the Birds of PJdlipstown. 3 



three or four of these birds would accompany ns for miles 

 skimming over the bushes just in front of the leading horse- 

 men and taking on the wing any locusts that had been 

 disturbed. At one spot in the district I saw a flock of fully 

 100 of these birds. 



Chanting Goshawk (MeJiera.v canorus). — These handsome 

 birds are fairly plentiful. Their nests, usually placed in a 

 tree from 8 to 12 feet from the ground, and scantily lined 

 with scraps of w'ool or horse-dung, are easily found. The 

 eggs, two in number, are white. Judging by the litter of 

 skulls and feet round the nest, they evidently do good 

 execution amongst the " genus Lepus." But in a district 

 where hares are regarded as vermin, this, I think, should be 

 " counted unto them for righteousness/-' When on the winor 

 this bird sometimes utters a wild weird cry ; generally, how^- 

 ever, its pleasant trilling whistle is to be heard in the early 

 morning and towards evening. 



Harriers make their appearance in the spring and leave 

 again towards the end of summer. Montagu's Harrier 

 (Circus cineraceus) and the Pale Harrier (Circus macrurus) 

 are fairly numerous. The Black Harrier {Circus niaurus) 

 was recorded only once. 



Of the three Kestrels, the Greater (Tinnunculus rupi- 

 coZo/</e5), the South African (T. rupicolus), and the Lesser 

 (T. naumamn) , only the South African variety is, so far as 

 I am aware, a permanent resident. This bird appears to 

 have been endowed with an undue allowance of impudence. 

 It never seems to be happier than when it is annoying some 

 bird larger than itself, and the appearance of a Jackal- 

 Buzzard is alwaj's an excuse for the Kestrel to be up and 

 doing. But it does not confine its unwelcome attention to 

 birds only; on one occasion I was puzzled by the behaviour 

 of one of these birds, which swooped repeatedly over a spot 

 on a hill-side. Investigation disclosed the presence of a fine 

 lynx whose criminal career was then and there cut short. 

 A reliable farmer in the district informed me that he had 

 seen this bird, with the assistance of a dog, w^orry a White- 

 quilled Knorhaan (Oiis afroides) to death. Each time the 



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