726 
Mr. W. L. Sclater on Birds collected 
observed in pairs, or, during the latter end of the breeding- 
season, in family-parties, and frequented both ordinary bush- 
veld and denser woods or patches of forest, being more 
especially noticed searching for food on the dead trees in 
the native clearings. In cry and habits it is exactly a 
smaller replica of C . abingdoni. 
The soft parts are :— 
$. Irides crimson ; bill, legs and toes slate-coloured. 
$ . Irides reddish brown ; bill, legs and toes slate-coloured. 
Juv. Irides brown ; bill horn-coloured, paler at base of 
lower mandible; legs and toes pale slate-coloured.] 
411. Thripias namaquus. 
Tv. Klein Letaba, Sept. (1) ; F. Coguno, Aug. (1) ; 
Beira, Nov., Dec. (2) ; Tete, Aug., Sept. (3). 
[I have found this striking Woodpecker in the North- 
Eastern Transvaal and in the Inhambane, Beira, Groron- 
goza, and Tete districts of Portuguese East Africa. Only 
one pair was observed in the low veld of the North-Eastern 
Transvaal, where the male was shot, but it was more plentiful 
in the Portuguese country, especially from Beira to the 
Zambesi, although nowhere can it be said to be common. 
It is always found in pairs and has all the habits of the 
other Woodpeckers, but its larger size compared with the 
other bush-veld haunting species and its louder and harsher 
note at once betray its presence; and when once seen and 
heard, it cannot be mistaken for any other species or be easily 
overlooked. Like C. abingdoni and D. hartlaubi , this species 
has a great partiality for dead trees, especially those left 
standing in clearings and native gardens. 
The soft parts are :— $ & $ . Irides crimson; bill, legs 
and toes dark slate-coloured.] 
442. Mesopicus griseocephalus. 
CG. Knysna, Dec., Jan. (7); Z. Sibudeni, Nov. (4); 
Tv. Zuurbron, Apl., May (2); Woodbush, Nov. (6). 
Squopamiti 33 of the Zulus. 
This species is strictly a bird of the forest, and does not 
inhabit ordinary well-timbered country (“ bush-veld ”) as 
