Locust Birch in the Transvaal. GO 



eyes nearly black. It often breeds in colonies, gathering 

 together as long as the young birds have still the juvenile 

 plumage — which lis of a more mottled gi'ey all over — and 

 pairing off in Spring. In warmer parts, such as the case 

 afore-mentioned, it seems that they start building their nests 

 in June. There is no doubt that this bird is of great utility 

 in locust-destruction and should not be shot, although many 

 people consider the Hadadah a delicacy. 



The Crested Bustard. (Otis kori.) 



Although this bird is only found sparsely here and there 

 in the bush-veldt, it does away with a great many locusts, 

 both in the " flying " and earlier stages. This " Paauw," as 

 it is called by the farmers, is of great size, sometimes weigh- 

 ing as much as 30 to 40 lbs., and naturally will have to eat a 

 lot of food. When locusts were plentiful I have seen them 

 so fat that they could only rise with difficulty, and I have 

 heard from hunters and natives that when in this condition 

 they could easily be ridden down and killed with a stick. 



The Crested Bustard is now protected by law, and rightly 

 too — not alone because it is scarce and breeds very slowly, 

 laying as a rule one or two eggs, but also because it does a 

 lot of good to the farmer in killing and eating locusts as well 

 as mice and snakes. Besides this large Bustard the other 

 Bustards and Korhaans eat many locusts ; their number is, 

 however, too small to be of any great account, yet it is in the 

 farmer's own interest to extend to these last-mentioned birds 

 more protection. 



The Cape Turtle-Do ve. ( Turtur cajncola.) 

 I am sure many people will be astonished to hear that a 

 bird which is known as almost an exclusive grain-feeder will 

 eat voetgangers also. The Eing-Dove has been seen by one 

 of our " locust " officers going in small flights during the 

 afternoon where voetgangers were hopping about and feeding 

 on them. This observation was made in Febiiiary 1905 

 along the Pienaars River ; it is not alone interesting on this 

 account, but also for the reason that voetgangers (red locusts) 

 were dying of arsenic spray. The Doves were carefully 



