44 Mr. P. A. She[)pard on Birds collected and 



148. PYOCEPHALUS ROBUSTUS SUAHELICU3, RcllW. BrOWIl- 



necked Parrot. 



Not uncommon in wooded districts. The plumage varies 

 considerably. A specimen collected (now in the Tvl. Museum) 

 has the crown strongly washed with scarlet. 



In September 11106 I saw quite a number of these birds 

 on different (kites, usually in twos or threes. They are 

 also very noisy when flying, and only settle on a tree for a 

 few seconds at a time, unless it happens to be a feeding-tree. 

 I on one occasion found a tree upon which these birds were 

 feeding on its fruit, and shot five in one afternoon. It was 

 amusing to see the extraordinary positions they got into when 

 trying to get at the fruit, crawling about the branches high 

 up in the tree. Their flight, like that of the preceding species, 

 is very swift and high. 



149. PcEOCEPHALUS FUSCiCAPiLLUs (Vcrr. & Dcs M.). 

 Brown-headed Parrot. 



Very common, usually in flocks of five to eight or nine. 



When on the wing this bird keeps up a continuous shriek- 

 ing, which may be heard a long way off. It is very fond of 

 settling on dead trees, where it will remain sitting for a long 

 time if undisturbed. It is very wary and difficult to 

 approach. I have watched them feeding on the young shoots 

 of certain trees, where they creep about the ends of the upper 

 branches and are usually very difficult to see. If a bird is 

 wounded it keeps up a continuous shrieking, which attracts 

 the others; these do not fly away, but remain moving about 

 in the trees. On this account I once managed to shoot four 

 specimens on one tree. I have never yet found them at a 

 water-hole. This species seems to feed throughout the 

 day, although more often seen at early morning and at 

 evening. 



150. Strix flammea, L. Barn Owl. 



I have only once shot this bird in the woods, but found 

 quite a colony of them in an unused building near the Beira 

 Railway Station last year, and also procured one egg. 



