352 Mr. A. H. Evans — Bird-Notes 



River, where the banks were dotted with a splendid pink 

 Haemanlhus (?) above and clothed with a dense thicket of 

 palms and other trees below. Birds were constantly heard, 

 but we could never get a satisfactory sight of them, though 

 we put one (evidently off a nest) out of the crowded leaves 

 of a palm which defied all our attempts at investigation. 

 Our first Glossy Starlings (Lamprocolius melanogaster) were 

 seen near Cambridge. Our stay in Durban (August 22nd, 

 23rd), though short, was utilized by a visit to Lower 

 Umkomaas. Proceeding by train southwards down the 

 coast, we passed through the best-wooded country that we 

 had yet seen, where the sides of the railway were bright with 

 the glorious scarlet Hamanthus and the equally fine Kafhr- 

 baum or Coral Tree (Erythrina cajjra), while the fields of 

 sugar-cane were a striking feature of the district. The 

 coast, however, produced nothing better in the way of birds 

 than a few Larks, and here, as in many other places, the 

 size of our party kept every feathered creature at a distance. 

 I sat for an hour or two under trees in different places, but 

 saw little except one example of Necfarinia famosa and many 

 brilliant Swallow-tail and other butterflies. Mr. A. D. 

 Millar's collections were on view at Durban, but a heavy 

 thunderstorm prevented our taking full advantage of the 

 opportunity of examining them. At Maritzburg there was 

 no chance of exploring, though while at a great native dance 

 that took place at Henley I observed a few Pipits and Larks 

 on the grassy uplands. 



At Colenso matters were very different, for we slept in our 

 four trains at the station, and had plenty of time to explore 

 the immediate neighbourhood. Even while walking over the 

 battlefield in the afternoon (August 26th) we put up a good 

 many Larks and Pipits, and spent some time in unsuccessful 

 search for the nest of a pair of Crowned Lapwings (Ste- 

 yhanlbyx corunatus), which were in a state of great agitation. 

 Thence I crossed the railway-line to the broad belt of scrub 

 which fringes the Tugela River, and was delighted to find 

 it full of birds, though it was too late to make a detailed 

 examination that evening. I had time, however, to wade the 



