( 165 ) 



ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NATAL. 

 By Majohs E. A. Butler and H. W. Feilden, and Capt. S. G. Reid. 



Much has already been written on the Ornithology of Natal, 

 but the old saying " everj T little helps" is especially applicable 

 to the study of birds ; and it would have been contrary to human 

 and ornithological nature if we, who found ourselves condemned 

 to a life of comparative idleness for months at Newcastle, owing 

 to the unexpectedly peaceful results of the operations against the 

 Boers, had not devoted our spare time to our favourite science. 



The aggregate results of our labours we now present in the 

 form of a catalogue, and we trust that they will serve to throw 

 some further light on the geographical distribution of certain 

 species, and in this respect form a supplement to Mr. T. Ayres' 

 valuable contributions to the Ornithology of Natal, which appeared 

 in ' The Ibis' in 1860 and following years. 



Newcastle was our head-quarters from March to November, 

 1881, and most of our work was carried on from that miserable 

 town, a most unfavourable position for collecting ; but we made 

 several journeys and expeditions to other parts of the colony, 

 which afforded us many additional species. We were much struck 

 by the uncertain and apparently erratic breeding of some of the 

 Natal birds. Nests were found in winter as well as in spring and 

 summer, and it was impossible to say at what time some of the 

 species were going to breed. In Capt. G. E. Shelley's paper, 

 " Three Months on the Coast of South Africa," in ' The Ibis' for 

 January, 1875, he mentions having found several birds nesting at 

 Durban in March and April, equivalent to September and October 

 in northern latitudes. Would not these breed a second time in the 

 summer months, November and December, and do the majority 

 of species in Natal follow this law, or were these instances merely 

 accidental ? 



Our notes on Striae capensis, Cypselus melba, C. apus, Columba 

 phceonota, and Scopiis umbretta refer to similar cases, and though 

 we are unable to prove the existence of any systematic double- 

 breeding, the facts remain and afford a most interesting question 

 for future solution. 



The nesting of Falco biarmicus, Ardea goliath, Platalea 

 tenuirostris, Geronticus hagedash, &c, will doubtless prove of 



