206 CUCULIDiE CENTROPUS 



Albany (Ivy), Herbert (Miss Orpen in S. A. Mus.), Port St. John's 

 (S. A. Mus.) ; Natal — near Durban (S. A. Mus.) ; Transvaal — 

 Potchefstroom, Eustenburg (Ayres), Zoutspansberg (W. Ayres) ; 

 Bechuanaland — Lake Ngami (Andersson), Botletli river (Bryden) ; 

 Ehodesia — Tati (Gates), Pandamatenka (Holub), Mashonaland 

 (Marshall) ; Portuguese east Africa — Tete on the Zambesi 

 (Alexander), Inhambane (Francis), and Beira (Cavendish). 



Habits. — The Vlei Lourie is almost invariably found about the 

 thickets and impenetral)le bush along rivers and the banks of 

 vleis ; it is usually to be seen in pairs, and is a shy skulking bird, 

 more often heard than seen. Most of its time is spent on the 

 ground creeping about among the reeds and bush ; here it effectually 

 conceals itself so that it is a difficult matter to put it up ; moreover, 

 its flight is very weak and laboured, and never extends for more 

 than 100 yards or so at the outside. 



The note is loud and somewhat melancholy, something like the 

 syllable " ku-ku " or " tu-tu " repeated rapidly many times, beginning 

 in a high key and falling to a low one ; it is to be heard in early 

 morning and late afternoon, and even not infrequently during the 

 night. The Kaffirs say it calls before rain. Locusts, caterpillars 

 and other large insects form the greater part of this bird's nourish- 

 ment, while Ayres found in the stomach of one examined by him a 

 lizard's tail and many crab-shells. 



Like other Coucals this bird builds its own nest and hatches its 

 young ; the nest is composed of dry grass or leaves and is placed 

 low down in a thick mass of creeper or bush ; it is globular and 

 domed with aside entrance said to face away from the prevailing 

 winds, and is lined with dried mud according to Col. Bowker. 

 The eggs which are four or five in number are large, rounded and 

 pure white in colour. 



Young birds found by Mr. Darling near Mazoe in Mashonaland 

 in January were very extraordinary looking little creatures, with 

 large heads and enormously distended abdomens, and one which 

 was skinned was found to have no less than seventeen grass- 

 hoppers besides debris of other insects in its stomach. 



473. Centropus senegalensis. Senegal Coucal. 



Cuculus senegalensis, Litin. Sijst, Nat, i, p. 169 (1766). 



Centropus senegalensis, Buckley, Ibis, 1874, p. 366 [Bamangwato] ; 



Shrllry, Cat. B. M. xix, p. 360 (1891). 

 Centropus fasciipygialis, Eeiclienow, Orn. Monatsh. vi, p. 23 (1898). 



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