92 Tufted Umbras. 



streams; while, according to Mr. Ayres, it is 

 spread all over Natal, "but is not numerous, 

 and is always seen singly ; " and, again, Mr. 

 Andersson tells us that "this queer and sombre- 

 looking bird is pretty generally diffused throughout 

 Damara Land and Great Namaqua Land during 

 the rainy season, but is nowhere numerous." 



The umbre is known in South Africa as the 

 hammerkop or hammer-head a name which was 

 doubtless suggested by its appearance, as its 

 curiously-shaped beak and the tuft on its head 

 look comically like a hammer. It frequents 

 marshes, rivers, and pools, and feeds upon fish 

 and frogs, worms, snails, and insects, and is said 

 to watch for fish with its neck drawn in much like 

 a heron. 



In flight its neck and legs are carried straight 

 out. Mr. Layard, who has given the best descrip- 

 tion of this bird and its habits, describes it as a 

 " strange, weird bird, flitting about with great 

 activity in the dusk of the evening ; " and he adds 

 that "at times, when two or three are feeding in 

 the same pool, they will execute a singular dance, 

 skipping round one another, opening and closing 

 their wings, and performing strange antics." The 

 hammerkop's nest is an extraordinary structure, of 

 very considerable size, with a domed roof, the 

 whole being built of sticks of which some nests 

 contain at least a large cartload and the inside 

 neatly plastered with mud, and so strong is the 

 construction that the roof will bear the weight 



