114 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



Khoorhans (Bustards) and Francolins. ... To the eye his flight 

 is exceedingly fine, resembling the grand movements of an Eagle. 

 Curiously enough, however, his evolutions in the air are exceed- 

 ingly weak. He has no staying power, and in many instances has 

 been captured by greyhounds, which, after keeping the bird con- 

 tinually on the wing for some time, are able to run it down when 

 finally forced to alight from sheer fatigue, and no longer able to 

 rise again. 



" Over the surface of the great sun-baked flats continually float 

 Eagles, Hawks, and Harriers in great variety. On its dams of 

 water are found the Egyptian Goose, the Cape Shoveller, the 

 Pochard, several species of Plovers and little waders ; whilst in 

 the early morning the Namaqua Sandgrouse come to the margins 

 in large numbers to drink in company with Pigeons, and that 

 most exquisite little creature the Dwarf Dove. . . . But perhaps 

 the most characteristic birds of this part of the country are 

 the Koorhans, or Bustards, pre-eminently associated with South 

 Africa, for they are everywhere en evidence, cheering with their 

 wild goose-like notes the heart of the sportsman who is stranded 

 in the wilderness; for they supply a want, in the shape of food, 

 which in their absence would be keenly felt." 



This description conveys a very good idea of the author's 

 style, and of the nature of the country in which his observations 

 were chiefly made. 



The following remarks on the variation in the size of Antelopes 

 in different parts of Africa are worth repeating: — 



" The Antelope attains to the finest size and head in the 

 vicinity of Kilimanjaro in north-east Africa, and the smallest in 

 Nyassaland. . . . Possibly the very best heads of Pallah killed 

 on the southern bank of the Limpopo may compare favourably 

 with those of Masailand, but as a rule they are far inferior, and 

 I fancy every year sees a deterioration in the horns of the southern 

 form. . . . This increase in size of heads of the Pallah in their 

 extreme northward range is very remarkable, for, as a rule, both 

 in Southern and Central Africa, the tendency of the animal is to 

 become smaller both in body and horn as higher latitudes are 

 reached. The difference is hardly noticeable in the fine Koan 

 and Sable Antelopes, but in the case of the Koodoo, the Reed- 

 buck, the Bushbuck, the Springbuck, the Eland, the Water- 

 buck, and the Gemsbuck, it is certainly most marked. Taken 



