Birds of Gazaland. 413 



comical manner, while the male continually uttered the loud 

 " kweboro ^' note. Both male and female have also a harsher 

 note, in which they indulge on the same occasions. About 

 Chiriada I have frequently come across these birds in the old 

 abandoned fields, particularly from June to August^ feeding 

 on the ripe berries of various Lippias, usually in company 

 with Colics, Seed-eaters, and other species. Both the irides 

 and feet vary to some extent, the former, usually chestnut, 

 being in one female crimson tinged with purple, while the 

 feet vary from deep brown to blackish or dark ashy grey. 

 The stomachs examined contained the fruits of Zizijphus 

 mucronata and other fruits wild or cultivated, beetles, diptera, 

 Xylocopid bees, and other insects. Their lengths vary in 

 the flesh from 6"85 to 8 inches. 



196. Barbatula bilineata. White-browed Tinker-Bird. 

 Rh. I shot one of these birds on the outskirts of Chipete 



on April 26th, 1906, as it was insect-hunting amongst the 

 flower-laden twigs of a large Catha edulis. I have heard 

 them occasionally since both there and in Chirinda. 



197. Trachyphonus cafer. Levaillant's Barbet. 



Kh. I trapped one of these birds, a male, on July 1st, 

 1906, in a thorn hedge at the foot of Chirinda, while a second 

 male was obtained by Odendaal in the same locality on 

 May 27th, 1907. Both measured nine inches in the flesh ; the 

 bill of the first was pale yellowish green tipped with blackish, 

 the irides were brown-madder and the feet dark ashy grey. 

 The stomach contained guava-seeds, a grasshopper, and a 

 beetle. 



198. CucuLUs soLiTARius. Rcd-chestcd Cuckoo. 



P. On December 20tli, 1906, I shot one of these Cuckoos 

 from the top of a tall Khaya seneyalensis near Boka; it was 

 continually uttering its loud triple note, with great effort 

 judging from the simultaneous swelling of its body. It 

 measured 12'7 inches in the flesh. The upper mandible 

 was glossy blackish, the lower pale greenish grey with 

 an ochreous base, and the gape was orange. The irides 



