CORVUS CAPENSIS 155 



The Colonels Butler and Fielden, and Captain Reid 

 (Zoologist, 188'2, p. 255), give some interesting notes regard- 

 ing these Rooks in Natal. Gregarious in small bands, never 

 exceeding, perhaps, twenty in number, attaching themselves 

 to particular spots, and maintaining a regular line of morning 

 and evening flight. Nest bulky, built in isolated thorn-trees, 

 frequently close to farms or Kaffir kraals. These nests might 

 be counted by dozens in the thorny bush near Lady smith, and 

 all along the main road between that town and Estcourt. 

 Colonel Butler, "found a nest containing fresh eggs about 

 September 12, which were unfortunately destroyed by Kaffirs. 

 The same pair built another nest at once in an adjoining 

 tree, but being again disturbed by Kaffirs deserted it before 

 completion, and built a third nest at the top of the tree in 

 which the first nest had been placed. From this last I took 

 a single egg on October 2. The birds then built again in a 

 low peach tree, about ten yards off, but the eggs were again 

 destroyed by the Kaffirs on November 5. The Kaffirs regard 

 them as birds of ill omen." 



Although the species appears to be distributed over the 

 whole of South Africa, it seems to be rare between the Vaal 

 and Zambesi rivers, and regarding its occurrence in British 

 Central Africa, Sir Harry Johnston wrote in 1897 (Brit. 

 Centr. Afr. p. 330) : " No specimen has been sent home, but 

 I have seen it or a bird singularly like it, entirely black 

 in plumage, on the upper part of Mount Mlanji, and on 

 the higher plateau of Zomba Mountain." This ends all I 

 know regarding the species from south of 10° S. lat. 



It has not been recorded from any part of German East 

 Africa, but as soon as we cross that frontier towards the 

 Equator it again becomes fairly abundant from Kavirondo 

 over North-east Africa, with the exception of Somaliland. 



Mr. Jackson met with it first in Kavirondo, where he only 



