SAND-GROUSE 35 



sand-grouse, however," is by no means so abundant 

 a bird as the other South African sand-o^rouse, nor 

 does it appear at waters, even in the dry season, in 

 such immense flocks. 



In travelHng across the northern portion of the 

 Kalahari during the dry winter season, I had ample 

 opportunity of observing all these charming birds 

 at the scant watering-places to which they resort. 

 Arriving one evening at the end of June at Maqua, 

 a small desert pool of very foul rain-water, at this 

 time rapidly vanishing by evaporation under an 

 ardent sun, it was observed, curiously enough, that 

 not a single sand-grouse came to drink. Great 

 troops of doves,-principally the Senegal dove — known 

 to the colonists, from its curious human note, as the 

 laughing dove — flocked to the water at sunset, but 

 not a single sand-grouse. Next morning, while 

 sitting in my wagon writing up my diary and 

 waiting for breakfast, my hunting companion called 

 out that the sand-grouse were just appearing. This 

 was about 8 a.m. From this time for close on two 

 hours many hundreds of sand-grouse — Namaqua, 

 variegated, and yellow-throated — came pouring in 

 from all parts of the horizon. They streamed in 

 swiftly upon the air, the Namaqua and variegated 

 species uttering incessantly their sharp shrill cries. 

 The yellow-throated sand-grouse, which appeared in 

 nothing like the numbers of the others, were easily 

 picked out by their greater size, their dark under- 



