412 Mr. W. L. Sclater on Birds coUcclcd 



It is essentially a ground-bird, and has many actions like a 

 Wbeatear and others similar to a Robin, while I have only 

 occasionally seen it perch on bushes or sticks. It is very 

 active, chasing insects like a Wheatear, and often, when (mly 

 wounded, will run down holes. I did not observe it breeding. 

 The soft parts are: — Irides deep brown; bill, legs and 

 toes black.] 



313. Saxicola familiaris. 



CC. Plettenberg Bay,Mch. (1) ; Z. Jususie Valley, Dec. 

 (2) ; Sibudeni, Nov. (2) ; Tv. Klein Letaba, Aug. (2) ; 

 Tui'floop, Meh. (2). 



The examples from the Transvaal have the black band 

 on the tail-feathers a good deal narrower than those from 

 Cape Colony. In this respect they approach S. falkensteini, 

 which ranges from the Zambesi Valley northwards. They 

 have been distinguished by Reichenow as /S. familiaris 

 hcUmayri ; but, as they are obviously only intermediate 

 between what can hardly be regarded as more than sub- 

 species, it does not seem worth while to recognize this 

 additional name. 



[This little Chat was noted in Namaqualand, the Knysna, 

 Zululand, and the Eastern and North-Easteru Transvaal, 

 but, except in Namaqualand, was not common anywhere. 

 It is a tame and confiding bird, and can often be seen 

 sitting about on heaps of stone, old iron, or wood around 

 habitations, whence it makes short flights and runs to 

 catch some insect ; where the country is wilder, it frequents 

 the rocky sides of the hills. It is an active species, and in 

 many ways reminded me of the European Redstart (Rutici/la 

 phoenicurus) . 



The soft parts are : — Irides hazel ; bill, legs and toes 

 dark brown. 



313 «. Saxicola familiaris galtoni. 



CC. Klipfontein, Apl. (1). 



A single skin of the Familiar Chat from Little Namaqua- 

 land seems closer to the Great Namaqualand form than to 

 that from the Cape. 



