KNYSNA 127 



unfortunate husband, and were taxing him with it, I 

 am unable to say. 



A little bird that we found plentiful in the bush 

 around Knysna was the Bar-throated Warbler, an illus- 

 tration of which is shown here, with its nest in the back- 

 ground. The natives call this bird Bosck Kelke, which 

 I believe means " Bush Wineglass," the name no doubt 

 originating by reason of the peculiar notes uttered by 

 these birds in conjunction with each other. These 

 sounds, like so many notes of birds, are not at all easily 

 described on paper. The male bird would utter a sort 

 of tac tac, and then the female would reply with 

 perhaps a dozen notes somewhat similar in sound to 

 those of the male bird, but increasing regularly in speed 

 as she uttered them. The sounds made by the female 

 bird correspond very nearly to those produced by balanc- 

 ing a pencil between the first and second finger and then 

 letting it " run down " of its own accord on the edge of 

 a desk, or table. These notes were uttered very low, 

 and unless one were within a short distance of the birds 

 themselves, were inaudible. 



Although one misses the continuous strains of music 



o 



that would be heard in woods at home in the springtime, 

 yet the various sounds which attract the ear in the bush 

 around Knysna during the breeding season October to 

 December are not without a charm of their own. 



Springtime in England would be thought dull if we 

 depended on the Cuckoo's note for music, and yet of all 

 birds in these forests, the cries of the various kinds of 

 Cuckoo are the most often heard. Many of these birds 

 are most brilliantly coloured, rivalling some of the 

 tropical species in their plumage. Two of the com- 



