378 BIRDS OF SOUTH AFRICA. 



quills equal and longest ; tail long, artd broad towards 

 the end, which is rounded ; tarsi half the length of 

 the middle toe, strong, and covered with small scales ; toes 

 rather long-, all united by a broad web; the. outer toe as long 

 as the middle one ; the claws short, curved, and acute. 



696. PlotUS CongensiS, Cranch ; Plotus Levail- 

 lantii, Temm., PI. Col. ; Lesson, Vol. 2, p. 380 ; P. 

 Rufus, Licht., PI. Enl., 107; Siueet-ivater Duiker. 



General colour, black, shining green on the back and 

 shoulders, longitudinally striped with fulvous, that colour 

 occupying the centre of each feather ; neck and head, rufous- 

 brown ; black lines extend from the back of the eye, down 

 the sides of the neck, becoming fainter as they descend, and 

 coalescing at the base of the neck ; below this line, but only 

 extending to one-third the distance, is a pure white line ; 

 tail and wing feathers, black : the former very stiff; the two 

 centre ones being corrugated. Length, 36" ; wing, 13^" ; 

 tail, 10" 9"'. 



A female in my possession is of a rufous tint throughout, and 

 wants the fine glossy black green body of the male, and the black 

 line down the neck ; the colours of the back are also less vivid. 



The '^ Anhinga," "Snake-bird," or "^ Darter," is not unfrequent 

 in certain localities, among which may be mentioned chiefly : Verloren 

 Vley aud the Berg River generally, the Kiver Zonder End, and Zoe- 

 tendals Vley. In this latter place, I saw several individuals, evidently 

 building, as they carried long trailing rushes in their bills ; but I could 

 not discover their nests. They may often be seen sitting on the 

 " snags " projecting out of the water in the still reaches of the rivers, 

 off which they dive with such ease and dexterity as hardly to leave 

 a ripple to betray their departure. An egg said to belong to this 

 bird was given me by Dr. Versfeld, of Stellenbosch, taken on the 

 Berg River, is of a green ground colour, covered with white chalk : 

 axis, 2" 2'" ; diam., 1" 5'". 



The Sub-Family, PELICANIN^, or Pelicans, 



have the bill lengthened, slender, depressed on the culmen ; 

 the sides much compressed, the tip hooketl, and more or less 

 compressed ; the nostrils placed in lateral grooves, and 

 scarcely visible ; the wings lengthened and pointed ; the tail 

 rather short, and generally wedge-shaped ; the tarsi short 

 and robust ; the toes lengthened, with the outer one equal- 

 ling the middle one, and all four united together by a mem- 

 brane ; the lower mandible and throat furnished beneath 

 with a membranous pouch, more or less capable of extension. 



