1920.] South African Accipitres. 617 



47. Machserhamphus anderssoni (Gurney). Aiulcrssoii's 



Pern. 

 I have never met with this rare species, and have notliiug 

 to say about habits or plumage. The only South African 

 Museum which possesses specimens is that in Durban^ 

 where, as I understand from the Dii-ector, there are two 

 specimens, shot near tliat place. 1 have not so far been 

 able to examine these specimens. 



48. Pernis apivorus (Linn.). Honey- Buzzard. 



I have not met with the Honey-Buzzard in South Africa, 

 where it appears to be rare. All the South African killed 

 specimens I have heard of have been either young or 

 immature birds. 



So much has alieady been written by Gurney, Dresser, 

 and others on the extremely variable plumage of the young 

 and immature birds of this species, that it is not necessary 

 for me to do more than mention the matter here. I would 

 like to draw attention to a rather curiously coloured 

 specimen shot by Mr. Austin Roberts of the Transvaal 

 Museum, in his garden in Pretoria. In this specimen the 

 whole of the head, neck, and under parts are of a bull' 

 colour, each feather with a dark slate streak ; there is a 

 dark moustache-mark on each side of the throat. The rest 

 of the upper surface is more or less normal, except that each 

 feather is tipped with buff, and the wing-coverts are parti- 

 coloured, the outer web dark brown, the inner buff-coloured. 

 The tail-bars are somewhat distorted and the forehead 

 is white. A very similar coloured specimen of P. ptilo- 

 rhynclms is figured by Schlegel in his ' Volk Vogels etc' 



49. Baza verreanxi (Lafr.). South African Cuckoo-Falcon. 

 1 have found this specie-^ not uncommon about the bubh 



and forest country in eastern Pondoland, but owing to its 

 habit of usuall}^ being found in rather thick cover, I 

 have not been able to observe much of its habits. Judging 

 by the contents of the stomachs of those 1 have shot, they 



2 r2 



