116 Occasional Notes. 



ring referred to, along with another (1416) obtained at 

 Quthing in February. These rings have been forwarded 

 to Rositten, with a request for data of liberation.] 



11. Allen's Gallinule iisr Basutoland. — On the 4th 

 inst. I caught a live example of the rare Allen's Purple 

 Gallinule [Porphi/rio alleni), which had got entagled in the 

 wire-netting on my vine-trellis. It w^as a male in beautiful 

 plumage. Frontal shield greeny-yellow% not dusky. Contents 

 of stomach: seeds of water-grasses and other vegetable matter. 

 I procured another specimen at Mafeteng (Basutoland) in 

 January 1898, wdiicli was also caught alive in a garden 

 during such heavy rains. J. P. Mukray. 



Maseru, Basutoland, 

 March 16th, 1909. 



12. Black Stork Breeding in South Africa. — On 

 August 15th a female Black Stork {Ciconia nigra) was shot 

 and sent to Mr. Greenland, the Bloemfontein taxidermist, 

 who found a whole egg in the oviduct. He tried to batch 

 it under a hen, but failed. It has been reported to me more 

 than once that a pair have bred on Thaba Patchoa Mountain 

 in Basutoland, but Sclater says they do not breed in South 

 Africa. This matter is worth investigating, and any further 

 evidence I come across will be notified immediately. 



K. CowPER Johnson. 



Westminster, O.R.C., 

 -Afarch 4th, 1909. 



13. Long-winged Petrel at Port Elizabeth. — There 

 has so far only been one recorded instance of the Long- 

 winged Petrel (CEstrelata maeroptera) visiting Port Elizabeth. 

 Last week another was captured here. It seems that for 

 three months certain residents residing on the hill at least a 

 mile and a half from the sea-shore were disturbed by the 

 cries of a bird. This bird was heard and seen nightly, 

 flying about five feet from the ground and always hovering 

 around at night, and no matter how dark the night was it 



