from the Colony of Natal. 45 



tiful over the Drankensberg;, in the Free State and Transvaal Re- 

 public. 



These birds often rise a short distance in the air with a flut- 

 tering flight, but are mostly seen perched on the ant-heaps which 

 abound in this country. They feed on insects. 



292. TuRDUs OLivACEUS, Linn. Olive Thrush. 



Male. Iris light ashy-brown ; bill yellow, but with the ridge 

 of the upper mandible dark brown ; tarsi and feet pale yellow. 



These Thrushes appear to be more numerous during the 

 winter -than the summer months. They frequent the bush-range 

 along the coast, and are tolerably plentiful. I sometimes find 

 their claws much worn, as if employed in scratching for their 

 food. They very seldom utter a note, and might well be called 

 the '^ Silent Thrush." 



293. Campephaga melanoxantha (Licht,). Southern Yel- 

 low-shouldered Caterpillar-eater. 



The plumage of the male bird is of a metallic greenish-black, 

 with a bright yellow patch on each shoulder. The females are 

 far more numerous than the males, and are generally found 

 in small companies when moving about. In appearance and 

 shape, and also in flight, they much resemble the hen bird of 

 the Emerald Cuckoo [fJhrysococcyx smaragdineus, Ibis, 1859, 

 p. 24G]. This species inhabits the coast-range. I have fre- 

 quently seen the yellow-shouldered males with the females, and 

 also frequently solitary. Of the entirely black Caterpillar-eater 

 [Campephaga nigra, Ibis, 1864, p. 350] I remember to have 

 seen only one specimen, which I forwai'ded. 



[This species much resembles C xanthornoides (Lep.) of 

 Western Africa; but the yellow shoulder-patch of the adult male 

 is smaller and less orange-coloured than that of the western spe- 

 cies — a distinction which is well pointed out by Dr. Cabanis 

 (Mus. Hein. i. p. 61), who, however, supposes the present spe- 

 cies to be identical with C. nigra, in which opinion I do not 

 agree, for the same reasons which I have given for separating 

 this last from the western C. xanthornoides (Ibis, 1864, p. 350). 

 The female bird sent by Mr. Ayres appears to agree exactly with 

 the figure of " I'Echenilleur Jaunc " given by Le Vaillant 



