G22 Lieut. C. G. Finch- Dnvies on [Ibis, 



very common during the summer months, but more so in 

 some years tlian in others- In the South-West Protectorate 

 I very seldom saw it, but on one occasion, in March 1916, 

 when travelling by train from Tsumeh, in the north, to 

 Windliuk, I saw numbers sitting along the telegraph-wires, 

 and others flying in a northerly direction. At Matatiele in 

 East Griqualand I had good opportunities of observing the 

 habits of this species, as large numbers used to frequent 

 the vicinity of the camp and were to be seen there daily. 

 When the day was still, with little or no breeze blowing, 

 they were to be seen sitting all along the telegraph-wires, 

 watching the ground below, and descending on any prey 

 they might see ; but when a breeze was blowing they 

 seemed to prefer to hunt in tlie air, and would be then 

 seen quartering the surrounding veldt, hovering for a few 

 moments here and there and sometimes swooping down to 

 the ground to pick up some grasshopper or other insect. 

 Their food consisted entirely of insects of various sorts, 

 the smaller ones eaten on the wing, the foot holding the 

 insect being brought forward to the bill, which was bent 

 downwards to receive it. It is very pretty to watch them 

 hawking after the winged termites, seizing them in their 

 feet in tiight, and rarely missing them. 



With legard to plumage-changes, I would note that 

 Sclater says that during the change from juvenile to adult 

 jjlumage of the young male, "the blue tail is gained by a 

 moult, but the blue head by a change of feather,'^ by the latter 

 apparently meaning that the feathers change colour without 

 moult. I fear I must dissent from this view — first, because 

 I am not amongst those who believe such a thing possible, 

 having, during an observation of some twenty-five years 

 or so, never come across a case of anything approaching it ; 

 and, secondly, I iuive f lequently met with young males which 

 had new blue feathers appearing among the old rufous aiul 

 black-streaked feathers of the young plumage. On the 

 other hand, 1 have met with several immature specimens 

 which might lead oue to suppose that the colour of the 

 feathers was changing from rufous to grey, as all the grey 



