272 



ON SAFARI 



liarsh " Kva, kva," and a resonant mnsical call, clear as 

 the human voice, " Go 'way, go 'way " ; and the hand- 

 some purple- crested loury [Gallirex) with crimsoned 

 wing ; besides the curious mop-headed green loury, 

 Turacus corythaix. It is the first-named that is by 

 far the most troublesome. I acquit these birds of any 

 directly malicious intent when perpetrating their mis- 

 chiefs. Their food consisting of plantains, berries and 

 arboreal fruits, they have no conceivable interest either 

 in the big game or its hunters : yet should one of these 

 birds perceive a human being, it raises an outcry that 



TURACUS CONCOLOR. 



speedily brings up any other louries within hearing, all 

 vying with each other in strident clamour. Any game 

 within a mile at once decamps. 



Another bird-group equally abundant and character- 

 istic of the South-African bush-veld is that of the 

 shrikes (Laniidce). Far away in the wilderness, one 

 hears a not unmusical chorus ; gentle at first, the notes 

 grow louder and wilder till they climax in raucous key, 

 and the performers hurriedly depart, to alight in a mass 

 on some bare tree. Then one sees that they are magpie- 

 like birds, black and white, with very long tails. These 

 are sociable shrikes,^ and must be counted among the 



^ From a specimen brought home, I find that the correct name is 

 *' long-tailed pied shrike " {Urolestes melanoleucus). 



