24



Capt. Boyd Horsbrugh,



had made a complete mistake about this species. The two old

birds that were with him the day I found him were most certainly

C. rufus and so I can only conclude that his own parents were

hiding somewhere near.


The young bird quickly got his double rings and was in

complete adult plumage by the end of July, which is our cold

weather. He had no shelter from cold and thrived well in spite

of it, and as a matter of fact he was neither sick nor sorry during

the entire time I kept him in South Africa, although exposed

more or less to all weathers; in heavy rains we did try to shelter

him, but it was no easy matter as he was such a restless being,

and also he looked upon the shelters with some suspicion and

preferred to paddle about outside in the wet.


His juvenile plumage was exactly like the adult plumage

but lacked the black necklaces. Sclater says of it “ This

interesting little species is found all over the Karro districts of

the Cape Colony, the O.R.C., S.W. part of the Transvaal,

Bechuanaland, and German territory, but is not found in the

eastern part of Cape Colony, Natal, or Rhodesia as far as our

present knowledge goes.


It is found in open country in pairs or small parties, it runs

swiftly and is most difficult to flush. In most places it is more

abundant in the rainy season than in winter and is probably a

partial migrant. It feeds in the wild state chiefly on ants

(white) and, as I am informed by Major Sparrow, lays one egg

only on the bare ground in a slight depression.


With all respect to my friend Major Sparrow, my brother

and I have both found clutches of two eggs on various occasions.

The eggs are very handsome, being pale in colour thickly

covered with fine lines, both straight and curved, of a yellowish

brown ; the shape is a rounded oval, with but slight indication

of the pointed end, and the measurements average i’2 X I'o. I

found this bird to be semi-nocturnal in both the wild and the

tame state, the large and liquid eyes also point to this.


When adult, my bird began his evening song just after

sunset and our bridge evenings were enlivened by his mournful

whistle, which was surprisingly clear and loud for his size, and



