174 THE BALD IBIS. 



cipitate retreat, and seeks security at the bottom of 

 its subterranean dwelling. Hence it is that these 

 animals are seldom seen, even in those parts of the 

 country where they most abound. Like other 

 nocturnal animals, passing the greater part of their 

 lives in sleeping and eating, they become exceedingly 

 fat, and their flesh is considered wholesome and 

 palatable food." 



We came afterwards to the foot of a mountain 

 several hundred feet high, and almost perpendicular. 

 The sides were thickly covered with shrubs and 

 bushes, by means of which I was enabled to climb to 

 its summit, where I succeeded in shooting a very fine 

 specimen of the ibis calva, bald ibis, of which vast num- 

 bers appeared to be building their nests in the clefts of 

 the rocks. This bird is about the size of the ibis reli- 

 giosa ; its colour is a dark, bright green, having on its 

 wings a rich velvet patch of gold-colour feathers ; 

 the head and legs are entirely bare, of the most bril- 

 liant vermilion, and contrasting beautifully with its 

 glittering plumage. When alive, it is altogether one 

 of the handsomest birds in South Africa, but loses 

 much of its natural beauty when life is extinct. As 

 the sun, which during the day had been oppressively 

 powerful, began to decline, travelling became much 

 pleasanter ; and we continued our course until dark, 

 when the lightning, quivering upon the distant 

 mountains, indicated the approach of another storm. 

 Arriving at a farm-house, we determined to remain 





