224 BIRDS OF DAMAEA LAND. 



correctness of the arrangement by which they are classified 

 as an aberrant family of the Cuculidcs, from the other 

 divisions of which they, however, in some respects differ 

 materially. 



The white substance found by Mr. Andersson in the stomach 

 of the Little Honey-Guide appears, from the information given 

 by Mr. Layard {loc. cit.), to have been due to the pollen col- 

 lected by the bees on which the birds had fed. 



Mr. Andersson alludes to the allied species, Indicator major, 

 as not uncommon in the eastern portion of the Cape Colony, 

 and states that it sometimes falls a prey to the attacks of the 

 bees whose nests it seeks, in consequence of these insects 

 " fastening on and about the eyes of the bird."— Ed.J 



268. Centropus seiiegalensis(Linii.). Senegal Spur-heeled Cuckoo. 



Le Coucal Houliou, Levaillant's Oia. d'Afr. pi. 219. 

 Centropus BurohelKi, Layard's Cat. No. 487. 



Centropiis genegalends, Finsch & Hartlaub's Vogel Ost-Afrika's, 

 p. 526. 



This species is found abundantly at Lake Ngami, but 



I have observed it nowhere else. It occurs singly or in 



pairs, and perches on lofty trees — but also frequents 



reedy thickets, to the interior of which it usually retreats 



when alarmed or pursued. Its flight is heavy and clumsy. 



Its food consists of insects; and it is partial to locusts 



and grasshoppers. 



[Mr. Andersson identified the Centropus to which the above 

 remarks refer with C. Burchellii of Swainson, which, according 

 to Drs. Finsch and Hartlaub {loc. cit.), is not specifically 

 separable from C. senegalensis. I am unable to confirm this 

 identification from personal observations, as no specimens of 

 the bird were contained in Mr. Andersson's last collection, 

 neither have I had the opportunity of comparing a sufficient 

 number of specimens from other sources to be able to satisfy 



