206 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



screaming loudly the while ? In Tiger Kloof, near Newcastle, 

 Keid found them numerous, and all apparently nesting. One 

 pair kept flying in and out of a hole in a rock just out of his 

 reach, regardless of his presence, and appeared to have young. 

 This was on the 11th November. 



Cypselus coffer, Licht., African White-rumped Swift. — First 

 observed near Newcastle on the 27 th October, afterwards fairly 

 common. Seen at Tiger Kloof in considerable numbers on the 

 11th November, in company with C. apus. A pair were breeding 

 in a nest stolen from Hirundo cucullata in the verandah of Mitchell- 

 Innes' Hotel, at Sunday's River, on tbe 17th November. 



Cypselus melba (Linn.), White-bellied Swift. — Visits the north- 

 western portion of the colony in considerable numbers, appearing 

 there early in September. As with C. apus, it is more than pro- 

 bable that they breed during their stay in South Africa, for Reid 

 shot a female with eggs very much enlarged on November 4th, on 

 the Incandu River. See Layard's remarks on this question, in 

 the ' Birds of South Africa,' both editions. Many of these fine 

 Swifts were seen daily in the vicinity of Fort Napier, Maritzburg, 

 between the 12th and 25th April, making their appearance regu- 

 larly every morning in company with C. ajms. Six were observed 

 flying about the city of Maritzburg on the 23rd August (R). 



Alcedo semitorquata (Swains.), Half-collared Kingfisher. — Not 

 common near Newcastle. One was shot by Lieut. Giffard, of " The 

 Welsh" Regt., in September, and others were seen occasionally 

 along the upper waters of the Incandu and its tributaries (R). 



Corythomis cyanostigma (Riipp.), Malachite-crested King- 

 fisher. — Exceedingly common on all the rivers, skimming along 

 like a little ball of blue fire just above the surface of the water. 



Ceryle rudis (Linn.), Pied Kingfisher. — Common on the In- 

 candu and other streams in the Newcastle district, and observed 

 at Rorke's Drift (breeding), Colenso, Estcourt, &c. ; in fact, 

 it seems generally distributed throughout the colony. Reid 

 found two pairs at the mouth of the Umgeni, near Durban, in 

 December. 



Ceryle maxima (Pall.), Great African Kingfisher.— "While 

 I was crawling through the bush at the mouth of the Umgeni 

 River, on the 24th December, in a vain attempt to stalk a wily 

 Curlew in the lagoon, one of these enormous Kingfishers flew just 

 over my head, but I had not time to get a shot at him" (R). 



