float overhead, uttering its extraordinary loud, clear cries. 

 The river Ifafa in Natal was for some years a favourite 

 haunt of a pair of these birds, and we succeeded in shooting 

 one of them and breaking its wing. It was very savage when 

 taken, lying on its back with its claws extended ; but we took 

 it home, operated on its broken limb, and kept it chained by 

 one of its legs to a perch near the house. It ate readily any 

 raw meat, but preferred fish when obtainable; the only trouble 

 we had was its propensity to kill the fowls should they 

 happen to come within reach of its chain. This Eagle was 

 very sharp-sighted, and, if it saw another of its own species 

 high up in the air, used to call to it with its human-like 

 voice. We had it for nearly two years, when it suddenly 

 died — poisoned, we believe, by a native for the sake of its 

 heart, which is used as a love-charm. Tlie two Hornbills 

 Toccus flavirustris and Toccus nasutus we saw here, but they 

 are not so numerous as at the White Umfolosi. The Crested 

 Hoopoe {Upujya africana) flies about among the thorn-trees 

 on these flats, where we constantly hear its curious " hoop- 

 hoop.'' Its flight is slow and undulating, and it does not 

 rise high above the ground. The Black Hoopoe [Irrisor 

 erythrorhynchus) is a bush-bird, but it also inhabits copses 

 on the river-banks. It has a loud chattering cry. Its dis- 

 position is restless and active ; it is always on the alert, 

 scrutinizing the bark of the trees, and jerking its long tail 

 over the branches while it inserts its curved bill into the 

 crevices to extract its insect-food. 



