on Aviculture in South Africa.



223



storms are not over a dozen. One distinct advantage in the

keeping of insectivorous birds is—in the Bloemfontein district—

the great abundance of ant-hills. It is only necessary to arm a

Kaffir with a trowel and a bucket, to have him return within

half-an-hour with the bucket full of ant hill simply swarming

with white ants, their queer maggot-like larvae, and other crawl¬

ing things which live in ant hills, and of whose names I am

ignorant. All these are much appreciated by nearly all species,

in fact, I hardly know how the birds could exist without them.

In the summer months there are nests of black and of red ants

under nearly every stone, and their cocoons are greatly enjoyed,

as are also the grasshoppers, locusts, and caterpillars that are

present in huge variety.


After rain- and hail-storms, chief in the category of dis¬

advantages is the lack of bird dealers and bird shops, and the

difficulty of obtaining bird seed save in the mixed state, and the

impossibility of getting millet in the spray. Century food I

import from home, but such things as crissel and game meal are

unheard of out here, and inquiries for them are only met by un¬

comprehending stares.


I find it comparatively easy to trap my own birds, and have

also various small boy collectors living in the town or on farms

in the district, who bring in the captures as they get them. In

this latter way the various species of Serin are easily obtainable

at the average price of sixpence each. The insectivorous birds

are more difficult to get in good condition, as they are brought to

me nearly dead from terror and want of food, and are invariably

fed quite wrongly.


The Violet-eared Waxbill ( E. granatina) is a local and

scarce resident here, its chief haunts are along the banks of the

Modder River, which are covered with dense acacia and other

bush. At present I have four pairs, and three or four odd cocks,

all of which are now becoming fairly tame. The local name is

“ Rove Bird,” and of course I thought of Agafornis, though I

could not quite make out what they were doing in this part of

the world, and it took me a long time to realise what these so-

called Lovebirds really were.


I took a trip myself some weeks ago to the Modder River,



