340 PAEEIDa: ACTOPHILUS 



Swellendam and Colesberg (S. A. Mus.), Zwartkops Eiver near Port 

 Elizabeth (Eiekard), rare at King (Trevelyan) ; Natal — Clairmont, 

 near Durban (Stark and Millar), St. Lucia Lake in Zululand (Wood- 

 ward) ; Transvaal — Sabi River Plats in Lydenburg (Rendall), Mashu- 

 pan River in Lydenburg (W. Ayres) ; Transvaal — near Johannesburg 

 (Haagner) ; Bechuanaland — Nocana (Fleck), Lake Ngatni and 

 Botletli River (Andersson and Bryden), Koomoorooi Pan (Ayres) ; 

 Rhodesia — Pandamatenka (Holub), Peira on the Zambesi (Stoehr) ; 

 German South-west Africa— Okavango River (Andersson) ; Portu- 

 guese Bast Africa— Zambesi (Kirk and Alexander), Urema River 

 near Beira (S. A. Mus.), Inhambane (Francis). 



Habits. — This bird, to which Sir Harry Johnson has given the 

 appropriate name of Lily trotter, is remarkable for the extra- 

 ordinary length of its toes and claws, which enable it to run rapidly 

 over the surface of floating leaves and decaying vegetable matter ; it 

 is found in pairs or sometimes in small parties inhabiting stagnant 

 pools or still backwaters at the sides of rivers and lakes, especially 

 where water weeds abound ; it is a vivacious bird and by no means 

 shy, often allowing a near approach ; its flight is weak and seldom 

 far prolonged, it usually flutters over the surface of the pool with 

 its long legs hanging down, which gives it a clumsy appearance f it 

 feeds on insects and the seeds of water-plants, which it obtains by 

 turning over the floating vegetation. In the breeding-season the 

 male becomes very demonstrative, chasing the female from one side 

 of the pool to the other and uttering a series of hoarse guttural 

 notes, and battling with and driving off any intruding rival. 



Mr. Millar informs me that numbers of these birds are to be 

 seen throughout Natal frequenting the lagoons and pans. At 

 Clairmont, near Durban, in a vlei covered with water-lilies, quan- 

 tities of them breed, their nesting-season being from December to 

 February. The nest is composed of floating weeds gathered 

 together, being just sufficient to support the bird ; sometimes the 

 eggs even rest in the water. The clutch consists of four beautiful 

 shiny eggs with a very hard shell. The young recently hatched often 

 lie flat on the floating leaves of water-lilies to escape detection, and 

 may even be occasionally picked up in the hand without moving. 



The South African Museum is indebted to Mr. Millar for two 

 eggs of this bird obtained at Clairmont on December 4 ; they are 

 very glossy, long ovals, sharply pointed at one end, and are very 

 beautifully marked with scrolls of a very dark brown and a some- 

 what lighter shade intermingled on a pale ochraceous-brown 

 ground ; they measure respectively 1'34 x 0-84: and 1-29 x 0*88. 



