154 KLOOF AND KARROO. 



is undoubtedly correct, for Naroekas Poort lies only 

 a few miles from the Gamtoos or Groote River, and 

 this hawk is found in other parts of the Eastern 

 province. It has become the fashion to sneer at Le 

 Vaillant as a mere fabricator of absurd stories 

 concerning birds and their habits ; but we must 

 remember that Le Vaillant did, at a time when the 

 Cape was a dangerous and almost unexplored country, 

 actually discover, and accurately record, very many 

 of the birds of South Africa, birds which to this day 

 are distinguished by his name ; and for this work 

 we ought to be duly grateful. The hawk known as 

 Melierax gabar, was fairly common in our neighbour- 

 hood. This is a light brown hawk, the darker colour 

 on the back changing to grey upon the throat, and 

 white lower down ; we always found it in particular 

 in a deep bushy kloof or gorge where small birds 

 were plentiful. The harriers were not very well 

 represented in our mountains, but as they are 

 generally found in low marshy spots, this is not to be 

 wondered at. The only specimen I saw was one of 

 the species called by Le Vaillant " le grenouillard " 

 {Circus ranivorus) . This specimen was shot near the 

 river which ran through our valley, where I expect it 

 was hunting for fish or frogs. There were several of 

 the owl family in our neighbourhood, but the only 

 members definitely distinguished were the large- 

 eared owl {Bubo capensis), Le moyen due of Le Vaillant, 

 and the common white owl {Strix affinis). 



Our principal day for noticing quietly such of the 

 raptorial birds of the Colony as favoured us with 

 their presence was Sunday, a day which, in the more 

 remote farmhouses (where church is, as was the case 

 with us, some sixty or seventy miles' distant), hangs 



