.314 
■LAN 
ing a border to the ■'wings When doled. The eye is brown; 
the beak black. On the female, the white of the upper 
furface is tinged with red; the red on the fidesisa weaker 
(hade; the black in general is browner. In the young, 
the white part is all (haded with rufous, even on the un¬ 
der parts of the body. 
Thefe birds are fometimes feen in final! flocks, except 
in the pairing feafon, when the male and female only keep 
together. The neft is generally in the mimofa-tree, in the 
fork of a branch; made up of mofs and pieces of roots, 
lined with wool and feathers. The female lays five white 
eggs fpotted with brown. Thefe birds are firft feen about 
the 28th degree of fouth latitude, near the Rio Grande, 
where they are very plentiful, and not (hy; and hence 
they are found almoft to the tropic ; but not on the eaft- 
ern coaft, nor in Caffraria. 
19. Lanius cubla, the cubla : this fpecies feems to oc¬ 
cupy the fpace left vacant by the preceding ; for it is met 
with along the whole eaftein coaft of Africa, from the ri¬ 
ver Duyven-ocks to Caffraria. Its fize is the fame as the 
foregoing. They go in final! flocks of fix or feven, all of 
a family, which never feparate nor quarrel, but enjoy 
every thing in common. If one of the party difeovers a 
neft of caterpillars, of which they are very fond, he calls 
the reft. In an inftant they examine every branch of a 
tree; and they can raife up the bark with their bills to 
come at the larvae, chryfalifes, and the infefts which bur¬ 
row there. In the feafon of love, they feparate in couples, 
to form new generations and family-flocks. They feek a 
quiet place among bufties and thorns to make their neft, 
■which is formed of mofs interwoven with flexible roots. 
Five or fix eggs are the extent of the laying. The male 
is fomewhat larger than the female. His head, back of 
the neck, and mantle, are of a fine black ; the lower part 
of the back is covered with long filky feathers, very thin, 
and of a bright white. The under parts of the body from 
the throat to the under tail-coverts, is white, with a flight 
tint of grey on the fides. The fcapulars are mingled with 
black, white, and grey. The wing-coverts are black, 
partly edged with white ; the quills of the wings are black 
alfo, exteriorly edged with white. The tail is black 
rounded at the end, and each feather is u'hite at the tip, 
and the outer feather on each fide has a white line along 
its outer edge. The eye is a bright yellow ; the bill and 
nails blackilh. In the female the white is more tinged 
with grey, and the black is lighter. In the young one, 
a reddilh grey appears inftead of the white colour de- 
feribed above, and reddifh brown inftead of black. The 
cry or fong of the male is cha-cha, which he utters very 
diflinftly, lengthening out the a. Vaillant relates, that 
thefe birds are more curious than flay ; for, on the ap¬ 
proach of man or beaft, the bird erefts his feathers, and 
comes towards it, uttering-incefia-ntly its cha-cha. Many 
of the African birds are deferibed by Vaillant as not being 
(by or difficult of approach ; we apprehend that in thofe 
extenfive regions, fo thinly inhabited, the feathered race 
have not yet been fo much dilturbed or perfecuted by man 
as,to have learnt caution. This fpecies is molt common 
in the forefts of Auteniquois. 
20. Lanius taciturnus, the filent fit like : this fpecies is 
thus denominated by Vaillant, becaufe lie fays he never 
heard it utter any note or cry whatever, though he has 
fhot them in every feafon of the year. This bird is very 
common in the forefts of the Auteniquois in Africa, and 
all along the coaft of Natal ; alfo in many of the interior 
parts, particularly thofe abounding in wood. The male 
is fomewhat larger than our woodchat. The top of the 
head, back of the neck, mantle, fcapulars, tail, and wings, 
are black, except a little white on fome of the primary 
wing-quills, and the outer barbs of the two middle ones, 
which together form a white bar on the wing, but not 
all along the wing; for in this fpecies all the wing-co¬ 
verts, finall and great, are abfolutely black. The tail is 
tapered, and the lateral quills are white outfide. All the 
pnder parts of the body, from the throat, are white ; the 
i tr s. 
eyes are brown ; the nails black, the feet brdwnifli, tbs 
beak the colour of horn. The female is fomewhat fmaller 
than the male; her upper furface, inftead of black, is of 
a brownilh hue; and the white underneath, except the 
throat and the bar along the wing, inclined to grey. The 
male and female are generally feen together. They live 
entirely on infefts; for Vaillant killed at different times 
no lefs than fifty-eight, and found nothing but the re¬ 
mains of infects in their ftomachs. They begin to lay in 
November; they make their neft in trees in the molt cu¬ 
rious manner ; the outer part is conftructed entirely of 
twigs, and it is lined with hair, or the down furnilhed by 
feveral African plants, efpecially the Mefernbrianthemum, 
which the colonifts and Hottentots of the Cape cal! kan<t 
bojjtes. The eggs are three or four in number, of a pale 
green (lightly (haded with red. All the young, whether 
males or females, perfectly referable the mother. 
at. Lanius oliva, the olive-coloured fiirike. Vaillant 
has given three figures of this African bird, becaufe it 
varies fo much at different periods of growth, that it 
might be eafily miftaken for different fpecies. His firft 
figure reprefents the male in his perfeft ftate and natural 
fize, that is, at two years old. At that period, the upper 
furface of the body, from the head to the upper tail-co¬ 
verts, as well as the wing-coverts, are of an olive-green 
inclining to yellow; the two mid-quills of the tail are of 
the fame colour; the laterals are partly yellow, which in- 
creafes on the outer one on each fide; their interior barbs 
are blackilh, and their edges olive-green; they are all ta¬ 
pering, fo that the tail is rounded at the end. The wing- 
quills are blackilh in their concealed parts when the wing 
is folded up ; in the outer part, of the fame green as the 
mantle; but all edged with yellow. A band of ochre- 
yellow goes round the forehead. A long black fpot of 
ftripe, in the upper part of which is the eye, ftretches 
down the neck, edged with yellow on the upper part. 
The throat, front of the neck, breafi, and as far as the 
belly, and the feathers on the legs, are of a bright ochre- 
yellow. The fides, lower belly, and under tail-coverts, 
are of a faint yellow, (haded with olive. The bill is black, 
the eyes reddifh brown, feet and nails light brown. It is 
about the fize of the rutilous fhrike, or woodchat. 
His fecond figure is the male before he has attained his 
full growth, namely from his third moult, which happens 
about the beginning of his fecond year. At this time, a 
reddifh white runs round the forehead ; the head and hind 
part of the neck are grey with a flight tint of olive; and 
the black ftripe on the fides of the neck is edged with 
white inftead of yellow. The green upon the upper part 
of the body, tail, and wings, is lefs bright, as well as the 
yellow edges of fome of the quills. The throat, front of 
the neck, and breaft, exhibit a mixture of yellow and of 
different fhades of red, darker however on the breaft. The 
feathers about the fternum, fides, belly, and under the 
tail, are white tinged with olive. The eyes, feet, and 
bill, are fimilar to the full-grown male. Previous to the 
firft moult, the bill and feet are brown ; the black fpot on 
the fide of the neck is not yet vifible; the head is olive- 
green (lightly tinged with grey; neither does the yellow 
edging to the wings appear as yet; only the laft feathers 
have a faint border of white ; the yellow of the tail is as 
yet only dun-colc-ur, throat and breaft the fame. A flight 
fhade of olive prevails on the upper furface of the body; 
which colour alfo appears in ftripes upon the light-grey of 
the fides, belly, and under part of the tail. In this ftate 
it exaftly refembles the female; but, after the firft moult, 
it is eafy to diftinguifti the male by the darker colour of 
the head, and the black fpot or ftripe which begins to ap¬ 
pear on the cheek. He next gives a figure of the female, 
which it is now unneceftary to deferibe, as the account 
juft given of the very young male agrees with it in every 
particular, fo that the figure of the female may ferve to 
give an idea of the male previous to his firft mot)ft. 
Thus it is extremely difficult in the young birds to dif- 
tinguifti the males from the females; the female, how- 
5 even, 
