S Rev. lioLert Godfrey on the 



To the Dutchman lie continually cries " Piet myn vroiiw," 

 to the Kaftir he s:ivs " Pezu kom kono," and to the En<rlish- 

 man he speaks in tlio l)orro\ved dialect of a North American 

 Nightjar, repeatedly reiterating "'Whip poor Will." Not 

 content hv })roelaiining his j)rcsence hy daVj he sometimes 

 calls long after the sun has set, or, ])ut it otherwise (as 

 ciicumstances sometimes demand it should be done), long 

 Lefore the sun has risen. 1 have notes of its calling at 

 10 P.M. and at 2 a.m. The earliest record for the Red-chested 

 Cuckoo this season is given by Donald Henderson, who heard 

 the bird at Lovedale on October 9th, one day later than the 

 earliest record of 1909. At Pirie it was heard by Miss Carrie 

 Ross on October 22nd. My own earliest record this year was 

 on October 28tli at Ainabele. 



The Bhick-crested C'uckoo {Clamator se^'i'afiis) arrives 

 about the same time as the Red-chested Cuckoo and is found 

 commonly in our district in scrubby country. Like the 

 Red-chested Cuckoo (Cticvhis soUtarhts) it is a very ncisy 

 species, but it does not defy observation as the latter bird 

 does. The Black-crested Cuckoo {Clamator serratus) is 

 wholly black, with a wdiite bar across the wing which shows 

 up conspicuously in flight, ]\Ir. IMoir, of Blythswood, noticed 

 it there before October Gth ; I heard it for the lirst time this 

 season at Toleni on October 30th. 



The Black Cuckoo {Cucuhis clamosiis) is a much rarer 

 species in our area than either of the preceding, though it, 

 too, possesses a powerful voice which prevents it frcnd)eing 

 overlooked in any of its haunts. T have met with the bird 

 at Pirie, but in my wimderings during the present summer 

 1 liave twice been on its track. As yet, however, I am not 

 in a position to sjx^ak definitely about it. Tliis sj)ecies was 

 lieard near Komgha on N()vend)er ath l)y Wddniaii, but it 

 was in these parts some time before that tiale, calling 

 unheeded and unknown. 



The three Green ('Uckoos haxc arrived un<)bser\('d this 

 year. Prom the middle of September 1 ke})t listening lor 

 the Emerald Cuckoo's [Mctallocorri/.r smara(jdinciis) call, 

 " Pretty Georgey," but I did not hear it until November 14th, 



