Resemldancc of South African Birds. 7 



Family Zosteropid.e. 



I will only make a passing reference to this family, as all 

 the members are doubtless of protective coloration. I have 

 often noticed how the green plumage of Zosterops virsns and 

 Z. m/)^n 52V assimilate to the foliage of the trees which they 

 frequent. 



Family Laniid^. 



One would hardly think that the members of this pug- 

 nacious family required protective resemblancey but I noticed 

 a case with regard to the ordinary Fiskal Shrike which leads 

 one to an interesting phase of the subject. The male is a 

 fairly conspicuous bird in its dress of black and white, the 

 female, with her duller feathering, not nearly so much, and 

 the fully-fledged young still less so ; as a matter of fact, the 

 last named possess a plumage of a most protective nature, as 

 the following will show : — On. 29th December, 1904, while 

 collecting on the Jokeskei River, Dist. Pretoria,. I first noticed 

 this fact; I found three fully-fledged young Shrikes hopping 

 about a tree. As I neared them they suddenly stiffened 

 themselves and sat motionless. When I kept still they soon 

 recommenced their excursions amongst the branches, but I 

 had only to shout or shake a branch of the tree when they 

 would suddenly assume the &tifl^ened posture alluded to. 

 They seemed (unconsciously, I presume) to rely on the 

 perfect harmony existing between the tints of their ashy- 

 brown plumage and that of the tree-bark and twigs of their 

 arboreal abode. They could not fly more than a couple ef 

 yards, so that the assimilative nature of their feathering must 

 have been of immense assistance to them. This instance was 

 so striking that 1 could not help noticing it, and since then, 

 having been on the alert for similar cases, I have verified my 

 experience. 



Family Sylviid^. 



The Warblers need only a passing reference, as, owing to 

 their dull coloration and small size, they can all be said to 

 more or less possess protective resemblance, and it would 



