Birds of Gazaland, Southern Rhodesia. 295 
inquisitive, and its curiosity appeared to be first aroused by 
the metallic spots on the wings of the Tympanistrias ; these 
it attacked, plucking out the coloured feathers, and on finding 
that no resistance was made, proceeded to completely strip 
the backs of its victims and to attack the Haplopelias. . It 
has thus, from time to time, killed a good many of the Doves, 
apparently out of sheer exuberance of spirits, for it never 
attempts to eat either the feathers or the birds themselves. 
Just after sunset it becomes particularly lively and aggressive, 
taking long hops from perch to perch, crowing, and giving a 
peck here and a peck there to each of the Doves, already 
sleepy and settling down for the night, as it passes: then 
it returns, never assailing any individual persistently, but 
finally sometimes felling one by dint of repeated attacks— 
for they merely sit still and cower. When one falls to 
the ground the Touraco descends, gives it the coup-de-grdce, 
in the form of two or three sharp blows on the back 
of the head, and then resumes its sport. It never attacks 
the Roller, the Parrot, or the Bulbuls, having found 
probably that these birds resent its first attempts in that 
direction. It feeds readily from the hand and, after a 
meal, retires to some higher branch and there sits, puffed 
out and lethargic, with its head well down between its 
shoulders, making a continual slight rasping noise, com- 
parable perhaps to snoring, for half an hour or more: 
when in this condition it greatly enjoys having its breast 
stroked. Not infrequently it will eat a few small grass- 
hoppers; but it is clumsy with regard to the larger locusts, 
going about and bruising them on the branches somewhat 
after the manner of an insectivorous bird, but usually letting 
them drop after a few seconds. When annoyed, or hungry 
and excited by the sight of food, it will utter a loud quick 
“ kd-ka-kd-ka-kd !,” a note common to both Touracos, and 
frequently heard in the forest. It is exceedingly tame, but 
when outside the aviary will not come to the hand so readily 
as would my 7. livingston, seeming to take an impudent 
delight in teasing its pursuer. Its running powers are 
remarkable: being at large on one occasion when I had to 
