HOUW HOEK AND STANFORD 97 



what they lack in brilliancy of plumage is to some 

 extent made up to them by the possession of very long 

 tails, some of the feathers of which, in the case of the 

 male birds, measure as much as fourteen inches in length. 

 This tail, in the case of so small a bird, is naturally most 

 unwieldy, and when the bird is engaged in catching 

 insects in the air it presents a very ludicrous appearance. 

 It is somewhat shy, and when driven from one particular 

 spot will fly away to a considerable distance, as though 

 it knew the attention which its long tail must attract ; 

 when on the wing this tail floats out behind, following 

 the undulations of the bird's flight. 



Our chief reason for going to Houw Hoek was that 

 we might visit the vley at the mouth of the Bot River, 

 which we were told was the breeding place of many 

 different kinds of water birds. Accordingly, one day 

 Mr. W. drove us down there in his Cape cart, a distance 

 of some fifteen or sixteen miles. We took our cameras 

 with us, thinking that we might find something of 

 interest to photograph. The road over the Houw Hoek 

 Pass was good, but after leaving this behind we turned 

 off across the veldt, and here there might as well have 

 been no road at all ; however, a Cape cart is in nowise 

 dependent upon a road, so we bumped along, mile after 

 mile, over the sandy soil. The veldt, usually described 

 as so arid and uninteresting, was at this period of the 

 year September one mass of bright-coloured flowers, 

 among which the various delicately-coloured heaths were 

 perhaps the most beautiful. Doubtless in a few weeks 

 the ground would assume its normal bare condition, and 

 remain in that state until the following flower season. 

 As we drove along, the Houw Hoek Mountains lay to 



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