8 Mr. H. Leighton Hare on 



o£ watching a quaint performance, in which a pair of these 

 birds will sometimes take part. The two face each other, 

 bow gravely several times, and then one leaps liglitly on to 

 the other's shoulders and remains there, standing erect and 

 flapping its wings for a space of half a minute or so, both 

 meanwhile keeping up a loud cheerful piping. Then the 

 " rider " jumps down, the other promptly mounts, and the 

 same } erformance is gone through. Tljis is repeated, turn 

 and turn about^ perhaps half a dozen times. 



Curlew [Numenius arquatus) were observed only once 

 during my stay at Philipstown. They were at the "pan'' 

 already mentioned. 



The Avocet (^Recurv'irostra avocettay was occasional!}^ seen 

 in small parties, but more commonly in pairs. A small boy 

 attending the public school once brought his teacher the 

 head of an Avocet. He explained that, according to his 

 father, it was a most destructive bird, as it flew over the 

 corn-fields slicing off the ears of corn with its curved bill. 

 In future let it not be said that our country-folk do not take 

 an intelligent interest in the fauna of the country. 



The Grreenshank {Totanus glottis), Marsh-Sandpiper 

 (^Totanus stagnatilis), Wood-Sandpiper (^Tetanus ylareola), 

 and Little Stint (^Tringa minuta) make their appearance in 

 spring. The two last-mentioned species are particularly 

 plentiful. 



Two species of Stork are irregular visitors to the district, 

 namely, the White Stork {Ciconia alba) and the Black Stork 

 (C. nigra). The latter are generally seen singly or in pairs 

 during the winter months — they are by no means common. 



Blue Crane ( Tetraptery.r, lyaradisea) . — This bird is a familiar 

 sight on the " veld."*' At times huge flocks assemble, and 

 although they are inclined to be troublesome in grain-lands 

 they unquestionably do much towards keeping down insect- 

 pests. No one who has seen a flock at work over an area 

 where locusts have deposited their eggs will doubt this. The 

 Blue Crane lays its eggs on the bare ground, a few pebbles 

 being scraped together to form an apology for a nest. I 

 ascertained once that a pair were breeding on a farm close 



