492 
Mr. G. L. Bates on the 
attention to each other when feeding; hut whenever one 
Guinea-chick pecked at anything the others would run to join 
it. If one had anything large in its hill, another would seize 
it and try to pull it away. They would peck at small objects 
when moving, though indifferent to them when lying still. 
One would often seize with its bill the wing-tip or toe of a 
duckling. Their natural food probably consisted of worms 
or millipedes and such like. 
Last August my hunter, Nkolo, shot a Guinea-hen, which 
on dissection shewed that she had recently laid several eggs. 
She was sitting on nine eggs, on dry leaves on the ground in 
the forest; five of the eggs were broken by the shot, but 
he brought the other four. The eggs are white, but much 
stained, and the numerous pits in the shell are dark as if 
from dirt. They are pointed at one end and very blunt at 
the other. They vary in length from 47*5 to 49 mm., and in 
width from 37 to 38’5 mm. 
PoLYBOROIDES TYPICUS. 
Ibis, 1904, pp. 98, 596. 
This peculiar Bird of Prey lacks the adroitness of move¬ 
ment of the more typical Falconidse; it mainly seeks food 
that is not difficult to secure. It continually visits the palm- 
trees about villages, and seems to have two objects in view : 
one is to eat palm-nuts, the other to look for nestling 
Weaver-birds. One individual used to visit the palm-trees 
near my house on Sunday afternoons, when there were no 
people about. In a tree that was full of the nests of Ploceus 
cucullatus and P. nigerrimus, the Hawk was seen to go from 
nest to nest, tearing them open with its bill; but it did not 
find any young birds while I watched it. It was in plain 
sight, and seemed perfectly aware of its exposed position, for 
it never made a motion without afterwards raising its head 
and looking all around, with its crest erected, which gives it 
a peculiarly fierce appearance. Once, while its head was so 
raised, it was struck about the eyes by a Weaver-bird ; but 
except when it disturbed a nest, the small birds paid no more 
attention to it than they would have done to a Hornbill. 
