26 FRIENDS OP THE AGRICULTURIST 



bird with the top of the head black, forehead and a long 

 eyebrow buff- white ; wings, tail, sides of face and neck, 

 and throat black ; rest of under-surface and rump region 

 buff. The female is a much duller bird, being more or less 

 of a general brownish-buff tint. Length, 7 inches. 



It is fairly common from the Eastern Cape Colony to the 

 Transvaal. At Grahamstown, Cape Colony and Bloem- 

 fontein. Orange Free State, it is fairly common, presenting 

 a conspicuous appearance as it sits on a rock and warbles 

 its loud, lively song. 



It is fond of rocky localities, buUding its nest under an 

 overhanging rock, or in a rat's hole, and laying three or 

 four eggs of a pale blue-green speckled with red-brown. 



They feed on insects of various kinds. 



Another familiar insect-eating species known throughout 

 the country is the little Bontrockie (Parti-coloured Coat), 

 as the Boers term it, the Stone Chat {Pratincola torquata). 

 The male in summer is black above except the rump regions, 

 which are white, chestnut and white below, the Mack feathers 

 taking a rufous edging during the winter months. The 

 female is browner and more sombrely plumaged. Length, 

 about 5f inches. 



The Bontrockie may be found flitting about the banks 

 of a spruit (stream), or perching on the ant-heaps and stones 

 of the open veld some distance from water. 



It usually nests under a tuft of grass growing on the 

 edge of a bank, generally overhanging water ; but some- 

 times under a tuft of herbage on a slope some distance 

 from the water. The eggs are usually three in number and 

 of a pale greenish tinge blotched with pale rusty-brown. 



The genus Saxicola containing some well-known birds is 

 a large one. 



