( Ixix ) 



" Hesperidae. — Baoris niveicornis, Plotz, is quite common in 

 its own particular locality — just where forest and grass meet. 

 In the forest I have got one [Ceratrichia flava, Hew.] at least 

 new to me — bright lemon yellow with broad black border. I 

 have got one on the plain also new to me. I haven't seen 

 Rhopalocafnpta chalyhe, Westw., but R. forestan, Cr., abounds, 



" Heterocera. — As regards moths, it's quite strange not to 

 see any Aletis : even the small pale one [Leptaletis forhesi, 

 Druce] — so extremely numerous on the islands — has not yet 

 shown itself. I saw a Lycoid moth (I think Lithosiid) new 

 to me but had no net. I have a small Lycoid Longicorn 

 beetle new to me. I hope I may get more Lycoids and Lycids 

 after rains when trees blossom. 



" Feb. 19. 



" Had a very interesting afternoon. Visited a small puddle 

 of water where many butterflies congregate, and got some 

 nice Pierines and several P. ridleyanus which delighted me. 

 Seeing a pair of the common black and white wagtail [probably 

 Motacilla vidua *] very busily catching things, I sat down 

 about six yards away from the pool. The birds came back 

 and set to work actively catching butterflies. I watched for 

 \ hour, noting down each time one of them ate a butterfly. 

 You will be interested to hear the result. The two birds in 

 the hour ate between them 16 Lycaenids, 9 Atella phalantha, 

 Drury (extraordinarily abundant now : it congregates by the 

 dozen), 3 bright yellow Terias and one other larger yellow 

 Pierine [evidently Eronia leda, Boisd.] with orange wing tips 

 (reminding one of the Mediterranean Gonepteryx cleopatra, L.). 

 This is certainly an under estimate, for often when watching 

 one bird I heard the other's bill snap, and giving him a hasty 

 glance saw that he was swallowing something — probably 

 Lycaenid, for they swallow them almost at a gulp. In addition 

 they caught others which got away. But 29 butterflies 

 between two birds in ^ hour is not bad ! Every now and 



* Mr. S. A. Neave considers from Dr. Carpenter's description that 

 "the bird is far more likely to have been Motacilla vidua than M. 

 capensis, which is a greyer bird. M. vidua is much the more widely 

 distributed and also the commoner of the two." Mr. Neave's 

 observations, recorded in Proc. Ent. Soc, 1912, p. Iv, were probably 

 made upon 31. capensis. 



