204 ORNAMENTS OF THE VELD 



wing, and seldom flies either high or far. We on one occasion 

 ran a bird down on horseback with a pack of greyhounds, 

 the bird running with the fleetness of an antelope, with 

 outstretched wings, occasionally rising into the air, but its 

 flight was of short duration, the bird invariably descending 

 and continuing its course on foot, using its wings as pro- 

 pellers. This alternate rising and settling kept on till the 

 bird was too tired to rise, and the dogs eventually brought 

 it to bay against a bank, where it pluckily defended itself 

 with wings and beak. Calling the dogs off, we let the bird 

 go on its way unmolested, having experienced the best run 

 with the hounds we had had that season, and the bird's 

 staying powers having had the effect of putting our horses 

 into a foamy lather from head to foot. 



The Secretary usually roosts in a mimosa tree at night, 

 where it also constructs its nest — a large shallow saucer of 

 sticks, lined with a few clods of roots, hair and wool, and 

 measuring from three to five feet in diameter. 



The eggs are either plain bluish- white or marked with 

 brownish spots. 



It stalks about the veld singly or in pairs, and feeds on 

 snakes, lizards, small tortoises, insects, and young birds, 

 such as young larks, partridges, &c. The last-named diet 

 has earned for it the enmity of the sportsman, and although 

 the evidence of its feeding on young game birds seems con- 

 clusive enough, we are not prepared to state to what degree 

 this has developed. 



SANDGROUSE 



The Sandgrouse (Family Pteroclidse) are represented in 

 South Africa by four species falling under two genera. They 

 are characterised by a small beak devoid of a cere, and the 

 legs are feathered to the junction with the toes. 



There are three species of Pterocles which are immediately 



