314 KLOOF AND KARROO. 



often seen very far away from moist ground. By 

 getting up betimes, and reaching their favourite 

 ground in early morning, we could generally reckon 

 upon a bag of from five to a dozen brace of these 

 handsome francolins. From its habits, this bird is 

 more easily shot than the grey-wing without the 

 aid of a dog if, as is unfortunately sometimes the 

 case, such a convenience is not readily procurable. 



The first mention of the two Cape partridges 

 last before-mentioned seems to have been made 

 by William Ten Rhyne, a native of Daventry, 

 a physician, who afterwards became a member of 

 the Council of Justice of the Dutch East India 

 Company. Ten Rhyne made the voyage to the 

 Cape as far back as 1673, and his remarks may 

 be taken as amongst the earliest upon the natural 

 history of Cape Colony. He mentions " Rubicundi 

 et cinerei phasiani," which, being translated, and 

 rendering " phasiani " as partridges, I take, from 

 the similarity of colouring, to be the earliest 

 description of the red-wing and grey -wing francolins 

 of the Cape. 



The Francolinus subtorquatus of Sir A. Smith, 

 a species rather smaller than the red-wing, is stated 

 not to have occurred within the Cape Colony, 

 although found in the Orange Free State and 

 Natal ; but, from what I have heard, I am by no 

 means certain that it has not been found pretty 

 frequently in the north of the Colony, not far from 

 the southern banks of the Orange River. 



The wild guinea-fowl (Numida mitrata) I will 

 next treat of, in continuing this subject of the 

 game birds. Although a much handsomer and finer 

 bird than the common domesticated guinea-fowl of 



