Birds of Guzahind. 83 



September on the fresh green " burns '^ between the Chipet- 

 zana and Lusitu Rivers, especially on one which had only 

 been burnt a few hours before, and were apparently in the 

 gayest of humours as though rejoicing at this latest addition to 

 their pLiyground. They would soar sometimes to as high as 

 forty or fifty feet, descending again like a Lark with outspread 

 wings and song : " Che-che-che-che-che-tewheee-tewheee- 

 tewheee-tew^heee ! " (piping notes), alighting on rocks, low 

 bushes, and ant-heaps. Or they might be seen in all direc- 

 tions standing bolt upright on any prominent object, flirting 

 their wings and calling to one another. Those near the patli 

 allowed us to pass within four or five yards without moving. 

 Tliey were equally common along the upper Xyahodi a few 

 days later, and may in fact be found, in the winter, thiough- 

 out Northern and Southern Melsetter, wherever the ground 

 has been burnt. I have not noted them in the Jihu. 



A male measured Q'Q inches in the flesh, and the stomach 

 contained grasshoppers and beetles. 



120. Saxicola familiaris. Familiar Chat. 



Rh. I found these Chats in some numbers amongst 

 the crags of the Chimanimaui Mountains, at a height of 

 about 6500 feet, on September 26th, securing a female, and 

 it was probably this species which had made the cliffs ring 

 in all directions w^ith its song in the early morning when the 

 mist was too dense to permit of my seeing ten yards in front 

 of me. My specimen measured exactly six inches in the flesh ; 

 its bill was grey-brown, its irides reddish brown, and its feet 

 black, and the stomach contained three large cockroaches, 

 two larvae, a large weevil (entire), and a number of termites. 



121. CossYPHA XATALENSis. Natal Robin-Chat. 



Rh. I had supposed that the Natal Robin-Chat left us 

 for the winter, and certainly 1 had never heard, seen, or 

 trapped it during that season, though during the breeding- 

 season they are common enough and come readily to traps. 

 I was consequently surprised when, on the 18th June, one of 

 my natives brought me a male which he had just trapped in 

 Chirinda. Probably a few late-hatched birds stay ; one still 



