48 



FRIENDS OF THE AGRICULTURIST 



pitched our camp close to a clump of trees which had been 

 their regular roosting-place, and the Bee-eaters were a distinct 

 nuisance, circling round in the gathering gloom of eventide, 

 uttering their harsh plaintive cries, which in their monotonous 

 insistence are apt to get on one's nerves. 



We observed them sitting on the trees which lined the 

 banks of the river, and hawking insects on the wing over the 

 water, after the manner of swallows. 



WOODPECKERS 



The Woodpeckers (Picidce), being essentially insect- 

 feeders, are true friends of the farmer, and as such we are 



Fig. 23. — Ground Woodpecker. 



glad to see they are protected in the Eastern Province of 

 the Cape. 



They lay white eggs in holes in trees bored by themselves, 



