BUBULCUS IBIS. 717 
695. Busuncus rpis (L.). Buff-backed Kgret. 
Ardea bubulcus, Layard, B. 8. Afr. p. 307. 
Two specimens of this Egret, in non-breeding dress (which is all 
white, without the crest and pendant plumes), have been received 
from Mr. Arnot, from Colesberg. Mr. H. Shaw also procured it in 
the same plumage at Wynberg, in May, 1867. It has also been 
found at Grahamstown. Mr. Rickard notes it as occurring both at 
Port Elizabeth and Hast London. Writing from Natal, Mr. Ayres 
says: “The flats near the mouth of the River Umlaas are the only 
localities where I have seen these birds. They are gregarious in 
their habits, roosting by night amongst the branches of trees which 
overhang the small lakes that are plentiful in that part of the 
country. They appear to feed entirely on ticks (acari), which they 
pick from the cattle as they are feeding, walking alongside of them 
and every now and then taking one off. They are wary birds, like 
most of the Herons, and not easy of approach. The farmers in the 
neighbourhood have also, of course, great objection to such useful 
birds being shot.” Lieutenant Giffard procured a single specimen 
near Newcastle in the summer months. 
Mr. Ayres has also shot the species in the Transvaal, but in 1880 
says that it was becoming scarcer year by year. Mr. F. A. Barratt 
writes: “I shot a fine male of this species in a flock which were 
hopping about under some oxen, from which they were picking off 
the ticks. I have obtained them close to Lydenburg and Potchef- 
stroom, and I have seen them near Pretoria, Rustenberg, and near 
the Vaal River. They congregate in flocks, standing on one leg 
basking in the sun.” 
Dr. Exton met with it at Kanye, in the Matabele country, and 
says that he noticed it feeding on the ticks on the oxen, but only 
observed this habit when the latter were lying down. Mr. Frank 
Oates procured a specimen at Tati, and it was met with by 
Mr. Jameson’s expedition at Spalding’s on the Hart River, when, 
Mr. Ayres says, a solitary bird was procured on the 7th of February. 
« We now and again saw a flock feeding, as they often do, amongst 
the herds of cattle. At the Tati River in December we saw a small 
flock.” In the Zambesi region, Sir John Kirk says that “ it is called 
‘Kakoe ;’ it follows herds of elephants and buffaloes, sitting on 
their backs or flying near to them, so that in long reeds the game 
may be followed when nothing but the birds are visible.” 
