ones also white at base externally: across the breast a conspicuous
band of black; centre of the body white, the sides of the breast and
flanks grey: tibial plumes white varied with black: a tuft of
axillary plumes under the wing white : under wing-coverts black,
the lower ones tipped with white r edge of wing white: “ bill
almost black : feet very dark brown, with a whitish or lead-coloured
tint about the joints: iris greenish yellow” (Andersson). Total
length, 5'5 inches; culmen, 0.7; wing, 3'3; tail, T6 ; tarsus, T2.
Fig. Bp. Rev. et Mag. de Zool. 1857, pi. v.
3 3 1 . S t eno st ira s c it a . Fairy Flycatcher.
Platysteira longipes, Layard, B. S. Afr. p. 143.
This lovely little, bird was found by Le Yaillant in Kaffraria and
Namaqua Land, about the Orange and Grroote Rivers, and we found
it ourselves very abundant in the neighbourhood of Nel’s Poort,
frequenting mimosa thickets along the borders of the rivers.
Yictorin also procured it in the Karroo, and Mr. Ortlepp says that
it is plentiful on the banks of the “ Sea-Cow” River. Mr. T. C.
Atmore has also sent us a skin procured on the Orange River, and
Prof. Wahlberg found it in the Transvaal, a skin procured by him on
the 4th of August, 1843, being in the British Museum.
Adult male.—Above greyish, a little'paler on the rump: wings
black : the least wing-coverts greyish, like the back, with a vertical
line of white extending the whole length of the wing, beginning
at the outer median coverts : tail black, the outermost feather white,
the penultimate white for its apical half, and the next one with a
little less white towards the tip : a narrow superciliary line of white
from the base of the forehead to the hinder ear-coverts : cheeks and
ear-coverts black: a narrow cheek-stripe and chin white, the latter
with a delicate blush of rose-colour: lower throat and chest
greyish : lower breast, abdomen, and under tail-coverts white, with
a beautiful blush of rosy on the former: outer wing-coverts
whitish: the outermost ones slightly shaded with grey : tibial plumes
black: bill and feet black: iris black. Total length, 4'5 inches;
culmen, 0 5 ; wing, 2'25 ; tarsus, 08.
Fig. Le Yaill. Ois. d’Afr. pi. 154.
340. T e r p s iph o n e cristata. South African Paradise Flycatcher.
Tchitrea cristata, Layard, B. S. Afr. p. 145.
This bird has a great range in South Africa. We have received
specimens from most of our correspondents. It is found not far
from Cape Town, at Somerset West, and in Drakenstein. I t forms
a deep nest, in the fork of some small branch of a tree, and generally
in the neighbourhood of water. It is composed of fibres and dead
leaves, stuck over with bits of bark, cobwebs, and lichens, to
resemble a knot in the tree. Mr. L. C. Layard has sent to the
South African Museum more than a dozen eggs of this bird. It is
one of the handsomest and richest looking eggs that we know of,
being of a rich cream-colour, spotted chiefly at the thick end with,
rich red spots, with here and there a pale purple one. These spots
usually form a circle, more or less: sometimes they are thickest at
the extreme top, at others they are distributed generally over the
whole egg: axis, 9"'; diam, 6'". We have seen several specimens
of this Flycatcher collected by Mr. Andersson at the Knysna, where
also Yictorin procured it from September to November. He also
obtained it in the Karroo in January. Mr. Rickard has met with it
at Port Elizabeth, but says that near East London it is rather rare.
In Natal, according to Mr. Thomas Ayres, “ these Flycatchers are by
no means scarce; they frequent bushy land, and are found within a
range of twenty miles from the coast. Their note is harsh, with
the exception of one short warble which they frequently repeat, and
which both male and female have to an equal degree. Their food
consists of flies, gnats, and small beetles. Five or six of these
pretty birds may frequently be seen together, generally one or two
males to four or five females; and pleasant it is to watch their
graceful motions when in pursuit of their food.” Captain Shelley
also found them plentiful in the thick woods about Durban and
Pinetown. Mr. F. A. Barratt writes :—“ I shot one of these birds
near the town of Rustenburg, and I found them also near the
waterfall under the mountain and by the side of an old stone wall.
I have also seen them in the bush near Pretoria.” In the Zambesi,
Dr. Kirk states that it inhabits shaded forest, frequenting mango
plantations. Mr. Andersson states: “ I have only observed this
very pretty and elegant Flycatcher in the neighbourhood of the-
Okavango River, where, however, it is scarce; at Lake N’gami it is
less uncommon. The few specimens that I have personally secured
were exceedingly wary and difficult to approach. These birds live
in pairs and frequent the forests, perching only on the larger trees.
2 A