364 Mr. T. E. Buckley on Birds observed 
CoRACIAS CAUDATA, V. 
6 . Transvaal, July 7th 1873. 
Beak black; legs yellow; iris dark hazel. 
First observed a few days north of Pretoria, and found far 
up in the Matabili country. This species is extremely shy, 
and it was difficult to procure specimens. Just before the 
breeding-season they fly high up in the air, rolling about from 
side to side, and uttering a harsh note all the time, settling 
afterwards on the very top of the nearest high tree. In the 
Matabili country this is a royal bird, and no one except the 
king is allowed to wear its feathers. 
CORYTHORNIS CYANOSTIGMA (Rfipp.) . 
$. Transvaal, June 19th, 1873. 
Beak and legs red; iris dark hazel. 
Common throughout Natal and the Transvaal, frequenting 
pools and streams, but always singly; when wounded they 
swim fairly well. 
Ceryle rudis (L.). 
<$. Natal, June 1st, 1873. 
Beak black; legs black; iris dark hazel. 
This bird is pretty common in Natal, but much more so 
on the Limpopo, in the north of the Transvaal, where I found 
its nest in a hole of the bank, but as the ground was hard, I 
was unable to get the eggs. Its absence from the Matabili 
country is accounted for by the rivers being mostly sand- 
rivers in the part of the country I visited. When hunting, 
it hovers over the water with a quick action of the wings. 
Its cry is shrill and often repeated. 
Halcyon albiventris (Scop.). 
Beak and legs red; iris dark hazel. 
Very common along the rivers north of Pretoria, though 
seen to wander some distance from water. This species was 
breeding along the banks of the Limpopo in November; and 
my driver brought me in three eggs which he had dug out of 
a bank, having caught the old bird on her nest. Judging 
from the mud on the bills of those I shot, they must pick up 
their food from the ground as well as off trees. 
