by Mr. Chnde Grant in South Africa. 13 



(luring my voyage home, hovering coutinuously round the 

 steamer and feeding on the scraps thrown overboard. It 

 is usually in pairs, and spends the greater portion of its 

 time in hawking around liomesteads and native kraals, 

 and stealing quantities of fowls and ducks. The flight is 

 gliding and graceful when circling over the ground in search 

 of food, but is a series of heavy flops when the bird is 

 moving from one place to another. The call is shrill, and 

 is generally only used when the birds are in pairs. 



The soft parts of an adult are : — Irides dark brown ; bill 

 and cere yellow ; legs and toes the same. In the young the 

 irides are brown ; cere and gape lemon-yellow ; bill dark 

 brown; legs and toes lemon-yellow.] 



536. Elanus c.eruleus. 



CC. Klipfontein,May (1); Auemous, Apl. (1); Z. Jususie 

 Valley, Dec. (1) ; Hluhluwe Stream, Aug. (2) ; Umfolosi 

 Station, Sept. (1) ; Tv. Wakkerstroom, Apl. (1); Legogot, 

 May (1). 



["Okosi" of the Zulus. 



The Black-shouldered Kite has been noted in every 

 locality visited, from Namaqualand on the w^est to the 

 Zambesi on the east. It is a most conspicuous little bird 

 and cannot be mistaken for any other species. It is usually- 

 seen either sitting on the topmost branch of a big dead tree 

 or slowly hawking within a few feet of the ground in search of 

 prey ; this consists mainly of mice, frogs, lizards, and insects, 

 especially large ground-beetles, and it will also take young 

 and half-fledged chickens, visiting homesteads and kraals 

 for that purpose and often paying the penalty with its life 

 in consequence. When sitting, the tail is often held erect, 

 giving the bird a peculiar appearance from a distance. 

 It is observed equally singly and iu pairs; its call is loud 

 and often repeated. 



The soft parts of the adult vary individually and are as 

 follows: — Irides red-brown; bill black; cere greenish 

 yellow ; round eyes and base of lower mandible yellow ; 

 legs and toes lemon-yellow. Another has: — Irides dark red; 



