of the nests are quite inaccessible, while others can be reached
with a little trouble. We counted six or eight within fifty yards,
all exhibiting the same form and structure, and some of them
containing at least a large cart-load of sticks. Mr. Jackson told
us they occupied the same nest year after year, and added to it or
repaired it as required. About some that we visited, we found
brass and bone buttons, bits of crockery, bleached bones, &c.
Mr. Jackson said if a “ Tottie ” lost his knife or tinder-box on
the farm, or within some miles of the place, he made a point of
examining the Hammerkops’ nests, and frequently with success;
the birds, like the Bower-bird of Australia, embellishing their
dwellings with any glittering or bright-coloured thing they can pick
up. In the Karroo, between Worcester and Bobertson, we saw a
nest placed on the ground on the side of a trifling rise: it was at
least three yards in length, by one and-a-half across, with a small
entrance hole at one end.
Mr. Rickard says that at East London, where it is called “ Podda
Vanger, it frequents the rocky beach, and is generally seen in
pairs. it is also found near Port Elizabeth. Near Kingwilliamstown
Captain Trevelyan records it as common about the vleys, and he has
sometimes seen as many as five or six together, but says that this is
unusual. Mr. T. E. Buckley shot a specimen in the Free State in
June. In Natal, according to Mr. Ayres, it is spread all over the
country, but is not numerous, and is always seen singly. They
frequent the streams of the interior, and the rivers and lakes near
the coast, and are not. very shy. Majors Butler and Feilden and
Captain Reid state that near Newcastle it was a common bird in
vleys and along sluggish streams. From the dates at which eggs
were taken they opine that it breeds twice in Natal, in winter and
summer, if not all the year round. Writing from the Transvaal,
Mr. Ayres says: “ Mr. Layard’s description of the nidification of
this species is excellent, and I can add nothing to it except that the
inside of the nest is neatly plastered with mud, and that either from
this cause or from the bird’s muddy feet the eggs are often very
dirty. Not long ago I saw one of these queer birds feeding in a
shallow ditch; the water was about halfway up his legs, and he was
feeling about with his feet in the mud and stones at the bottom,
very carefully and in a most careful manner, evidently trying to
worry out a frog or a crab, in which he did not then succeed. These
birds, when flying, utter, every now and then, a short, weak,
metallic note, which one would not expect from a bird of that size.”
Mr. Frank Oates procured a specimen on the Makalapsi River in
August. It was seen in Mashoona Land during Mr. Jameson’s
excursion, and on the Zambesi Sir John Kirk says it is called
“ Nyamehengwe.” He writes : “ Although seemingly a clean feeder,
eating small fish, the Africans look on this bird as unfit for
food, and also as sacred, or as possessing the power of witchcraft;
and to injure it is everywhere regarded as unlucky. It haunts
water, both running and stagnant. In its nest it is the most
remarkable of all birds in Tropical Africa. This is built either
on a ledge of rock or more frequently in some large tree. It is the
work of a single pair, and yet is colossal, sometimes measuring six
feet in diameter, in the form of a flattened dome. The entrance is
at one side, and small. The greater part of the mass is solid, and
composed of sticks and branches of trees intimately woven together.
This serves for many years. The birds remain throughout the
year.” According to Mr. Andersson, “ this queer and sombre-
looking bird is pretty generally diffused throughout Damara Land
and Great Namaqua Land during the rainy season, but is nowhere
numerous, and moves to permanent waters as the rainpools dry up.
It feeds much on frogs and also upon fish. It is generally observed
singly or in pairs, and is of a fearless disposition, allowing a person
to approach within range without difficulty.” I t has been procured
by Senor Anchieta on the coast of Mossamedes, and also 'at
Capangombe and Oaconda in Benguela, as well as at Humbe on
the Cunene River: it is called “ Kahumba ” at Capangombe and
“ Nagine-ankine ” at Humbe.
General colour, a warm brown, glossed with purple; tail with a
bar at the tip, and numerous narrow ones; head much crested; bill
black. Length, 20"; wing, 13^"; tail, 6".
Fig. Shaw, Gen. Zool. xi, pi. 50.
Fam. BALiENICIPITIDiE.
704. B aljeniceps rex, Gould. Whale-headed Stork.
Mr. H. H. Johnston (Ibis, 1883, p. 578) states that he saw this
species near Humbe on the Cunene River, on the 16th of August,
1882, and gives an extract from his journal. “ There are here many