124 



THE OOLOGIST 



South African Shrikes 



(Family Lanidoe) 



There are 20 varieties in this coun- 

 try, viz: 



Shrike, Long-tailed, Urolesbes Mel- 

 anolencus, Dutch, etc., nickname; 

 Fiskal, Lanius collaris, Lachsman 

 Jackhanger; Red-backed, collaris; 

 Brubree, Nilaus brubree; Black-head- 

 ed Bush, Telephonus senegalus, Inqui- 

 pan in Zululand; Tchagea, tchagea; 

 Three streaked, Austrialis; Puff- 

 backed, Dryoscopus cubla, Snow-ball 

 Shrike; Greater, furugincus; Crimson 

 breasted Lavicarius Atrococcincus ; 

 Bakbakiri, Gutturalis, Kokcvie Bobma- 

 kiri; Four colored Bush, Quadricolor; 

 Ruddy-breasted, Rubiginosies; Olive, 

 Olivaccus; Orange breasted, sulphur- 

 cipectus; Southern Grey-headed, Mal- 

 conotus hypopyrehus, Spook Vogel; 

 Zambesi Green, Nicator gullaris; 

 Prionops, Sigmodus retzii; Tricolor, 

 prionops talacoma. 



Of the above I have, so far, dis- 

 covered only 2, viz, the Fiskal and the 

 Bakbakiri. 



Fiskal Shike. 



Lanius Collaris 



(called by the Dutch and colonials 

 "Jack hangers" in the cape provinces 

 and Lachsman in the Transvaal) is the 

 commonest and most widely distribut- 

 ed variety. It is brownish-black above 

 with a white patch on each wing and 

 is white below. It is very conspicuous 

 during its flight, and has then the ap- 

 pearance of a small Magpie. Length 

 of bird, 8 inches. It builds a nest cup- 

 shaped of reeds, grass, string, etc., 

 which is lined with feathers, and 

 which is generally to be found in 

 small bushes, such as Rhenostce or 

 furze. It is never far from the ground, 

 some being within a few inches. The 

 usual clutch is 3, but I found 2 nests 

 with 4 each. The eggs (average size 

 .8 x .5) are of a pale greenish tint 

 marked with pale brown spots with 

 purplish blotches at the larger end. 



The bird well fulfills the role of 

 Butcher Bird and the vicinity of the 

 nest is usually a veritable shamble of 

 grasshoppers, lizards, and insects, 

 which are impaled on the long thorns 

 of the Mimosa, or sometimes on a 

 barbed-wire fence (since war began). 

 It has a great liking for Canaeias and 

 other small captive birds, and in near- 

 ly every instance where a bird is kept 

 as a pet in this country, there is a 

 double cage so as to prevent the Fis- 

 kal from perching on the wire and lur- 

 ing the luckless inmate to the edge 

 and then decapitating it through the 

 bars. I read an amusing incident in 

 a Bird Book here which shows the 

 total ignorance of the average South 

 African with regard to bird life. An 

 ornithologist who lived in Bloemfor- 

 tein was one day asked by a friend 

 to come and shoot a bird that had just 

 killed one of his canaries. On his ar- 

 rival at his friend's house the latter 

 pointed to a Fiskal which was sitting 

 on the railing and said, "Don't shoot 

 him, he is so tame, those are the 

 brutes," and pointed to a couple of 

 harmless Bulbuls which were hopping 

 about the branches of a tree close 

 by. 



BAPBAKIRI SHRIKE: Laniarius 

 Gutturalis (called by the Dutch Koke- 

 vic and by the Colonials Bobmakiri) is 

 also a common variety. The name 

 "Kokevie" is supposed to be from its 

 call, though amongst the numerous 

 sounds emitted by this peculiar bird, I 

 have so far failed to detect anything 

 that resembles this. The male is a 

 handsome bird and easily recognizable 

 by its yellow and green plumage, and 

 black chest-band. Its length is SV 2 

 inches. The female is slightly smaller 

 and of duller plumage. The nest is 

 cup-shaped and neatly woven with 

 twigs and grass and lined with smaller 

 twigs and fine grass, the interstices 

 being filled up with mud. Like the 



