PLOTUS LEVAILLANTI. 783 
in their bills; but we 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. 
At the Berg River we visited a “rookery” of these birds. It con- 
sisted of about thirty nests, thick dense masses of sticks and weeds 
resting on them, placed among the branches of some African willows 
growing in water during the breeding season, and unapproachable, 
but dry at other times. The eggs were of a green ground colour, 
covered with white chalk. Axis, 2” 2’’; diam.,1’’ 5’’’.. They are 
much prized as very delicate eating, and we must say with good 
reason. Indeed, we ate the eggs of all the herons, &c., which we 
procured at the Berg River, and found them first-rate. 
Mr. Rickard has procured it at Port Elizabeth on the Swartkops, 
and at Hast London on'the Buffalo and Katroon Rivers. 
In Natal Mr. Ayres says that ‘“‘these curious birds swim so low 
in the water that scarcely a bit of their back is to be seen, and 
indeed hardly anything but their long snake-like neck and head, 
which, as they swim, are moved gracefully backwards and forwards. 
When in this position, the bird might easily be taken, by those 
unacquainted with it, for a water-snake. This species lives entirely 
on fish, and is a most expert diver. It is particularly fond, on hot 
days, of sunning itself, with wings outstretched, on some bunch of 
rushes or a log of wood. Its flight is rather laboured, yet the bird 
is able to sustain it for a length of time. On being disturbed, it 
frequently circles round and round the waters which it inhabits, 
rising higher and higher at each turn, when having attained a very 
considerable height, far out of gunshot, it will go straight away to 
some other distant pool.” Mr. Barratt observes: “The Anhinga, 
or Snake-bird, is found in certain localities throughout the Transvaal. 
I have shot them near Potchefstroom and Lydenberg, and I have 
seen them near Pretoria and near the Modder River, Orange Free 
State. I have often seen them sitting on a dead bush overhanging 
the water; but on shooting at them they have dived so quickly that 
I have lost them, not being able to see which way they had gone. I 
observed several in the Chalumna district, between the Kaskama and 
Buffalo River, British Kaffraria.” Mr. Andersson believes that he 
saw it on Lake N’gami, where it was procured by Mr. James Chap- 
man. Mr. Jameson’s expedition met with the species on the Quae- 
