Nature and sport in South Africa

Front matter

BY THE SAME A UTHOB

Kloof and Kareoo.

Longmans, Green & Co., 1889.

Preface

The days when enthusiastic explorers traversed for the first time those vast

“ Unfooted plains, where feed the herds of Pan,”

are long since gone by, and the naturalist and sportsman of the present time can but look back with an infinite regret to the lamentable and incredible waste which has swept from existence so much of the apparently inexhaustible fauna of but two generations since. The spectacle of South Africa a mere void and lifeless stretch of country, bereft of those magnificent throngs of wild creatures, which men still in middle age can easily remember, is too hateful to contemplate ; yet such a spectacle is now within measurable distance of accomplishment. If the attention of the public at home and in South Africa can be seriously directed to this subject ; if the remnant of the wild game still left south of the Zambesi can be saved from the fate of utter extinction — a fate which, from present appearances, looks like being realized within the next thirty years — the writing and publication of these pages will not have been wholly in vain.

Some portions of this book have appeared in the Field, the Saturday Review, the Fortnightly Review, Chamber is Journal, the Pall Mall Magazine, and Baily's Magazine, I desire to thank the editors of these publications for their kindly permission to reprint here.

Septemler 1897.

H. A. Bryden.

Chapter I

Early legends concerning this bird — Impressions of Zoo Pelicans — First sight of wild birds — Wonderful spectacle in Ngamiland — Curious evolutions — Habits of the birds — Shooting Pelicans — Description, size, and measurements of Pelecanus onocrotalus — Curious use for pouch — Eagles and Pelicans — Pelicans as seatishers — Notes by Andersson and Chapman — Along shot at sunset

CHAPTEE II

Pleasures of the veldt — Pheasant ” shooting — The red-billed Francolin — Pearl-spotted Owl — Pretty sport — Trekking in the Thirst-land — Light v, heavy wagons — A handsome Falcon — Various foes of feathered game — Eeach Seruey, and outspan — Notes on Bechuanas — Barutse wayfarers — BurchelPs Courser and its habits — Parrots — Trekking continued — Partridge-shooting at sunset — Night outspan

CHAPTEE III

Interesting group — Mixed characteristics — Protective colouring — Powers of flight — Punctual habits — Drink-

X

PAGE ing time — Guides to water — Genera — Pallas’s Sand-grouse — Appearances in Britain — Euthless slaughter — The genus Pterocles — Its range and members — South African species — Namaqua Partridge ” — Double-handed Sand-grouse — Their habits — Good flight-shooting— Sand-grouse in the Kalahari — Maqua Pool — Immense flights — Yellow-throated and variegated Sand-grouse — Eighteen brace shot — Tough skins ... 27

CHAPTER lY

RAMBLES IN BRITISH BECHUANALAND

Woodhouse Kraal — Beautiful scenery — Small game plentiful — Koorhaan-shooting — The veldt after rain — Duck-shooting — Red-billed Teal and South African Pochard — The home of the water-fowl — A White Stork shot — Bush Koorhaan — A brace of Yaal Koorhaan — Similarity in Bustards — Another expedition —

— Camp and supper — An early start — Quiet shooting — Senegal Bustard — Boer encampment — Plague of flies — Crimson-breasted Shrike — Other small birds —

The dikkop ” Plover — A thunder-storm — Game laws 39

CHAPTER Y

Richness of the avi-fauna — Birds of prey — Game birds — The Secretary Bird — Birds devoted to animals — — Migratory birds — Familiar European friends — Rainy season — Breeding plumage — Swallows — Rollers — Bee-eaters — Sun-birds — Wheatear — Wagtails, Pipits, Thrushes, Warblers, and Chats — “Jan Fredrik” — Babblers — Orioles — Flycatchers and Larks — Shrikes — Crows — Starlings — Weaver-birds and Finches — Bullfinches — Touracos — Hornbills — Parrots— Woodpeckers — Cuckoos — Trogons and Pigeons — Storks, Cranes, and water-fowl

XI

CHAPTEE YI

PAGE

Welcome birds — Excellent eating — Sport in British Bechuanaland — A covey at rest — Shooting with the pointer — Swainson’s Francolin — Abundance of

Guinea-fowl in the interior — A troop of a thousand — Favourite food — A sight at sunrise — How to get among a covey — Methodical method of drinking — Kunning habits — Treeing Guinea-fowl — Shooting the roosters — Ambulatory powers — A prolific species — Domesticating wild chicks — Other species of Guinea-fowl — Plumage used for feathering arrows — Tendencies of tame birds 67

CHAPTER VII

Desert birds — Habits — The violet-winged Courser — Beautiful bird — Description and habitat — Shooting in the South Kalahari — Excellent eating — Size — Double-banded Courser — Habits and description — Heuglin’s Courser — BurchelPs and Senegal Courser — Appearance and habits — Protective colouring ... 79

CHAPTER VIII

A STREAM IN CAPE COLONY

Floods and droughts — Sea-cow holes — Doves and Pigeons — The Cuckoos — Honey-guides and Honey — Canaries and Kingfishers — Weaver-birds — The Bush Lory —

Its renewal of colouring — Wading birds — Hill shooting— The neglected Cape — Vast tracts unknown — Mountain Interiors — Great game — Pleasant backwaters— Flower life — A playground for future generations ... 89

Xll

CHAPTER IX

PAGE

Eyes and no eyes — Plover habits — The Lapwing — Hated by Covenanters — The Spur- winged Plovers — Annoying ways — The Kiewitje and its habits — Grey Plover — The Killdeer — Dotterel — Ringed Plover — The Locust-bird — W onderful methods of destroying locusts — Sea-cow bird — British Plovers known in South Africa — The Rain-bird — Other South African Plovers — The Wattled, Caspian, Hey wood’s, and Kitlitz’s Plovers— Moquin’s Oyster-catcher — Probability of discovery of new species ... 99

CHAPTER X

EOX-HUNTING IN BECHUANALAND

South African Jackals — True Foxes — The silver-backed Jackal — Motluse Jackal — Small Buck — The veldt as a hunting-ground — South African Horses — Vryburg — The Fox-hounds — My first meet — The find — A run with Duyker — Fast gallop with Jackal— Steinbok hunting— A good run — Sir Frederick Carrington —

His record in South Africa — Hunting at the Cape —

The Bechuanaland Hounds — Remarkable sport ... 110

CHAPTER XI

Present dearth of Giraffes — Arrival of a South African specimen — Early appearance of Giraffes in history — Zoological Society’s first specimens — Giraffe of Thothmes III — Paces of Giraffe — Present habitat —

Fossil remains — Characteristics of the animal — Marrow-bones — Dentition — Eyesight — Powers of speed — Names and derivations — New form of Giraffe from Somaliland — Curious coloration — Growing scarcity in North Africa — Best country for capture — Cost of procuring specimens — Sketch of expedition 127

CHAPTEK XII

PAGE

Peculiar to Africa — Perfectly adapted to savage landscape — Ancestors of equine race — The Hipparion — S tripings— Lord Norton’s hybrid — The four forms of Zebra — Appearances in history — The Mountain Zebra — Habits and distribution — A magnificent spectacle — Ferocity — Examples at Zoological Gardens — Grevy’s Zebra — Characteristics and range — Burchell’s Zebra — Description — Pace — Chapman’s variety — Present distribution — Experiments in harness — The Quagga — Now extinct — Description — Former plenty—Fine spectacle — Eestricted range 151

CHAPTEK XIII

THE WHITE RHINOCEROS

Mr. Coryndon’s two specimens — Parity of this species — Discovered by Burchell — Eestricted habitat — Former abundance — Easily shot — Eecent re-disco very of white rhinoceroses in Zululand — Six shot in 1894— Description and habits of the animal — Immense bulk —

0 swell’s adventure — Curious trait of mother with young — Feeding habits — Plentiful in Oswell’s time —

Six shot within a quarter of a mile — Too numerous to be pleasant — Feathered allies — Excellent sentinels — Ehinoceros’ appetite — The last of the race ... 181

CHAPTEK XIV

Ngamiland and its salt-pans — Wonderful mirage — Mistake of 0 swell and Livingstone — Chukutsa Pan — Former plenty of wild animals— Salt-pans still haunted by game — Beloved by springboks — Early morning in the desert — A blue Wildebeest— The salt-pan at sunrise— Springboks, their tricks and graces — Bird life —A shot for breakfast — The deserted pan ... ... 191

XIV

CHAPTER XV

PAGE

A July morning — Desert scenery — The sight of game — Preparations for the hunt — “ Saddle up” — The troop in motion — A hard gallop — A nasty fall — Rifle tactics — A charge in line — An old bull hit — The finishing stroke — The death 200

CHAPTER XVI

A Transvaal Boer’s camp — Skin-hunting — The old days — A true nomad — Daybreak — Hans Botha — Away for the veldt — Scenery — Spoor of the Zwart-wit-pens —

The game found — A wonderful picture — Death of a Bull — The chase — Two more Sable Antelopes shot —

A fine morning’s work — How the game vanishes . . . 206

CHAPTER XVII

Former abundance in Cape Colony — Last sanctuary in the Kalahari — Persecution by native hunters — Difficulties of protection — Disappearance of the fauna —

The Eland easily destroyed — Its present haunts — Approaching extinction of the Unstriped Eland — Former habitat — The Striped Eland — Immense size of Elands — Large troops — Elands in captivity — A dainty beast of chase — Prospect of preservation ... 213

CHAPTER XVIII

A characteristic South African Antelope — Vigilance, fleetness, and staying powers — Still plentiful north of Orange River — Bechuana cloaks — Boer names — Ancient and present habitat — Independent of water

XV for long periods — Love of brack-pans — Hartebeests in British Bechuanaland — In Ngamiland — Description and peculiarities — Hartebeest hunting — Chased and killed by wild hunting-dogs — Flesh — Specimens in Zoological Gardens — Other forms of Hartebeest 225

CHAPTEB XIX

Magnificence of the Koodoo — Still fairly abundant — Distribution in the interior — Still found in Cape Colony — In South Bechuanaland and other places — Live specimens seldom seen in England — Specimens in NTatural History Museum — Description of the Koodoo Bull — Its characteristics — Cows and Calves — Favourite ground — Uses of hide — Flesh — General distribution in Africa — Native names — Its independence of water — Koodoos in Khama’s country 241

CHAPTEB XX

Fast disappearing — Present numbers and habitat — Curious characteristics — Sparrmann’s and Barrow’s description — A true Antelope — Wild aspect — A dangerous beast — Kesemblance to horns of Musk Ox — Grotesque evolutions — Gordon Cumming’s description — Inquisitive traits — Eavages of “ brandt sickte ” — Ancient habitat — Liking for Quagga and Ostriches — Specimens at the Zoological Gardens — Curious likeness to cattle — Poverty of specimens in Natural History Museum 252

CHAPTEE XXI

Captain Cornwallis Harris — The Transvaal sixty years since — The Zwart-wit-pens — Native names — Its char-

XVI acteristics and beauty — Discovery in 1837 — Harris’s first hunt — A glorious moment — Kange of the Sable Antelope — Opening up of Mashonaland — Extirpation of game — Found north of the Zambesi — Specimens in Europe — The Zoological Gardens examples — Chances of survival ... 263

CHAPTEK XXII

THE BONTEBOK

Nearing extinction — A remarkable Antelope — Eesemblance to Blesbok — Appearance — Dangerous when wounded — Present habitat, and numbers — Singular beauty of coat — Former abundance — The old Bontebok country — A troop in motion 273

CHAPTER XXIII

Approaching extinction of game — Fifty years since — Present decadence — The chase an irresistible instinct — Famous hunters — Amenemhat I and Thothmes III — Roman waste of animal life — Native hunters — Introduction of firearms — The Cape in 1652 — Crowds of game — The Boers as hunters — Great game in 1796 — Hunters and travellers — Burchell — Sir A. Smith — Cornwallis Harris — Other English hunters — The emigrant Boers — Their destruction of game — Great waste of animal life — Gordon Gumming — Immense migrations of Springbok — Baldwin and Selous — Character of the great hunters — Game of Cape Colony in recent years — Game in the interior in 1890-91 — A vanishing fauna — Mashonaland — Ineffectuality of game laws — Proposed park for preservation of game 279

CHAPTER I

Early legends concerning this bird — Impressions of Zoo Pelicans— First sight of wild birds — Wonderful spectacle in Ngamiland — Curious evolutions — Habits of the birds — Shooting Pelicans — Description, size, and measurements of Felecanus onocrotalus — Curious use for pouch — Eagles and Pelicans — Pelicans as sea-fishers — Notes by Andersson and Chapman — A long shot at sunset.

Although that curious bird, the pelican, the Onocovtahcs of the ancients, seems to have been known almost ever since the dimmest historical times, and although quaint legends have for ages gathered about it, not many people seem to have closely observed its habits.

The pelican in her piety,’' wounding her own breast for the sake of her young — a tale as old as the hills almost — is either a learned fiction of the heralds, possibly arising from the blood-red hook or tip to the bird’s bill, or, as some suppose, the legend has been

B gathered about the wrong bird. The flamingo, as most naturalists are agreed, does, by means of her bill, discharge into the mouths of her offspring a reddish, bloody-looking mess or secretion, and the story of the pelican feeding her young with blood from her own breast may have arisen from this circumstance, and from a confusion of the birds. There is another and simpler theory that the venerable tale took its origin simply from a trick the pelican has of pressing its huge bill upon its breast for the purpose of emptying the pouch. At all events, beyond this absurd, if rather poetical, idea of the dim ages of the past, it is difficult to gather much reliable information concerning this quaint and interesting bird. Until I arrived on the banks of the Botletli river (Ngamiland) in 1890, I had never seen the pelican in a state of nature ; and my ideas having been based on observations made at the Zoological Society's Gardens, where the birds are practically banished from their most familiar elements — air and water — I had formed but a poor idea of their ways and habits. The very first evening on which my companion and I rode our tired horses, after a sixty-five miles' waterless journey, down to the Lake river (Botletli) was quite sufficient to shatter these impressions. Instead of an awkward, silly-looking fowl, moping stupidly within its narrow space in Regent's Park, day after day, inanimate and lifeless, save at feeding-time, a very different bird engaged our attention.

It was sunset as we struck the river, and day was sinking far away across the flat and endless plains in ruddy splendour. On our right, a vast mass of flaming reeds (now being burnt off by the natives) sent an immense column of smoke far into the heavens. High in the air above the river, their flight clearly marked in long, wavy skeins against the rose and amber sky, flew slowly and steadily hundreds upon hundreds of great birds, which Joseph, the native boy riding with us, informed us were pelicans. It was a marvellous and most beautiful sight. Each bird followed its neighbour in single file in the most regular order ; the great wings (and no one can imagine how great is the spread of a pelican’s wings till they have been extended and measured in the dead specimen) beating the passage through the air in solemn and stately fashion. There were numerous different bands in the air, each numbering some hundreds, and as the long skeins and circles occasionally crossed or united in mid-air, all sharply silhouetted against the evening sky, the effect was indescribably beautiful. Presently, before we had actually reached the river, the skeins trended lower and lower, and the birds sank, still in orderly and majestic flight, into the shallows and reed-beds for their night’s repast and repose.

I have seen many strange spectacles in South Africa, but that first sunset on the Lake river — the dying splendour of the sky, the flame and smoke of the burning reed-beds, and the wonderful flight of the pelicans — will never fade from memory.

Next morning, at sunrise, as we lay in our blankets, the first sounds that met our ears were the soft, melancholy whistling, uttered invariably in five notes, of the pelicans as they rose from the river, and before taking their departure for the day, again repeated their evolutions in the sky. These evolutions were carried out every morning and evening, with unfailing regularity, for about half-an-hour. After the morning performance, the birds invariably hied them to a great salt-pan (or what is called a salt-pan in South Africa) — in reality a brack-pan, upon which, after the rains, is found an efflorescence of salt or lime. The pelicans fished night and morning, but I fancy their main feed took place in the early morning, after which, with their pouches well filled, they betook themselves to the salt-pan a few miles distant. Here they seemed to sit or stand about all day; what they did or what they thought about during the long, hot hours I could never clearly make out. At about four o’clock, or a little after, if we were at the wagons, we could tell by the long lines of flight, and presently by the soft whistling notes and the distant beat of wings.

that the birds were coming to the water for the night.

Although we travelled a long way up the Botletli, we never saw pelicans in such numbers as at this the lower end. At this time — July— the annual inundation described by Livingstone in his early travels had not yet reached the extremity, near the vast reed-swamp, erroneously called Lake Komadau, in which the river loses itself. The river was shallow, and swarms of fish were shut up in the chains of pools. Here the pelicans, as, too, did the fishing-eagles {Halicetus wcifer), found an illimitable supply of food, with very little trouble in the catching, and no doubt this fact accounted for the enormous number of the birds we saw.

At first the birds were remarkably tame, and flew slowly over our heads, as they came down towards the river, within easy reach of the shot-guns. A closer inspection of their flight showed us that the wing-beats are slow and very even, and the birds are not easily hurried. The shortish body, long neck and bill, and head tucked well back; the slow, steady beat of the long pinions ; and the unfailing regularity and evenness with which these quaint birds followed one another, were extremely interesting.

Upon the second evening, as the pelicans came overhead, I was lucky enough to bring one down with a charge of No. 5 shot. This must have been somewhat of a fluke, and the shot must have instantly touched a vital spot, for we found afterwards that, even to bullet-wounds, the birds did not easily succumb. The next evening Dove (my hunting friend) shot one with a Martini- Henry sporting rifle. The bird fell, but was making off rapidly to some cover, when Dove gave it another shot. Even that by no means finished it. As we walked up, the creature struck at us fiercely with its formidablelooking bill It showed no signs of dying, and another shot was fired at close quarters, and even then, with three bullets clean through its body, the pelican was extremely loth to give up the ghost.

The pelican found on the Lake river was undoubtedly Pelecamis onocrotalus (Linnaeus), but I am inclined to think that the measurements credited to this species in Layard's Birds of South Africa are hardly representative of the specimens shot by us. Dove and I carefully measured from wing-tip to wing-tip of a bird held stretched out. The measurement was 9 ft. 8 in. This, although perhaps not a strictly fair measurement, hardly tallies with the single wing measurement — 2 ft. 5 in. — given in Layard. The extreme length of this specimen was over 6 ft. 3 in. Indeed, until one gets one of these birds down, and begins to inspect its proportions closely, one has small idea of its great size. I photographed the specimen I have referred to \ it was held up by its neck by a native standing in the centre, while two other men each held the outstretched wings at the tips. The general colour of the plumage is white, suffused slightly with a pale pink, and greyish upon tlie wings. The quill-feathers are a very dark grey, which, however, is only to be seen when the bird is in flight. In mature specimens there is a touch of yellowish gold upon the breast-feathers. The head is crested, the face and neck are bare, and the pouch is of a bright yellow colour. The soft flexible membrane of the pouch we found, by the way, when cut from the bill and dried and prepared by our men, to make, with a little sewing, an excellent tobacco-pouch of many ounce capacity.

The pouch is very distensible, and when filled will hold a number of good-sized fish. Livingstone, in his Missionary Travels, has noted the method of attack made by the river-eagle {Halimtus vocifer) upon a fishing-pelican. The eagle makes a swoop at the pelican, which, in a state of dire alarm, opens its bill to cry out Murder ! The eagle then coolly seizes a fish from the open pouch and flies off. I never saw this incident, but it is well known to the natives. The pelican, big though it is, is a defenceless creature against the larger raptorial birds, and is, I imagine, only formidable to the fishes. The Feleeamis onocrotalus was the only species observed by us on the Lake river; but another and smaller species, Pelecanus onofescens, is well known in Southern Africa, and has often been observed in the Cape Colony, Natal, and other places. The amount of fish consumed by the many thousands of these birds on the Botletli river and round Lake Ngami must be prodigious. The Ngamiland water systems, however, swarm with piscine life, and the supply seems always constant in spite of the attacks of pelicans, otters, crocodiles, eagles, hawks, and natives.

The late C. J. Andersson noticed that at Walfisch Bay on the south-west coast these pelicans had become excessively shy, and that it had become all but impossible for Europeans to get within rifle-shot of them. They exhibited, however, little fear of natives, and were in the habit of watching them at a short distance while spearing fish in the shallows, becoming even bold enough to snatch the fish from before their very eyes, and so anticipate their sport. He observes, too, that the pelican nests among bushes, and lays a single egg, white, and of beautiful oval shape. Chapman, in his travels, writing also of these pelicans at Walfisch Bay, mentions that they ‘‘pursue their prey nightly in the shallow lagoons, driving the fish, by flapping their wings on the water, near the shore, and catching them while floundering.’^

These great birds are magnificent swimmers, and in the Botletli seem to have no difficulty in supplying themselves freely with food — more especially at the time I speak of, when the water is low and the fish are locked in chains of pools.

After a little shooting, our long-billed friends became rather less confiding, but were always easily accessible to a rifle-shot. On the return journey I was sitting one evening at sunset on my wagon-box, watching with never-failing interest the wonderful spectacle of these birds threading their majestic way far aloft in the heavens, their long legions thrown sharply in relief against the brilliant sky. Dove sat hard by on his own wagon, also watching. Presently a band came over our way. In their evolutions a small knot of the birds sailed closely together. The temptation was too great ; I had my rifle in my hand, and, taking rapid aim, made an extremely lucky shot at a distance of some two hundred and fifty yards. The fall of the stricken pelican was, from the greatness of the altitude, very remarkable. Over and over it turned, seeming as though it would never reach the earth. When picked up by one of the boys it was stone-dead.

Chapter II

Pleasures of the veldt — “Pheasant” shooting — The red-billed Francolin — Pearl-spotted Owl — Pretty sport — Trekking in the Thirst-land — Light v. heavy wagons — A handsome Falcon — Various foes of feathered game — Reach Seruey^ and outspan — Notes on Bechuanas — Barutse wayfarers — Burchell’s Courser and its habits — Parrots — Trekking continued — Partridge-shooting at sunset — Night outspan.

There are few greater pleasures in this world than to wake up in a comfortable wagon as dawn begins to steal upon the veldt, and find yourself free and untrammelled in the heart of the remote wilderness, with pure Nature spreading around you. How infinitely more preferable is it to listen to the sharp call of the francolin, the crowing of the bustard, the soft cry of sand-grouse as they come to water, than to hear the dreary rattle of early wheels upon the street, the yelp of the milkman, or the distressing clangour of ill-conditioned bells.

On June 22, 1890, we were two days out from Khamas new town of Palachwe, North Bechuanaland, heading for the Kalahari Thirst-land. We bad \ been disappointed in water in the Lotsani river-bed, and for forty-eight hours the oxen had tasted no liquid. In our barrels we had just sufficient muddy water for ourselves and servants ; we were therefore all anxious to reach Seruey, with its better prospect of fair water.

We had trekked a good portion of the night, and at earliest dawn, tired of the incessant jolting, we rose, put on our clothes, took down our shot-guns from their wagon-hooks, and proceeded to look for some breakfast. It was a glorious morning. The sun came up with all that magnificence which in these regions he never fails to display day after day ; the air was cool, sweet, and wonderfully refreshing. We found ourselves travelling in a sort of shallow grassy valley, skirted upon either hand by low stony hills, well clothed with bush and grass. While my shooting comrades, Mackay and Dove, took the left-hand side, I made my way to the right. There was no choice for shooting ; everywhere the veldt looked likely for francolin, and we had already heard the scream of pheasants ’’ from the hills around. I took my liver-coloured pointer, Don, to assist my quest ; Dove and Mackay had another pointer, Scotty, and a well-nosed mongrel, Ponto, to help them out. We were not long in finding game. Except along the Crocodile river (Limpopo), and by the spreading lagoons of the Botletli, I never saw francolins much more numerous. The species so abundant in this valley were red-billed francolins {Francolimis adspeo^sus), first discovered by Sir James Alexander on his expedition through Great Namaqualand in 1886. These birds are usually found in coveys of from eight to twelve ; they are never far from water, and their presence is an unfailing indication of that precious element. The grassy kopjes here teemed with these francolins ; the only difficulty was to find them and put them up. The partridges ” and pheasants of South Africa lie much more closely than do their cousins of England; and as scent in this dry country is poor and catchy, they often succeed in completely baffling the man with the shot-gun. I heard Dove’s and Mackay’s guns going two or three times, and knew they were at work. In a little while Don had nosed out a covey for me. A single bird got up within easy range, and fell to my right barrel.

My pointer drew on rapidly ; it was evident that the birds were running in front, in search of thicker covert. In spite of my rather frantic protests, Don now makes a dash, and three or four more francolins rise and fly a short distance to some thick bush near the summit of the low hill. To this I make my way. Don is admonished, and then starts hunting again. These red-billed francolins are, in the thick bush in which they love to hide themselves, almost im-

A DAY IN KHAMA’S COUNTKY possible to drive out. They squat immovable as stones, or sit up among the thickets out of reach of the dog, or, where trees are about, they will take shelter in the branches. Their colouring is a dull, greyish drab, and even up in a tree, right in front of the gunner, they are hard to make out — they sit so close, and their colouring is so protective.

However, Don pokes about eagerly, and at last succeeds in flushing another bird, which, again, I bag. The remainder of the covey effectually defy discovery, and we leave them secure in their protecting shelter. A hundred yards further along the ridge of the kopje a biggish brown bird flies slowly out, and settles a little beyond. Advancing cautiously, I approach the spot. The bird tumbles rather clumsily out upon the wing ; it is an owl, and I have no difficulty in bringing it down. It turns out, upon examination, to be a handsome, rather small owl, known as the African Pearl-spotted owl {Athene perlata)y La Chevechette Perlee of Levaillant’s Oiseaux d'Afriqite. Although not well known in Cape Colony, this small owl, with its notable spotted plumage, is pretty common in the interior. It is, I think, more often seen in daylight than any other species. Andersson remarks that it is nearly as much at home in daylight as at night, and can see its way perfectly in dazzling sunshine. This is rather a strong assertion concerning a creature so usually purblind in daylight as an owl ; but it is, at all events, certain that the pearl-spotted owl makes little difficulty in getting about in daylight. The bird shows small fear of man, and, when disturbed, makes only a short flight to some adjacent resting-place.