THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE FOREST 149 



The bird whose notes were certainly the most musi- 

 cal of any on these hills was the Pointed-tailed Grass- 

 Warbler, a peculiar bird, considerably larger than any 

 of the other Grass- Warblers that we met with in the 

 Colony. It rarely showed itself except when singing, 

 at which times it would perch in a rather conspicuous 

 place, and repeat the same strain again and again ; 

 when not engaged in singing it would conceal itself 

 in the thick grass and cover, keeping well out of sight. 

 The short wings and long pointed tail of this bird 

 gave it somewhat the appearance of a miniature 

 pheasant. 



The Kaffir Fink, too, was here a common bird, and 

 he would hurry past in his business-like way, settle 

 on the top of some tall plant, and from this position 

 utter his curious low notes, unlike those of any other 

 bird, and resembling the jingling of tiny shells. This 

 bird seemed to have rather an easy time of it, for we 

 never saw him assisting in any way at the nesting 

 operations, either by helping to build the nest or to feed 

 the young ones. 



There were several different kinds of Grass- War- 

 blers on these hills, which latter appeared to be specially 

 suited to their requirements. All of these birds, with 

 the exception of the Pointed-tailed Grass- Warbler, con- 

 structed their nests, which were domed, at the foot of 

 a small bush or shrub, weaving the foliage round so as 

 to form the outside of the nest, and lining the same 

 with the white down of some flower. These nests 

 were exceedingly difficult to find, and were nearly 

 always placed close to the ground. 



The veldt on the confines of the forest was naturally 



