CO Mr. F. Tlioniscn on 



therefore to reason that birds such as the above named would 

 not stay in a place of" that nature. I should say that the 

 Brown Locusts, by long experience, have found out that there 

 is a place of safety, a place where they can rest and feed 

 undisturbed by a host of feathered enemies during the re- 

 maining summer months. When winter approaches and the 

 sweet herbs are eaten or dried out, the swarms look for new 

 fields of pasture and start moving again ; perhaps the ruling 

 winds of that period of the year have something to do with 

 it, as it is at that time that the locust-swarms again appear in 

 the Transvaal, coming from the West. They find a clear 

 ground, as their feathered enemies have migrated back to the 

 interior or to Europe. There is nothing to oppose them, no 

 body of birds to hunt and chase thein about, and the swarms 

 move on and on, often covering many districts of the 

 Transvaal. 



The Small Locust Bird. (Glareola melanoptera.) 

 The " Glareola " (the Small Locust Bird, as it is called by 

 the farmers) takes a most prominent })art as a locust destroyer. 

 We have first to consider " Glareola melano<jaster " (6r. melano- 

 jitera : Andersson's ' Birds of Damaraland,' p. 2ij^ ; Reiche- 

 now, p. 145 ; Dr. Saunder, ' Die Heuschrecken und ihre 

 Bekampfung,' p. 294). Glareola melanogaster is somewhat 

 larger than a Starling, and the long wings reach over the 

 tail when resting. There is a general greyish colour on the 

 back, down to the belly, which is whitish. The throat is 

 brownish mottled, and is parted by a dark gi'ey, nearly black, 

 band from the chest. The wings are dark grey, nearly black, 

 with the underside whitish, which shows when the bird is 

 flying. This bird appears in huge swarms in the South 

 African Spring — that is, after the first rain-showers in Sep- 

 tember or October. All authorities are agreed that the diges- 

 tion of the " Glareola " is very rapid. During the hotter 

 part of the day, one can see them in great numbers, tripping 

 through the young grass, or sitting quietly in low-lying 

 places. \\\ the afternoon or early morning their activity 

 begins. They get on the wing as by word of command, and 



