645 
ORDER LIMICOLA. 
Fam. CHARADRIIDZ. 
617. C£prcnemus capensis, Licht. South African Thick-knee. 
Gdicnemus maculosus, Layard, B. 8. Afr. p. 288. 
‘The “ Dikkop ” is found in Kaffraria and Cape Colony generally, 
and Natal, frequenting open, unwooded country. It feeds on seeds, 
insects, and small reptiles, and lays, in a mere depression of the 
soil, unprotected by stone or bush, two eggs of a light fawn-yellow 
ground, profusely spotted and blotched throughout with brown of 
various shades: axis, 2” 1’"; diam., 1” 6”. ’ 
Mr. Ortlepp says that about Colesberg they are, migratory, appear- 
ing in flocks sometimes numbering fifty individuals, and feeding 
only at night. It is met with both at Hast London and Port 
Elizabeth, according to our correspondent Mr. Rickard, and Captain 
Trevelyan tells us that it is migratory near Kingwilliamstown, being 
common at times. Mr. Ayres states that it is, generally dispersed 
over the colony of Natal, appearing on the coast with the Bustards 
in the month of June. “Like the Bustards,” he observes, “ they 
will almost invariably try to hide themselves from the sportsman by 
crouching on the ground. When on the wing, the legs are extended 
straight out behind, similarly to the Herons.” Majors Butler, 
Feilden, and Captain Reid remark that they found it commonly 
near Newcastle on stony flats or slopes among the low hills. Mr. 
T. E. Buckley says that he found this “ Dikkop ” both in the bush 
and open country throughout Natal and the Transvaal, and Mr. 
Ayres has procured the species near Potchefstroom. He says that 
it is sparsely distributed all over the Transvaal. Dr. Exton met 
with it at Kanye in the Matabele country, and Mr. Jameson’s 
expedition at Matje Umschlope in November, and Spalding’s, on the 
Hart River, in February. 
Mr. Andersson writes:—“This bird is partially migratory in 
Namaqua and Damara Land, and, though uncommon, is nevertheless 
