SOUTH AFRICAN BIRDS AND THEIR DIET 



economic value, notwithstanding the game birds and hares it 

 sometimes kills. Hares are vermin, and comparatively few 

 game birds fall prey to the secretary bird. Rats and mice 

 destroy great quantities of pasturage ; they carry the plague 

 flea, and are exceedingly destructive to young trees, and this 

 bird is one of their most dreaded enemies. Moreover, the 

 secretary bird is a slow breeder and is nowhere common, and it 

 would be a great pity to exterminate a bird which is so strikingly 

 graceful and handsome. 



ORDER VI.— STEGANOPODES. 



The Cormorant. 



(Genus — Phalacrocorax.) 



Diet. — The trek duiker, as the cormorant is generally 

 known in South Africa, frequents the seacoasts and tidal rivers, 

 and feeds exclusively on fish. One species, viz., the reed 

 duiker {Phalacrocorax africanus), inhabits rivers, lagoons, and 

 lakes as well as the seacoast, and feeds on insects and mollusca 

 in addition to fish. 



The Darter, or Snake Bird. 



[P lotus rufus.) 



Diet. — The darter inhabits the rivers, and its food consists 

 almost entirely of fishes, which it impales on its long, sharp bill. 



The Malagash, or Cape Gannet. 



[Sida capensts.) 



Diet. — The malagash inhabits the oceans around the South 

 African coast, and feeds on marine fish which it secures by diving. 

 There are two other species of the genus. They also feed on 

 fish. 



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