NOTABLE SOUTH AFRICAN BIRDS 65 



Blue, green, and yellow are the principal colours of 

 this charming little parrot. The presence of this 

 bird is an infallible sign of water; and few sounds 

 are more welcome to the traveller than its shrill cry. 



Nor are woodpeckers so numerous as in some other 

 countries. Perhaps the charming little Cardinal 

 woodpecker (I)e7id7vj)ictcs cardinalis), recorded by Le 

 Vaillant in his voluminous way more than a hundred 

 years since as Le petit pic d hagnettes d'or ; and an- 

 other bird, Laimodon nigrithorax, brilliantly garbed 

 in scarlet, black, green, yellow, and brown, well known 

 in the Transkei territories and Natal, may be cited 

 as the most notable species. 



Cuckoos are well represented, and include some ten 

 or eleven species. Of these three at least are true 

 " indicators," or honey-guides. It seems to be pretty 

 clear that the curious habit of these birds in leading 

 the traveller to bees' nests is undertaken from at 

 least as much desire to obtain the grubs of the wild 

 bees as the honey. No doubt the honey is to some 

 extent eaten, but the grubs are the main attraction. 

 None the less, the habit is a most remarkable one, 

 and it would be curious to know how and when it was 

 first developed in the far-distant ages of Africa. Klaas's 

 cuckoo {Gucuhts Maasii), the golden cuckoo ( Chalcites 

 smaragdineus), and the little Didric cuckoo {Chalcites 

 aurat^is), all well known in the woody parts of Cape 

 Colony, are among the most brilliant birds in Africa. 



