CAMPEPHAGA NIGRA 207 
by Van der Kellen in the upper Cunene district, and by 
Eriksson at Ochimbora. Andersson first observed the Black 
Cuckoo-Shrike in the neighbourhood of the Okavango River, 
where it was rare and shy, keeping mostly to the upper 
branches of the large trees. There is another of his speci- 
mens from Elephant Vley, the most southern range known for 
these birds on the west coast. 
Layard writes: “This species is not uncommon in the 
forests of the Knysna, and we have seen it from Swellendam.” 
When I was at Durban I rarely saw the species alive, but 
Mr. Gordge collected for me in the neighbourhood a fair series 
of Cuckoo-Shrikes, including an equal number of the present 
one and of C. hartlaubi. Mr. T. Ayres remarks that the few 
he saw in Natal were solitary birds; one he shot was 
observed frequently to fly down from the tree on which it 
perched on to the ground to pick up caterpillars. Mr. 
W. L. Sclater writes: “The Black Cuckoo-Shrike is to be 
found in nearly all the forest districts of South Africa, if 
carefully looked for, but its somewhat silent, shy habits, as 
well as the secluded nature of its favourite haunts, renders 
the search an uncertain one. When met with it is usually 
a solitary bird; sometimes a pair, or, towards the end of the 
nesting season, a small party of three or four are seen, the 
parents with their young, for these birds seem rarely to rear 
more than two, and frequently only one young one in a season. 
The male Cuckoo-Shrike may be sometimes seen perched on 
a branch in the attitude of a Drongo, but can be distinguished 
from the latter by his square tail; when flying he is not 
unlike a Black Cuckoo in appearance, while the female 
Cuckoo-Shrike very closely resembles the female of the 
Emerald Cuckoo both in attitude and flight, as well as in 
pattern of coloration. More often these Cuckoo-Shrikes are 
seen quietly and slowly stealing through the tops of the 
