34 Mr. (\ G. Davies ou the Birds of the 



G2. (hcoxiA CICONIA (L.). AVliito Stork. 



A fairly coininon nii<2;rant. Last year they were very 

 common, and although the mnjority left in March a good 

 many remained right through the winter, in spite of two 

 falls of snow. 



63. CicoNiA NIGRA (L.). Black Stork. 



Hare. One or two have been shot in the district. 



64. Phgenicopterus roseus, Pall. Greater Flamingo. 

 Very rare. An immature specimen was shot this year by 



a friend on one of the farms. This is the only occurrence of 

 this species in the district I have heard of. 



tt.5. Scopus umbretta, Gm. Hammerhead. 

 Very common. 



GG. Nycticorax nycttcorax (L.). Night-Heron. 



Formerly common amongst <he reeds in some of the 

 vleys, but now appears to have .ilmost disap])eared. I have 

 only seen one specimen, an immature bird, which I shot last 

 summer. 



67. Botaurus stellaris CAPENSis (Schl.). Cape Bittern. 



Not uncommon and resident. Mr. Gould found a nest 

 containing three eggs. The nest, built of reeds and lined 

 with short pieces of the same, was placed in a clump of 

 rushes in about three feet of water. The eggs are olive- 

 brown in colour, ahnost exactly like those of the European 

 Bittern. This clutch, tog'^her with tlie parent birds, are 

 now in the Transvaal Museum. One of these birds, 

 which J wounded, was not content with ])utting itself 

 on the defensive, but made several determined rushes 

 at me, looking very fierce, with its ruff and feathers of the 

 body erected to the utmost. 



GS. Ardetta payesi ([Verr.] Jlartl.). Red-necked Little 

 Bittern. 



A single adult female of this species, shot on one of the 

 vlevs last sunnncr, is the only one I have seen. 



