INTRODUCTION XI 



Order 18. Tubixares (Albatrosses, Shearwaters and Petrels). 

 „ 19. Pygopodes (Divers and Grebes). 

 „ 20. Impexxes (Penguins). 



Sub-class Ratitce (Sternum without a keel). 

 „ Struthioxes (Ostriches). 



We have heard Europeans assert that there are few birds 

 in South Africa ! Did these individuals go to any trouble 

 to prove or disprove their allegations'? As a matter of fact 

 South Africa teems with bird-life of a varied and interesting 

 nature; even the most uninviting stretches of tlat. dreary- 

 lookmg veld have their share, for here we find larks, pipits, 

 chats, bustards, lapwings and coursers, besides an occasional 

 owl or hawk. 



South Africa is a large country in which the topographical 

 and climatic aspects are greatly diversified, and bird-life i& 

 accordingly often very "localised" in distribution and 

 variety. A bird may be common in one district, yet twenty 

 or thirty miles away this same species may be quite scarce. 



Ornithology — and indeed most sciences excepting en- 

 gineering, mineralogy and one or two more — have been 

 neglected in South Africa, and it is only during recent years 

 that any real interest has been evinced in this delightful 

 study, beyond the limits of the few enthusiasts and pro- 

 fessionals engaged in its pursuit. This is all the more 

 surprising when we take into consideration the fact that there 

 is such an immense field for good and original work amongst 

 the fauna of this country, by reason of this very neglect on 

 the part of our predecessors. With the exception of the 

 late A. D. Millar, Austin Eoberts and the Authors, there are 

 very few South African born students who have taken the 

 trouble to verify and extend the discoveries of le Vaillant. 

 Victorin, A. Smith, Burchell and Mr. Ayres, and others of 

 the old "pioneers " of South African ornithology. 



