GAME-BIRDS OF SOUTH AFRICA 



sun, remaining in a sleepy condition during most of the day. 

 When on the ground it is difficult to see them, and one almost 

 treads upon them before they rise, startling one with their 

 flare of wings and noisy ' Chuk, chuk ' notes, which are 

 given out simultaneously and with great zest, 



" Out of the breeding season they go together in large 

 batches, sometimes thirty or forty in one flock. 



" In habits they might almost be termed crepuscular. 

 Every evening, as regular as clockwork and just as dusk is 

 closing in, they wing their way to their watering-spots, 

 while, should the night be moonlit, they feed in the vicinity 

 of water." 



My friend Major Sparrow, found this bird breeding in June 

 in Portuguese East Africa, and writes that it is very partial 

 to red soil with which its eggs completely harmonise. 



Mr. Sclater described the eggs as being three or four in 

 number, and laid on the bare ground among short grass. 

 They are brownish-pink, spotted and blotched all over, 

 especially at the thicker end, with a darker shade of the 

 same colour. They measure about 1.37 by .93 in. 



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