THE STILT-WALKERS. 63 



brown. The length is twenty and the breadth forty inches ; the wing measures eleven inches and two- 

 thirds and the tail six inches. The female differs in no respect from her mate. 



This remarkable species inhabits all the central and southern portions of the African continent, 

 including Madagascar ; and is also met with in Southern Arabia, but is nowhere numerous. 



" The Hammer-heads," says Layard " are strange, weird birds, frequenting ponds, marshes, rivers, 

 and lakes, flitting about with great activity in the dusk of the evening, and preying upon frogs, small 

 fish, and similar fare. At times, when two or three are feeding in the same small pool, they execute a 

 singular dance, skipping round one another, opening and closing their wings, and performing strange 

 antics. They breed on trees and rocky ledges, forming a huge structure of sticks, some of them of 

 considerable thickness. These nests are so solid that they will bear the weight of a large heavy man 

 on the domed roof without collapsing. The entrance is a small hole, generally placed on the most 

 inaccessible side. The pure white eggs are from three to five in number. On my late friend Jackson's 

 farm, at Nels Poort, there is a singular rocky glen between two hills. In this spot a beautiful 

 permanent spring, called ' Jackal's Fountain,' takes its rise. Of course, in consequence, there are a few 

 wild almond and other trees ; indeed, the place is a little oasis amid the barren mountains, and a 

 favourite resort for hyaenas, jackals, leopards, and other wild animals. On the ledges of the rocks in 

 this secluded spot a colony of Hammer-heads have built for years. Some of the nests are quite 

 inaccessible, whilst others can be reached with a little trouble. I counted six or eight within fifty 

 yards, all exhibiting the same form and structure, and some of them containing at least a large 

 cartload of sticks. About some that I visited I found brass and bone buttons, bits of crockery, 

 bleached bones, &c. Mr. Jackson told me that if a ' tottie ' lost his knife or tinder-box on the farm, 

 or within some miles of the place, he made a point of examining these nests, and frequently with 

 success ; the occupants, like die Bower Bird of Australia, embellishing their dwellings with any 

 glittering or bright-coloured thing they can pick up. In the karroo between Worcester and 

 Robertson I saw a nest placed on the ground on the side of a trifling rise ; it was at least three yards 

 in length, by one and a half across, with a small entrance-hole at one end." From Jules Verreaux we 

 learn that these remarkable structures contain three distinct chambers, the partitions of which are 

 carefully formed, like the outer walls, of twigs and clay most artistically worked together, and entered 

 by a hole just large enough to admit the body of the bird. Of these compartments the hindermost 

 is the largest, and so raised as to remain dry should heavy rain penetrate the outer parts of the nest ; 

 so excellently, however, is the entrance constructed, that such accidents but rarely occur, or, if water 

 should break through, are readily and at once repaired. The large back chamber is covered with a 

 soft bed formed of various vegetable materials, for the reception of the eggs, which are hatched by the 

 united attentions of both parents ; the centre apartment serves as a pantry, and usually contains a 

 goodly supply of provender ; while the small outer compartment is employed as a guard-room, from 

 which a strict watch is kept in case of approaching danger, the vigilant owner, according to Verreaux, 

 lying flat on the ground as he reconnoitres, and keeping his head protruded through the entrance-hole. 

 The young when first hatched are almost naked, with but a very slight development of greyish brown 

 down. They grow slowly, and are tended with much affection by their parents, who feed them 

 principally at early morning and evening. 



The STORKS (Ckonim) are stoutly-built birds, with thick beaks, long legs, and short toes. 

 The bill is long, straight, and conical, occasionally slightly curved upwards, and compressed towards 

 its tip ; the legs are long, powerful, and usually covered with scales ; the toes are short : of these die 

 inner and centre toes are only slightly connected, while the outermost and middle toes are united 

 by a web as far as the first joint; the claws are thick and stumpy. In the long broad wing the third 



