CREATOPHORA CARUNCULATA 125 



" On another occasion these birds, for some reason or 

 other, were too late in commencing their nests, and it so 

 happened that before their young were fully fledged the 

 locusts began to leave the neighbourhood, most of the 'voet 

 gangers ' had thrown off their working jackets and resumed 

 the ' imago ' state. It was easy work for the birds to follow 

 them at first and bring back a sufficient supply of food to 

 their nests, but as the locusts day by day winged their 

 flight towards the interior, they found the task a difficult 

 one ; still for some days they succeeded in keeping their 

 young alive, but the winged swarms of locusts travelled so 

 fast that the birds were beaten in this great struggle for 

 life, and were compelled to abandon their nests, leaving the 

 half fledged ones to their sad fate ; and to save themselves 

 from a similar one, flew after the locust swarms that were 

 leaving the colony. It seems unnatural for any animal to 

 desert its young, and I have frequently seen birds risk 

 their lives for the sake of their nests, but in the above- 

 mentioned case, no blame nor want of natural affection could 

 be attached to the Locust Birds— they did all they possibly 

 could under the circumstances— for, excepting the locust 

 swarms, no other source remained b}' ^^-hich so great a 

 multitude could be supplied with food." In a note Dr. 

 Sharpe writes : " We have heard of a similar incident occur- 

 ring with the other Locust Bird, Glareola iwrdmanni, when 

 a whole hill-side covered with nests containing young birds 

 was deserted." 



The present species, Stark remarks, " is of gipsy-like 

 habits, migrating here and there without much regard to 

 season, and frequently appearing suddenly in a district for 

 several days or weeks in flocks numbering tens of thousands, 

 to disappear as suddenly, often for many years. These 

 Starlings are in fact so largely dependent for food upon the 



