2 THE SECRETART ON THE TRANSVAAL BUSTARD. [Jan. 19, 



month of December 1903 were 54 in number. Of these 19 were 

 acquired by presentation and 35 were received on deposit. The 

 total number of deaths during the same period was 130. 



The Secretary exhibited two skins of adult male specimens of 

 Trachelotis harrovii, the common cinnamon- coloui'ed Bustard of 

 the Transvaal, and made the following i-emai-ks on them : — 



These fine skins wei'e sent to me by Captain Richard Ciuwshay, 

 F.Z.S., who shot them at Piet Retief, Transvaal, and at his re- 

 quest are going to the National Collection. Captain Crawshay 

 writes that these birds, although very common at Piet Retief, are 

 extremely wary and cunning, but if taken unawai-es may be 

 approached by moving I'ound them in lessening circles. At sun- 

 rise and sunset their sonorous call " chakwaka ; kwaka" may be 

 heard on all sides, but the liiixls themselves ai'e seldom seen and 

 are silent by day and night. Captain Ci'awshay observed that the 

 feet and bills of the birds had a sti-ong odour of formic acid, and 

 he believes fi'oni examination of the contents of the stomachs that 

 they feed lai-gely on termites and red ants. I have myself care- 

 fully examined the stomachs of two specimens which he was kind 

 enough to send me. That of one specimen was full of Indian corn, 

 with i-emains of some pointed leaves, and a numbei- of broken 

 fragments of lai-ge, yellowish-red ants. The stomach of the other 

 specimen was filled by a bi'own mass of about the appearance and 

 consistency of shag tobacco, and was composed of vegetable fibi'es 

 with innumeiable fi'agments of small ants and some pieces of the 

 integument of beetles. 



I have compared these skins carefully \\ith the small collection 

 at the Natui-al Histoiy Musemn. There is a good deal of 

 variation in the coloration of adult males, lu most of the 

 specimens the cinnamon- brown of the back of the neck is con- 

 tinued some little way between the shoulders, but in one specimen 

 the dusky colour extends to the beginning of the neck. The 

 webs of some of the iunei' primaiies ai'e white i-athei- than yelloAV. 

 T. harrovii appears to be closely similar to T. senegalensis. In the 

 British Museum Catalogue of Birds (vol. xxiii. 1894, pp. 310- 

 312) there is some confusion as to the colouring of the inner 

 primaries of 2\ senegalensis, which, in the description of that 

 bird, are coii-ectly stated to have white or pale tawny on the inner 

 webs, while latei', in the desci'iption of T. harrovii, it is stated that 

 " some of the innei- piimaries are marked with sandy coloiu' at 

 the base of the inner web, whei-eas they are entii'ely black in 

 T. senegalensis." In the sj^ecimens of both sjjecies that I have 

 examined, the colouring of these feathei's is alike, white or pale 

 tawny on the inner webs. It is given as a specific distinction, 

 that in T. harrovii the tail-feathers are devoid of the second band 

 of black across the dorsal surface. These feathers vary in 

 T. harrovii ; in one of my specimens the f eathei-s have the bi-oad 

 black tip and a second band of black highei- up, pi'ecisely as in 



