LOCUST BIRDS 13 



this was accomplished and the insects were ahout 2 or 3 

 feet from the ground, the flock of birds wheeled with the 

 rapidity of thought, the outer edges of the crescent con- 

 verging to the centre, and enclosing the insects in a living 

 circle. The startled locusts, in their half lethargic condition, 

 immediately settled again amidst a perfect hail of dropping 

 wings, and the birds would repeat the manoeuvre. 



Dr. Stark describes similar methods employed by the 

 Wattled StarUng in mid-air, differing slightly in the detail 

 of the attack. 



In the Central Transvaal we have noticed that the Pratin- 

 cole is exceedingly partial to flying ants, hawking them on 

 the wing after a rain, when these insects usually appear in 

 large numbers. The Bird's evolutions in mid-air are 

 exceedingly graceful to watch. 



Mr. Millar records having found a colony of the Eed- 

 wing Pratincole breeding in an old land in Natal. 



The fourth species of Locust Bird is vastly different from 

 the three preceding species, being a Stork — the White Stork 

 of Europe (the Stork of German " baby " fame) — Giconia 

 ciconia of science. It is also a summer migrant to South 

 Africa, and is irregularly distributed over the country, 

 being more or less dependent on the swarms of locusts 

 which it follows. Within the last two or three years some 

 score of birds with a metal ring on the leg, bearing a number 

 and the name of the institution that placed it there, have 

 been shot, or picked up dead, in South Africa, which proves 

 conclusively that birds hatched in North Germany wander 

 as far south as Basutoland and Cape Colony. We have also 

 noticed during the last winter or two that a few storks have 

 wintered over in South Africa, and others have reported 

 the same from various parts of the country. It breeds 

 chiefly in Holland and Germany. 



