244 
Mr. Guy A. K. Marshall on 
102. Mirafra africana. (Rufous-naped Lark.) 
Generally distributed, though nowhere plentiful, often 
frequenting the vicinity of houses in the town. It is a 
solitary bird, fond of settling on the top of some low 
bush, where it will remain for a long time, uttering its 
three-note call with a perseverance worthy of a better cause. 
When disturbed it goes off with a low fluttering flight, 
either alighting on the next convenient bush or dropping 
to the ground, when it runs like a rat. One bird will some¬ 
times frequent the same post for many weeks. 
103. Upupa africana. (African Hoopoe.) 
This bird is not uncommon in the bush round Salisbury. 
It is generally solitary in its habits, but during the early 
spring it congregates into small flocks of five or six. It feeds 
chiefly on the ground, but also searches tree-trunks for 
insects ; the stomachs examined contained grasshoppers and 
beetles. 
104. Irrisor viridis. (Red-billed Wood-hoopoe.) 
Though very scarce in the neighbourhood of the town, 
these handsome birds are fairly plentiful in the larger bush 
near the Hanyani and TJmfuli rivers, occurring in flocks of 
six to twelve, and ever industriously searching the tree-trunks 
for insects, &c., in the crevices of the bark. I first made 
the acquaintance of these Wood-hoopoes in the dense and 
desolate bush-country along the Brak river in the Northern 
Transvaal, when I had managed to lose myself in the bush—a 
by no means difficult performance in those parts—and owing 
to its being a very cloudy day I could not obtain any bearings. 
Thinking that I might have been walking in a circle, and 
might still be somewhere near our outspan, I endeavoured to 
shout, as I had no gun wherewith to signal ; but every time 
I attempted to raise my voice a troop of these wretched 
birds would promptly join in and drown it. The exasperating 
effect of this on a man who has just realized that he has 
hopelessly lost his bearings in an almost waterless country 
may be more easily imagined than described, and I have 
never quite forgiven the “Kackela” for that mauvais quart 
d’heure. 
