COUCALS 59 



Professor Reichenow does not include South Africa within 

 the geographical range of the true White-browed Coucal, 

 fixating this bird as a purely Tropical species. 



Mr. Sclater (" Fauna of South Africa: Birds," vol. hi.) 

 says that an example in the South African Museum from 

 Swellendam agrees in every respect with another from 

 Mombasa in British Easi Africa. Dr. (running and the 

 writer examined the fine scries of skins of Centropus burchelli 

 and C. superciliosus in the Transvaal Museum, and we 

 had no hesitation in including the latter bird in the 

 avifauna of the sub-continent. 



The South African bird has recently been separated under 

 the name of G. pijmi by Roberts of the Transvaal Museum. 



Both species of birds have much the same geographical 

 range, being found throughout the country in most of the 

 Bush regions. 



The Ylri Louries — as the name implies — are fond of 

 hunting the bush along rivers and \ leis, where they may be 

 found singly or in pairs creeping about on the ground among 

 the undergrowth. They live principally upon locusts, cater- 

 pillars and other insects, thus rendering good service to the 

 farming community. They have a characteristic cry of coo 

 coo coo coo coo which sounds somewhat ventriloquial. 



The nest is domed, with an opening on one side, and is 

 constructed of sticks ; it is usually placed in a thick bush 

 not far from the ground. The eggs, three to five in number, 

 are rather rounded in shape and pure white in colour. We 

 give an illustration of G. pymi at its nest, originally published 

 in the Ibis for 1901 and wrongly ascribed to burchelli. The 

 distinct eyebrow characteristic of the former is very plainly 

 seen in the photograph. I found the nest of C. burchelli in 

 a small bush growing in a reedbed on the banks of the Aapies 

 River in the Zoo grounds in November, 1918. It contained six 

 rounded white eggs, the shells of which were somewhat opaque. 



