98 
I'isits to Mciiihcfs' Ai'iar'ics. 
" favouiitc I'cctliny places; and though when disluibcd, they leave those 
•■ for .1 liiiH-. and take up their abo.'.c .iniong the brushwood with which the 
" hank^. of ilic river were more or less covered, they invariably returned 
" to llu- haunts iliey had left when the cause w^hich had led them to remove 
" cea.scd i(i exist. While lodged among the reeds they were almost 
" incessantly in motion; and from their being generally associated in great 
" numbeis, the noise occasioned, partly by their tlittijig from one stem to 
" another or climbing, and partly by the harsh cries they uttered, more 
" especially on the a])pe.irance of danger, rendered even a temporary resi- 
" dence in the vicinity of their haunts (juite disagreeable. Though they 
" evidently preferred as resorts, the situations described, yet. where reeds 
" did not occur, they were occasionally found among brushwood remote 
" friiin rivers : and in these positions they also displayed an extremely 
" restless disposition ; scarcely were the)' observed to enter a bush or thicket 
" before they were seen leaving it on the opposite side, for an adjacent one. 
■■ Though such was their common jiractice, there appeared times when they 
" were less disposed to hasty changes, and when they were to be noticed, 
" not simply following a tortuous course, but even ascending and descending 
"among the branches; nay, even visiting the ground below and around 
■■ the bushes. .\s far as we had opportunities of judging, they feed 
" exclusively upon insects: those among reeds seeming to have committed 
" great havoc among the larvae of GryUidae, etc., while those among the 
■ brnshwood appearing principallv to have fed upon coleopterous insects." 
I noticed Mrs. Burgess" pair of birds were very impatient 
of observation, and it was very difficult to get a glance of thern 
for tlie puri)ose of noting contour, colouration, etc. Tliey were 
not noisy, nor yet boisterous, Init gave evidence of being of a 
shy and retiring demeanour. 
Indian birds of similar habits do well in captivity upon 
insectile mixture and live insects, and I have seen them partaking 
of milk-sop, as most purely insectivorous species will do. 
PiKD Babbler {Cratcvopns hicolour): This species is 
about the size of a Thrush, and its colouration is black and white, 
and is consequently a striking bird, though less so than an 
English I'ied l^>lackbird wliich occupied the same flight. 
This species is of very similar habits, in its native haunts, 
as the Jardine's Babbler, consequently only the main points need 
be noted, also gleaned from Layard and Sharpe's Birds of 
Africa. 
They go in flocks from tree to tree, following each other 
almost in single file. When one conuiiences its peculiar sort 
of chuckling the others follow suit, till the noise becomes almost 
deafening. They have a skimming sort of flight. It is more 
lre(|uently lound aiiKjng low bushes on the drx plains than 
