NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 



the veld, and the hillsides. They seek their food upon the 

 ground. It consists of insects, allied forms of life and their 

 larvae which devour all kinds of good pasturage. When foolish 

 parents allow their boys to destroy the larks or permit the 

 native umfaans to carry off the nestlings and trap the parents, 

 the insects on which these larks prey increase enormously in 

 numbers. After demolishing the pasturage they invade the 

 crops, plantations, and orchards, and work havoc in them. 

 When insect food is scarce, larks subsist on the seeds of grasses 

 and weeds. 



I have examined the stomach contents of a hundred larks 

 at varying periods of the year and never found grain, corn, 

 or buds of cultivated plants in them. Larks of all .species are 

 of the highest economic value to man. 



The Pipit. 



(Genus — Anthus.) 



Diet. — There are a number of species of pipits in South 

 Africa. They belong to the lark family, and their habits and 

 diet are similar. They are, in consequence, in the front rank 

 of useful birds. 



The Wagtail, or Quick Stertje. 



(Genus — Mot act Ha.) 



Diet. — The wagtails, of which there are several species, 

 •feed almost exclusively on insects and their larvae, including 

 the disease-spreading house fly, blood-sucking fly, and mosquito. 

 The Cape wagtail {Motacilla capensis) is the species which 

 frequents the vicinity of homesteads, and is common in our 

 villages and towns. Notwithstanding the inestimable services 

 rendered to us by the wagtail, we continue to allow our boys 

 to persecute it and rob its nest. 



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