Uttle^knoion Birds from near Beira. 41 



on the edge of a forest, I searched for a nesting-hole, which 

 I soon discovered about 20 ft. up the main trunk. The 

 entrance-hole was considerably larger than that usually 

 made by L. torquatus. After a few minutes a bird put its 

 head out of the hole. On cutting away the trunk nothing- 

 was found in the chamber, which was about 18" deep, and 

 the bird, which I took to be the female, turned out to be a 

 fully fledged young male. No more young birds could be 

 found. 



6. Lilac-breasted Roller. Coracias caudatiis, L. 



Two birds arrived on Ihe plantation the same day 

 (Aug. 28th), and were the first observed of the season. 

 They subsequently built in a hole in a dead tree-stump, 

 evidently the old nesting-site of a Woodpecker : the female 

 I first saw enter the hole on Sept. loth, and she had great 

 difficulty in getting in and out ; the male remained close by 

 all the time, but was not seen to enter the nesting-hole, 

 which was about 30 feet from the ground and about 18 inches 

 deep in the trunk. It contained no lining whatever, the eggs 

 beino- laid on bits of decaved wood. 



The nest was examined on Sept. 2Gtli and contained 

 three pure white eggs, which were a pale pink before 

 blowing ; two of the eggs were slightly incubated. All the 

 eggs were exactly the same size, viz. 1]%'' x li\y". 



From Sept. 16th to Sept. 2Gth the female was not once 

 seen, although close observations were kept every day; neither 

 was the male once seen to visit the nest, although he 

 was always in the vicinity. On examining the stomach of 

 the female 1 found it was absolutely empty and the bird very 

 thin. 



The female did not fly out until the nest-hole was being 

 cut away, when she settled on a large bough of a tree close 

 bv and appeared quite dazed for some time, eventuallv flving 

 away to settle again only about 200 yards fuither off'. 

 During the time the nest was being examined the male kept 

 on flving from tree to tree close round and makino- a oreat 

 disturbance. I eventually procured both birds, and these 



