Egii-Collecthuj in the Ihixliceld. 15 



roll the eirirs down tl:e side of the nest and knock them 

 together to break them, bnt havino- nothing to break the 

 last one against have ])erforce to leave it. In this district 

 Ostriches are said to be very partial to the leaves of an 

 aloe which is very connnon everywhere and known to the 

 Boers by the name of " vijbosch." 



The Red-crested Korhann {Otis ruftcristd) is the com- 

 monest Korhiian of the bnshveld, but is not often heard 

 except at daybreak. It is not easily discerned when it 

 has its back towards one, and usually lies low, cree[)ing 

 quietly oil' when approached. 



The Kurrichaine Button-Quail {Tnrnix lepurana) is very 

 common during the midsummer monihs, and numbeis of 

 nests with three eggs were found on 12th and 13th De- 

 cember. Incubation seems to be performed entirely by the 

 males. The nests were shallow^ cups scratched in the soil 

 under the shelter of some tuft of grass in the open, wdiere 

 trees are scattered, and lined with dry strips of grass. The 

 eggs mntch their surroundings so well that they are difficult 

 to locate, and one may have to flush the sitting bird several 

 times before finding them ; they are rather round in shape, 

 the thinner end tapering only slightly, and are of a cream- 

 coloured ground rather thickly spotted and speckled with 

 brown, red-brown, and slate-colour : they measure 19'5— 

 21-5X16-6-17-8. 



There is an old nest of Scopus nmhretta on some rocks on 

 the inner rim of the pan ; but the birds themselves were not 

 seen nor heard, and had probably left the neighbourhood on 

 account of the drought of the two ])receding years. 



The Damara Turtle-Dove {7'urtur capicola damareusis) 

 was found everywhere, especially near the ro-ids and niealic- 

 lands. Its characteristic call of " Cuck kurr idi, cuck 

 kurr-uh," is uttered at all times of the day, and some- 

 times at night. When courting, the male flies into a tree 

 where his mate is perched, uttering a harsh " Karr-eh, 

 karr-oh/" and alights on the same branch ; she generally 



