CUCKOOS 279 



The Eed-chested Cuckoo {Cuculus solitarius) is kno'wn to 

 the Boers as the " Piet mynvrouw," from its call. It is dark 

 slate above ; throat grey, tinged with rufous ; lower throat 

 and breast rich rufous, the remainder of the under -parts 

 being pale buff barred with black. Length, 12^ inches. 



It migrates to South Africa during our summer, going 

 to Central and Northern Africa when the winter draws 

 near. In the sub-continent its range extends from Cape 

 Town, along the Southern portion of the Cape, through 

 Natal to Portuguese South East Africa. 



We have taken its egg — of a peculiar chocolate brown 

 colour — ^from the nests of the Cape Kobin and the Cape 

 Eock Thrush, these two birds being seemingly the two 

 usual hosts, although le Vaillant mentions in addition the 

 Noisy Robin-Chat, the Kappok-vogel and the Coryphea 

 Warbler ; and we have ourselves taken the egg from the 

 nest of the South African Stone Chat. Their eggs may be 

 searched for in November and December. In the photo- 

 graph of the Cape Rock Thrush (Fig. 8) the dark egg of the 

 Cuckoo is distinctly visible. 



The Black Cuckoo (Cuculus clamosus) is black glossed 

 with dark green, the tail with a narrow white tip. Length, 

 12J to 13 inches. 



It is also a summer migrant from North and Central 

 Africa, ranging in South Africa from Port Elizabeth and 

 Albany to the Northern Transvaal and across to German 

 South- West Africa. According to le VaiUant, this Cuckoo 

 uses the nests of the Wren Warblers in which to deposit 

 its egg ; as these nests are too small for the bird to lay 

 it therein, it probably deposits its egg on the ground and 

 conveys it to the nest in its bill. 



We have, on two occasions, taken a pure white egg of 

 this bird from the nest of the Sombre Bulbul, viz., in 



