258 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
impossible shot, which, though doing the bird comparatively little 
harm, caused a cessation of the visit at that particular spot. 
Although the visit to Pienaars River which I am describing 
was at the commencement of August and in the midst of the dry 
season, the social Whitefronted Weaver Birds (Plocepasser mahal) 
had commenced to build their nests. They are tame birds and 
gregariously occupied the branches of some trees a very short 
distance from the store where I stayed. They have also acheerful © 
note and were continually exercising their short song. The 
Crimson-breasted Shrike (Laniarius atrococcineus) i8 here very 
common, flies low in the bush, and is easily secured. At this 
season Blue-breasted Waxbills (Ureginthus cyanogaster) are also 
seen in small flocks, and add a fitful and brilliant colour to the 
little cleared spots they frequent in the bright sunlight. ‘The 
well-known and somewhat discordant cry of the Grey Plantain- 
eater (Schizerhis concolor) frequently breaks the silence of the 
bush, but these birds are wary and difficult of approach. They 
are generally seen three or four together in a high tree, but with 
crest erect they usually take flight before one can get within 
range. However, it is not necessary to give a list of all the birds | 
obtained, though reference may be made to the Lark-heeled 
Cuckoo (Centropus senegalensis), which is not uncommon near 
the Pienaars River. Many times, at a distance, I mistook this 
bird for an Accipiter, for its habits are somewhat solitary, and it 
perches and remains sitting stolidly in some tree near a clearing 
in the bush. 
In November, when the rains were frequent, and the summer 
season fully on, I found many more good birds in this neigh- 
bourhood. ‘Two fine Kingfishers, Halcyon albiventris and H. — 
cyanoleuca, were both obtained some distance from the river and 
in the bush ; the first named I also secured near Pretoria, likewise | 
in bush away from water. The Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis), 
which, on the other hand, is not at all uncommon, I never met 
with away from the banks of a stream. Three Cuckoos, Cuculus 
clamosus, Coccystes jacobinus, and C. serratus, were also far from 
scarce during this month, and were all secured. 
It was in this neighbourhood that, during my last year’s stay in 
the Transvaal, three fine Bateleur Eagles (Helotarsus ecaudatus), 
one male, two females, were trapped—steel trapped—as their legs 
