cud of the Colony, althougli Mr. F. E. Surtees, wlio has made a special study of these 

 birds, tells us that he procured it iu 1862. About the Berg lliver we found it not un- 

 common in September 1869, breeding- in the river-banks and tbe sides of the ditches 

 along the road to Malniesbury. It tunnels a hole about three feet long, of the size of a 

 man's arm, inclining upwards, and the eggs (four or five) are pure white and rather 

 sharp at the thin end. Axis, 10'" ; diam. 6"'." 



Mr. Ayres gives the following note respecting the bird in Xatal : — ' These birds 

 I only found inland. Their flight much resembles that of the Hollers, and they utter 

 a loud chattering note whilst flying. The specimen sent I shot in Tebruary near 

 Pietermaritzl3urg ; it is a heavy, large-siz;ed Swallow, solitary and scarce. The stomach 

 contained good-sized beetles, somewhat broken up.' Mr. T. E. Buckley obtained a male 

 bird in the Drakensberg Mountains during his journey to the Matabili country. He 

 observes : — ' A summer migrant apparently, as I only saw them on our return journey ; 

 they were not particularly abundant, a few pairs only being seen together in this one 

 spot.' " It is to be noted, however, that Mr. Seebohm considers that the present species 

 is a resident in iS'atal, and remains there during the winter months. 



Colonels Butler and Feilden and Captain Savile Held, in their joint paper on the 

 ornithology of Natal, observe : — - 



" First noticed in the Newcastle district early in October, after which it was fairly 

 abundant, frequenting rivei'-bauks and 'vleys.' It has a very noticeable flight, less 

 jerky and more vigorous than that of its congeners. Eeid shot a fine female specimen 

 when duck-shooting at ' Spoonbill ' Vley, near the Buffalo. They appeared to be going to 

 breed in November, in holes in the river-banks, but we did not meet witli any occupied 

 nests." 



In the Transvaal, Mr. Ayres has recorded the species as a summer visitant to thi' 

 neighbourhood of Potchefstroom, and he also found it tolerably common during thi' 

 summer months about Lydenburg, where it was evidently breeding along the l)anks ol' 

 tlie river. He also observed it in the immediate gold-fields, l)ut not so ])lcntifull\ . 

 During the late Mr. J. S. Jameson's expedition to Mashona Land, the species was aho 

 met with, but we arc not aware that its occurrence has been noticed in any portion of 

 Eastern Africa to the north of the Zamljesi. 



In South-western Africa it has been procured by Senor Ancliiela at Caconda in 

 Bcnguela, and the British Museum has a specimen procured l)y IMr. Alfred Heatli at 

 Kinsembo in Angola. Messrs. Lucan and Petit met with the speeii's al Chiiiehonxo on 

 the Lower Congo in April, and in tln^ British ]\[useuni is a s[)eeinien frun: Cahoon, 

 ol)tained l)y one of the collectors of the Maison Verreaux. 



It was met with on one occasion by Mr. K(Milenians when on Priiiee'> inland with 

 Dr. Dohrn. His note is as follows : — 



" I observed this species for several days in Prince's Island. 'I'lie lli'sl time was in 

 •luiie, when I round a pair living aloiii;- the shores of the li:iy whieh is near the town of 

 tile island. Thev were verv tame, and were continunllv restinir on tlie twiu^s nf a small 



