4614 THE ZooL.ocist—SEPTEMBER, 1875. 
gray; tail broadly barred with black, gray and white. The secre- 
tary bird is scattered throughout the whole of South Africa: we 
often meet with pairs in the open country, where they add to the 
beauty of the landscape, their upright figures being seen dotting 
the grass veldt a long way off. It requires careful stalking to come 
up with them, being always on the alert, for although they seldom 
use their wings they soon leave their pursuer far behind by the 
strength of their powerful legs. To judge by the contents of the 
stomach of the above-mentioned, this bird must be of great service 
in clearing the land of hosts of snakes: we found the remains of 
four snakes, several lizards, two rats, and a number of locusts. 
The secretary bird builds a large nest of sticks, to which it 
returns every year and lays two large eggs, white, slightly spotted 
with red. 
Trogon (Trogon narina).—The trogon is conspicuous among the 
birds of Natal for its gaudy plumage: the upper parts and the fore 
part of the breast are shining green, below bright red; wings gray, 
quills brown; the length is one foot, of which the tail is seven 
inches. The favourite haunt of the trogon is the darkest parts of 
the forest, where it safely flits from bough to bough. During the 
breeding season it keeps up almost incessantly a loud mournful 
note. Its habits are bold and fearless: it sometimes alights on a 
branch close to you; but still there is some difficulty in procuring 
a perfect specimen, as the feathers are so loosely attached to the 
skin that the smallest charge of dust-shot is apt to separate them, 
This superb bird is a valuable addition to any collection; but un- 
fortunately its bright colours fade somewhat in this warm climate. 
They nest in a hole of a tree, and lay three or four white eggs, 
about the size of that of a pigeon. Layard says they feed on fruits 
as well as insects, but the stomachs of those we examined con- 
tained only beetles and caterpillars: we have frequently watched 
them darting from their roost after their passing prey, like fly- 
catchers. 
Goatsucker (Caprimulgus Natalensis).—This is the only species 
of goatsucker we have observed in this district, but others are said 
to be natives of South Africa: they appear to differ little from one 
another. This bird is nine and a quarter inches in length; its 
plumage is mottled very similarly to the others of its tribe, the most 
distinguishing feature being a broad buff-coloured collar. The 
stomach of one we shot to-day contained the elytra of a great 
