140 



KNOWLEDGE. 



[June, 1901. 



amongst them none were more conspicuous than the 

 Marabou storks, H the African representative of the 

 adjutant of India. Not only were they conspicuous by 

 their size and form, but their dull-looking plumage, 

 their bare rcddish-ycllow heads, and their enormous 

 dirty bills, gave them a most revolting appearance. Tliey 

 are carrion feeders, and seeing them smash open the 

 oyster shells with their massive and powerful bills one 

 could well understand how it was that after the battle of 

 Om Debreikat many a man, well accustomed to grue- 

 some spectacles, shuddered at the sight of corpses 

 mutilated by these birds. Another interesting member 

 of the stork family which frequented the " oyster " beds 

 was a sombre coloured bird with a thick whitish bill, 

 the mandibles of which are so grooved near their tips, 

 that an open slit is left when the bill is closed, a 

 peculiarity which has given the biixl the name of open- 

 bill.** Of the many other birds frequenting the river 

 the pelicansft were, perhaps, the most striking. One 

 evening as we urged our mounts over the brow of a small 

 sandhill we came suddenly in sight of a great flock of 

 these birds in the shallow water at the river's edge. 

 Some were dozing, others were preening their rose-white 

 plumage, others were dabbling their clumsy-looking bills 

 in the water and washing their yellow pouches, while 

 over the whole flock the setting sun threw a delicate 

 rosy hue. 



For so large and heavy a bird the flight of the 

 pelican struck me as being peculiai'ly graceful. A few 

 powerful flaps are given as the bird rises slowly o3 the 

 water, then the wings are outstretched and it skims 

 straight and swiftly along within a foot of the surface for 

 some hundred yards, then curving slightly upwards, it 

 flaps its wings again and is prepared for another long 

 floating flight. 



Before leaving the river and its attractive bii'ds, the 

 black-headed plover, |I or courser, a bird somewhat 

 smaller than the golden plover, deserves mention if 

 only on account of the interesting and historical habits 

 accredited to it. There can be little doubt that this 

 bird IS ihe "Tpoy^iXo;" of Htrodoius, who ascribed 

 to it the hahit of attpndinR erncoddes. and of 

 feeding in their open mouths. At least two naturalists 

 in modern times have actually observed the bird thus 

 act. Some ornithologists, however, are disinclined to 

 believe that it does really enter the crocodile's mouth, 

 and suggest that when a crocodile is lying with its mouth 

 wide open, a bird running about on the sand behind 

 the mouth would appear at a little distance to be 

 actually between the reptile's jaws. However this may 

 be it seems a pity now to discredit a habit which has 

 made the " crocodile bird " a celebrity for so long a time. 

 I am sorry to be unable to give any evidence on the sub- 

 ject. The bird was very common along the banks of the 

 White Nile, and we much admired its rapid and graceful 

 actions and its beautiful plumage of delicate blue-grey 

 marked with white and black, but we never saw it near 

 enough to a crocodile even to suspect it of engaging in 

 the laborious and risky task of picking the reptile's 

 numerous and merciless teeth. 



*S Leptoptilus crumeniferus, t'uv. 



»* Anastomus lamelligerus, Tcniiii. 



tt Telecanux onocrofalus, Linn. 



Xt Pluviamis agiipHux, Linn. 



Kote. — Tt iilionkl have been stater! in my i!r«l article (Knowledge, 

 April. 1901) that tlie pbcit.ogra]ihs from -nhich it was ilhistrated were 

 taken by Mr. C. F. C'ambiirn, one of tlie taxidermists who accompanied 

 me on the expedition. 



Bvittst) (!^rn(tt)oloa(fal Notes. 



Conducted hy Harry F. 'WiTnERBY, r.z.8., m.b.o.u. 



Early Appearance of the Nightjar in Hamp- 

 shire. — On May 5tli I put up a Nightjar near Burley, in 

 the New Forest. As is well known, the bird rarely arrives 

 in Eugland before the middle of May, and the oth of the 

 month is undoubtedly an unusually early date for its 

 ap])earance. Judging fnmi the experience of several 

 correspondents as well as from my own, the bulk of the 

 migrants have arrived this spring- at their usual dates. 

 The late spring in this country could of course have no 

 influence on birds coming from a distance, but the season 

 has been cold and liackward, seemingly, in the south of 

 Europe, and it is surprising what little influence this 

 has upon the regularity of the return of our summer 

 migrants. — Harry F. Witherby. 



Mimicry by the Butcherbird, — It has been said 

 that the Great Clrey Shrike imitates other birds for tlie 

 purpose of attracting them within range of attack (Yarrell, 

 British Birds; Ed. ""4, Vol. I., p. •2ul). Yarrell noticed 

 that the Red-backed Shrike or Butcherbird has a note 

 like that of the Housesixxrrow. In " The Evolution of 

 Birdsong," I suggested that this note might be the loud 

 " chell " or " tell " of alarm given by the Butcherbird, 

 and which is somewhat similar to a note of the Sparrow. 

 On the 5th of May, liowever, 1 obtained evidence support- 

 ing the idea of voluntary mimicry on the part of this bird. 

 In company with Mr. A E. W. Paine, of Swords House, 

 Leddington, Ledbury (a life-long observer of birds), I was 

 cycling across some open land, and saw within ten yards 

 of the road a Butcherbird on a post, evidently singing. 

 The bird seemed to fear no harm from cyclists, and con- 

 tinued its song while we passed. We both heard it give 

 in its warble very distinctly the "' twink " or " pink " of 

 the (!haffiuch. A thick hedge commenced at the spot, and 

 in the shelter of it we dismounted and listeued to the 

 curious babbling song of the bird, and heard it utter some 

 notes closely like those given by a Sparrow when singing. 

 One feature of the song (and I heard the same in a 

 captive Butcherbird) was the alternation of soft and loud 

 passages in one strain. A minute later a noisy cart rapidly 

 passing scared the bii'd to a distance, where he began to 

 feed. I watched him for some time through a telescope. 

 No other birds were near, except a few Sand Martins. — 

 Charles A. VVitchell, Charlton Kings, Cheltenham. 



Arrival of Swallows. — I can report the sight of my 

 first Swallows this year, on April Sth. The dates for 

 seven years past on which I have first seen Swallows here 

 are as follow :— 1895, April loth; 1896, April 12th; 

 1897. April 7th ; 1898, March 14th ; 1899, March 29th ; 

 1900, April 15th; and 1901, April Sth. I saw the first 

 Swifts this year on April 19th. — E. Sillence, Romsey. 



Ornithological Notes from Norfolk for 1900. By J. H. Gurnev, 

 F.z.s. (Zoologist, April, 1901, pp. 121-140). For many years 

 llr. Guruey has contributed to the pages of (jnr contemporary a 

 useful and interestmg record of the ornithological events occurring 

 during the year in Norfolk. As far as rarities were conc-rned, 190J 

 was luieventfiil. At the beginning of January a good many Bitterns 

 were reported. During Feliruary and March a very large number of 

 Little Auks were washed up on the East Coast. In 1895, it will be 

 remembered, there was a similar incursion all along our eastern 

 seaboard, but in 1900 the birds seem to have kept more together, and 

 most of them perished in Norfolk. Previously recorded irruptions 

 of the Little Auk in Norfolk have occurred in October, 1841 ; 

 December, 1848; November, 18H1. It is satisfactory to learn 

 that Spoonbills continue regularly to visit Norfolk in slightly 

 increasing numbers. With Mr. Gurucy's observation that the Tawny 

 Owl does not leave castings in its nesting hole we cannot agree, 

 having repeatedly found the reverse the case. 



