152 NATUBAL HISTOET SKETCHES. 



tail, shiny black-and-white in colour, and the throat and 

 chest were faintly tinged with salmon-red. This was 

 hardly so common a bird as the other, but frequented 

 much the same localities. The great difference between 

 the two birds lay in the shape of the beak and gape 

 the beak of the larger species resembling that of the 

 swallow ; the other was more like the night-jar. They 

 were both fly-catchers, but I do not think they were the 

 same species. 



We had no real wagtails in this country, but I ob- 

 served our common little pied wagtail very common in 

 South Africa, in the months of January and February. 



The bird which we used to call the Fly-catcher was 

 much smaller and more common than either of the fan- 

 tails, which it, however, resembled in shape and habits, 

 and was pretty generally dispersed over the whole bush 

 throughout the year. It was of a light variegated brown 

 black-and-white colour, with a long spreading tail, and 

 principally frequented the honeysuckle scrub. Its note 

 was a kind of grating chatter, loud for the size of the 

 bird. We had another variety, light chestnut-brown, 

 but this was very rare with us, and I once saw a speci- 

 men of this bird, pure white, but whether it was a dis- 

 tinct species I am unable to say. 



Another little bird, which we called the Pretty Fly- 

 catcher, very much resembled the salmon-throated fantail, 

 but was much smaller, and the colour was more glossy. 

 It was a rare and solitary bird, and I generally used to 

 kill single examples in the thick scrub. 



