130 Short Notices. 



enormous flocks of Vultures (chiefly Gyps kolbi) assembled to 

 devour the repast purposely provided for them, no Marabous 

 were ever seen, although the writer frequently visited both 

 these stations to observe the Aasvogcls. 



Dr. Stark in the case of the Wood Ibis (Pseudotantalus 

 ibis) and Mr. Ayres in that of the Black Heron (MelanopJioyx 

 ardesiaca) — the latter a very rare bird south of the Zambesi — 

 both observed that these birds have the curious habit, when 

 feeding during the heat of the day, of throwing one wing 

 forward and holding it out so that it shades a small portion 

 of the water in which the bird is wading, thus taking off the 

 glare of the sun and enabling the bird to see to the bottom of 

 the stream (pp. 50 & 71). 



The Red-throated Heron (^Melano2:>lioyx vinaceigula) seems 

 to be a mj'sterious species, as the only two specimens known, 

 which are now in the British Museum, were obtained by 

 Mr. Ayres near Potchefstroom in the Transvaal. The 

 separation by Dr. Bowdler Sharpe of the type Botaurus 

 capensis (Cape Bittern) from Botaurus stellaris (European 

 Bittern) in 1898 should be noticed. The South-African 

 species is confined to South Africa and only differs from 

 B. stellaris in being slightly smaller in size and less barring 

 on the wing-quills. Its identity is recognized by Reichenow 

 under the trinomial subspecific name of Botaurus stellaris 

 capensis (Vog. Afr. i. p. 364, 1901). The typical B. stellaris 

 seems to be known no closer than from Abyssinia. 



Another of Mr. Ayres' curiosities is the so-called Black 

 Spur-winged Goose (Plectropterus niger) : the types brought 

 alive to the Zoological Gardens in London came from Zanzibar, 

 and Mr. Ayres obtained a specimen at Potchefstroom which 

 is now in the British Museum at South Kensington. 

 Mr. Sclater thinks, probably truly, that this species recog- 

 nized by Reichenow as Plectropterus gambens'is niger (Vog. 

 Afr. i. p. 136, 1900) is only a variety of our friend, which 

 takes such a lot of shot, P. gatnbensis (Spur- winged Goose), 

 so familiar to South-African early-rising sportsmen. The 

 whole account of the Order Anseres is very interesting, and 

 to a Transvaaler particularly so, because of the serious dis- 



