NOTES FROM NATAL. 343 



I was squatting in a vley within ten yards of a party of them for 

 a quarter of an hour, and after listening to their notes all this 

 time I could only make these out to resemble 'aan-aan— nor-aan,' 

 uttered very softly and plaintively" (R). 



Ardea goliath , Rupp., Goliath Heron. — Butler and Reid had the 

 good fortune to meet with this grand Heron nesting in a remote vley 

 near the junction of the Ingagane and Buffalo Rivers, just over 

 the Transvaal border, on the I 7th October. As the account may 

 be of some interest, we venture to transcribe from Butler's note- 

 book as follows:— A rde a goliath, male; length 5 ft.; wing25|-in.; 

 tail 8£ in; bill in front 7% in., from gape 10 in. ; expanse of wings 

 7 ft. 3£ in.; legs and feet black; bill slaty black; iris bright 

 yellow; orbital skin plumbeous. Nest with three fresh eggs 

 situated in the centre of a vley, and placed upon the top of a patch 

 of green sedge beaten down by the wind and rain, and raised some 

 two feet above the level of the water ; composed of dry sedge and 

 reeds, and lined with dark-coloured sedge and a species of 

 creeping weed— very flat and about two feet in diameter. The 

 old bird raised himself off the nest as we approached, and walked 

 slowly away, erect, for a few yards before taking flight; and, 

 after remaining away for a few minutes, returned to the nest, 

 when an unsuccessful long shot prevented him from settling. 

 He only flew, however, for some 500 or 600 yards, and after a 

 careful stalk we winged him; on being wounded he became 

 excessively savage, tearing up the grass with his enormous bill 

 and showing every inclination to fight to the last, so we had to 

 despatch him with a charge of small shot. The female was not 

 observed near the nest, though, oddly enough, another Heron, 

 Ardea cinerea, was feeding within a few yards of it on our first 

 approach. Eggs of the usual Heron type, bluish green, without 

 gloss, nearly oval and equally pointed at both ends, 2'8 in. by 

 2-0 in. Rather a small egg for such a large bird, though 

 considerably larger than the eggs of A. cinerea (B). One seen by 

 Reid at Calleba's Laagte on the 15th November, very shy, and 

 quite unapproachable. 



Ardea cinerea, Linn., Common Heron.— Frequently met with, 

 singly, in the vleys round Newcastle; always very shy. Not 

 found breeding. 



Ardea melanocephala, Vig. & Childr., Black-necked Heron.— 

 Feilden obtained a female specimen at the Ingagane River on the 



