24 STUENID^ DILOPHUS 



A younger, or less developed male, has a space behind and 

 below the eyes and on each side of the throat bare of feathers and 

 of a bright yellow colour, the rest of the head and face covered with 

 whitish feathers, through which the black wattles project. Com- 

 paratively few males have wattled heads ; probably this peculiarity 

 is confined to old males during the breeding season. 



Adult female. Is browner than the male ; the rump white ; 

 upper tail-coverts brown ; head feathered and coloured like the 

 back, only a space round the eye and on each side of the throat 

 being bare of feathers ; entirely without wattles or neck lappets. 



Young. In first plumage resemble the females. 



Distribution. Nearly the entire Ethiopian Eegion, including 

 Southern Arabia ; at times appearing in nearly every district in 

 South Africa, but subject to irregular migrations, depending upon 

 the supply of food, which consists largely of locusts at various 

 stages of growth. 



Habits. The well-known " Locust Bird" is of gipsy-like habits, 

 migrating here and there without much regard to season, and 

 frequently appearing suddenly in a district for several days or 

 weeks in flocks numbering tens of thousands, to disappear as 

 suddenly, often for many years. These Starlings are in fact so 

 largely dependent for food upon the migrating swarms of locusts 

 that they are compelled to remain in touch with these insects for 

 the greater portion of the year. A few stray individuals occa- 

 sionally remain for a time after the larger flocks have taken their 

 departure, and find an asylum in the ranks of the resident Eed- 

 winged or Brown and White Starlings, with both of which species 

 they are on amicable terms. In September, 1869, Layard found 

 these Locust Birds breeding in vast numbers on the Berg river, 

 about eighty miles from Cape Town, their nests filling many 

 bushes, but they do not appear to have visited this district since 

 that date. In the same year they bred near Bedford. 



Mr. Ayres says that "they are only found at Potchefstroom 

 during the winter months, from April to November, when they 

 occur both singly and also in companies ranging in number from 

 three up to a hundred or more." 



When pursuing a flight of mature locusts these Starlings 

 perform various extraordinary and beautiful aerial evolutions with 

 the object of intercepting and surrounding a portion of the swarm, 

 and in doing this their movements closely resemble those of 

 another locust-destroying Starling, the beautiful Kose-coloured 



