SOUTH AFRICAN BIRDS AND THEIR DIfiT 



ORDER II. PICARIiE. 



The Hoopoe. 



(Genus — Upupa.) 



Diet. — The food of the hoopoe consists entirely ot insects 

 and their caterpillars, beetles and their grubs, grasshoppers, and 

 other pasture, forest, and root-destroying pests. 



With their long bills they probe the ground and scrutinise 

 the crevices in rocks, bark of trees, etc., in their search for 

 prey. There is only one species of hoopoe in South Africa 

 under the genus Upupa, viz., Upupa africana. 



The Wood Hoopoe. 



(Genera — Irrisor and Rhinopomastus.) 



Diet. — Insects of various kinds which they hnd on the trunks 

 and branches of trees and in the crevices in the bark. Like the 

 woodpeckers, they act as Nature's policemen of the forests. 



The Swifts. 



(Genera — Cypselus^ Tachornis^ and Chcctura.) 



Diet. — Insects which are taken on the wing. The stomachs 

 of a number which I examined contained various species of 

 flies and beetles. Others were full of winged (fertile) termites. 

 The swift subsists entirely on insect life harmful to man by reason 

 of the diseases they spread, and the harm their larvae do to crops, 

 pasturage, forests, and orchards. 



The Night-Jar. 

 Nacht-Uil (Night Owl), Goatsucker, Isavolo. 



(Genus — Caprimulgus. ) 



Diet. — The night-jar is the only insect-eating bird which 

 seeks its food by night. Resting during the daylight hours, 

 the night-jar issues forth at dusk and hawks insects on the wing 



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