3350 The Zoologist — January, 1873. 



Abundance of Falco vespertimis. — " This pretty falcon strongly resembles 

 the hohby, both in form and habits, but is much more numerous. It usually 

 arrives in Damara and Great Namaqua Land about the raiuy season, and 

 again retires northwards upon the approach of the dry season. During these 

 annual visits it is exceedingly abundant, and may be counted by hundreds 

 and by thousands ; nay, their numbers at times exceed all belief. On one 

 particular occasion a friend of mine and myself attempted to form a rough 

 approximation to the number of these birds actually within sight, and of the 

 black- and yellow-billed kites, with which they appeared to be mixed up in 

 about equal proportions. Taking a small section of the sky, we came to 

 the conclusion', by counting and estimating, that there were at least ten 

 thousand individuals ; and, as the heavens above and all around us appeared 

 to be darkened by a living mass of kites and hawks, we set down the aggre- 

 gate number, immediately within our view, at fifty thousand, feeling at the 

 same time that we were probably below the mark." — P. 15. 



Still more remarkable than these multitudes of hawks, is the 

 discovery of a bird of prey (Machaeramphus Anderssoni of Giirney) 

 which feeds exclusively on bats. 



Hawk Feeding on Bats. — " Ou the 10th March, 1865, I obtained one 

 specimen, a female, of this singular bird, at Objimbinque, Damara Land. 

 It was shot by my servant, who observed another, — probably the male: I 

 imagine that I have myself observed it once or twice iu the neighbourhood 

 of Objimbinque just before dusk. When brought to me, I instinctively 

 suspected the bird to be a feeder at dusk or at night, and called out : " Whj', 

 that fellow is hkely to feed on bats ! " And, truly enough, so it turned out; 

 for on dissection an undigested bat was found in the stomach. And in 

 another specimen, subsequently killed by A.Kel, there were several bats iu 

 the stomach."— P. 23. 



We now arrive at a bird whose figure and character are familiar 

 to every ornithologist, although he may not have made acquaint- 

 ance with the living bird. The existence of such birds as the 

 secretary and the ^ariame seem to me exactly the link required to 

 support my view of the ailangement of birds, in which I proposed 

 to make the gymnogenous GrallaB follow the Accipitres. One 

 always likes to find a support to a favourite crotchet, even though 

 it be no stronger than a reed ; but neither our Author nor his 

 Editor alludes to that qitccsiio vexaln — the natural arrangement of 

 birds: and the pen-and-ink sketch I am about lo cite has a 

 different merit and attraction : it is from the life. 



Le Mangeur de Serpents. — " The secretary bird is found sparingly iu 

 Great Namaqua and Damara Land, and on the plains of Ondonga iu the 



