THE GROSBEAK 385 



pearance, the nest which I dissected had been inhabited for many 

 years; and some parts of it were much more complete than 

 others. This, therefore, I conceive nearly to amount to a proof 

 that they added to it at different times as they found necessary, 

 from the increase of the family, or rather, I should say, of the 

 nation or community." 



The tree usually selected for these nests is the kameel-doorn 

 or giraffe-thorn, which derives its name from constituting the 

 chief food of the beautiful cameleopard, and, on account of its 

 size and peculiar growth, having the foliage disposed from the 

 top downwards in umbrella-shaped manner, is a great ornament 

 to the arid wastes of South Africa. 



The instinct of the birds seems to have pointed out to them 

 that it is peculiarly adapted for the purpose, as its smooth and 

 polished bark effectually secures them from the attacks and in- 

 juries of all the snakes, lizards, and other reptiles which swarm 

 around their habitations, and if they could ascend the stem, 

 would be but too happy to suck the eggs and destroy the young. 

 Captain Harris having lost his way in the desert, and observing 

 large thatched houses resembling haystacks in many of the 

 trees, imagined that they had been erected by the natives, as a 

 defence against the lions, whose recent tracks he distinguished 

 in every direction, and ascended more than one in the hope of at 

 least finding some vessel containing water. 



Though far less ingenious, yet the nest of the Korwe (Tochus 

 erythrorynchus) is too curious to be passed over in silence. 

 The female having entered her breeding-place, in one of the 

 natural cavities of the mopane tree, a species of bauhinia, the 

 male plasters up the entrance, leaving only a narrow slit by 

 which to feed his mate, and which exactly suits the form of 

 his beak. The female makes a nest of her own feathers, lays 

 her eggs, hatches them, and remains with the young till they 

 axe fully fledged. During all this time, which is stated to be 

 two or three months, the male continues to feed her and the 

 young family. The prisoner generally becomes quite fat, and is 

 esteemed a very dainty morsel by the natives, while the poor 

 slave of a husband gets so lean and weak, that on the sudden 

 lowering of the temperature, which sometimes happens after a 

 fall of rain, he is benumbed, falls down, and dies. 



The first time Dr. Livingstone saw this bird was at Kolobeng, 



c c 



