78 FRIENDS OF THE AGRICULTURIST 



Journal of the South African Ornithologists' Union, he 

 gives a succinct account of its usefulness as a locust 

 destroyer, asserting that not only does it devour both 

 the mature insects and voetgangers, but it also scratches 

 up and eats large numbers of their eggs. He instances 

 cases in which he . personally observed flocks of wild 

 Guinea fowl surrounding and devouring swarms of voet- 

 gangers. The Guinea Fowl also feeds on roots and 

 weed seeds, besides other insect pests such as termites 

 and the Uke. 



In its black plumage, speckled all over with round dots 

 of white, naked head and neck and a bony helmet, it is 

 a famiUar bird to nearly every Colonial. The Squeakers 

 — as the young flying birds of the year are called — are 

 void of the helmet, the top of the head being longitudin- 

 ally striped with pale rufous and dull black. The 

 feathers of the body have also a shade of tawny here 

 and there. 



It is exceedingly common in the tracts of bush-country 

 from the Eastern Cape Colony northwards to the Zambesi. 

 In the neighbourhood of Brandfort, Orange Free State, it 

 is very plentiful amongst some of the mimosa belts and 

 forms a favourite item in the Sportsman's bag. 



It is now also common in the eucalyptus plantations on 

 the Band. 



The Crowned Guinea Fowl is a bird that will appear and 

 gradually increase in a neighbourhood for some years, and 

 then suddenly die out. From the examination of specimens 

 shot, the cause of the disappearance is probably partial 

 extermination by the Wire-worm so common in ostrich veld. 

 About ten years ago these birds were plentiful in the imme- 

 diate neighbourhood of Grahamstown ; prior to that they 

 had not been seen for some years. Recently they have 

 gradually increased again. The nest photographed was 



