14 Mr. A. Haagner on the Protective 



being particularly helpful to the latter during the nesting- 

 season. 



Other observers have also noticed the assimilative nature 

 of the South African Bustards. Writing of Otis coerulescens 

 in the ' Journal of the South African Ornithologists' 

 Union,' Mr. Guy C. Shortridge says : — " When on the 

 ground these birds in spite of their size are very difficult 

 to see even when the very spot they have alighted on 

 has been marked." The Cape Quail (Cotiirnix capensis) 

 is also of this veld colour. I have often been startled bv 

 one suddenly whirring up from under my feet, so closely do 

 they sit and so well does their coloration fit in with that of 

 the surrounding herbage. 



Order Limicol^. 



The Dikkop (CEdicnemus capensis) has the advantage of a 

 wonderfullyassimilative colouring. Anyone who has observed 

 this bird in its native haunts must have been struck with the 

 wonderful resemblance existing between the coloration of 

 the Thickknee's plumage and that of the grass, stones, and 

 tree-trunks of its most cherished haunts amongst the mimosa 

 scrub. I have hunted this bird often in the O.K.O. and 

 Transvaal and always noticed this fact : it is no easy matter 

 to sight it while it is on the ground. It does not readily 

 rise, nor does it seem to be a very strong flyer, requiring a 

 run before it rises on the wing. It seldom, if ever, goes 

 higher than the tops of the mimosas. Hence the probable 

 reason for the very protective nature of its plumage. 



Coming to the Charadriidcv, Burchell's Courser (^Ciirsorius 

 rufus) is perhaps one of the best examples of protective 

 coloration in this family. I have often observed this in the 

 Maroka District of the O.R.C. between Thaba N'chu and 

 Ladybrand, where they are very common, feeding in flocks 

 on the dried and burnt stretches of veld. When in pairs or 

 small parties they are seldom flushed at once : they run with 

 great rapidity and then suddenly drop down and crouch 

 close to the earth, possibly relying on their assimilative 



