white, causing a large patch across the wing; lower parts of the
belly brown, more or less varied with white, the thighs inclining o
rufous; tail ashy white, brown at the tip, and more or-less brown
on the rest of the feather; gape whitish yellow; orbits and cere
dusky; bill dusky bluish; iris darker hazel than in the adult.—
(Sharpe, Oat. i., p. 311).
Fig. Des Murs, Iconogr. Orn. pi. 8.
4 2 . H elotarsus ecaudatus. Bateleur Eagle.
This Eagle is not very common in this colony, single pairs
frequenting high mountain ranges n e a r Caledon, and a few other
spots. We saw several along the East Coast of Africa, and obtained a
living specimen from the Governor of Mozambique, which lived with
us upwards of two years. It fed voraciously on carrion of all kinds,
including fish, but never molested living things—indeed, we kept
him for a long time in the fowl-house with the fowls, but had to turn
him out, as he devoured the eggs as fast as they were laid by the
tens.
I have seen a specimen from Lake N’gami, procured by Mr.
Chapman ; and Mr. Atmore killed another with a stick in a wood at
the Knysna. He also found it about Blanco. He writes, May 25,
1864 : “We are going to lay wait for an 1 Arend’ to-morrow evening.
He always sits on one particular yellow-wood tree m the forest ; but
he examines the premises very closely before he perches. What a
beautiful flight they have, sailing about without even flapping a
wing ; and when they stoop they come out of the sky like a lightning
flash. There are several here, and we know of a nest ; but they
breed late, so no chance of eggs ; but we will give it a look up on
our return trip.” He further declares that it kills its own food and
never, in the wild state, touches carrion, but Mr. Ayres states that
it feeds on carrion, moles and snakes.
The latter gentleman writes : “ It is found in Natal and also in
the Transvaal.” Mr. Gurney has seen two young birds of this species
which were obtained from a nest situated in a lofty and rocky
precipice by the side of a river, a few miles above the town of
D’Urban. Hr. Kirk says it was frequent in the marshy lands of the
River Shiré.
Mr. Andersson observes that it is probably the most common
Eagle in Damara and Great Namaqualand; it is usually found m
plains. Several pairs bred in the neighbourhood of my place at
Objimbinque.” Senor Anchieta has obtained -it at Gataibos ip
Mossamedes and at Humbe on the river Cunene.
Adult.—Head, neck, and nearly the whole of the upper and under
parts of the body black; back and -tail deep-red; lesser wing-
coverts rufous; head crested and frilled; cere deep-orange; feet
crimson. Length, 2 '; wing, 1 6 |" ; tail, 5-|".
Some specimens are found with a cream-coloured back (H.
leuconotus), but whether this plumage indicates an adult H. ecaudatus,
or a distinct species, it is difficult to say. A specimen of
this light-backed race is in the British Museum from South Africa,
so that it occurs along with the ordinary Bateleur in the southern
part of the continent.
Fig. Heuglin, Orn. N. 0. Afr. pi. ii.
43. M ilvus ieg y pt ius. Yellow-Billed Kite.
Although a rare bird within the colony, so much so that if does
not occur in Victories list, nor in the collections of our excellent
correspondent, Mr. Rickard, this species is more plentiful in
South Africa than the Black Kite. Mr. Ayres records it as common
in Natal and Transvaal, and Dr. Kirk says that it “ arrives in the Zambesi
Valley from the north in August, and is very abundant along
the river.” Mr. Andersson shot it at Ondonga, and notes that it is
“ more common than the Black Kite in Damara and Great Namaqua
Land, whence it migrates from the neighbourhood of the Equator.”
(Cf. Gurney*in Anderss. B. Dam. Ld. p. 23.) Senor Anchieta has
procured it in many localities during his travels in Mossamedes,
viz., at Biballa, Quillengues, Caconda, and Ambaca, and more
recently at Humbe, on the Cunene River.
Le Vaillant states that it inhabits Great Namaqua Land, builds
amongst trees or rocks, but prefers marshy ground, where it makes
its nest on some raised spot amongst the reeds. Eggs four, white
speckled with red. It is a bold and hardy bird, pursuing its prey
even in inhabited places.
In November, 1863, we observed a single specimen flying over the
village of Ceres, in the Cold Bokkeveld. We have also received it
from Kuruman, and observed it along the East Coast as far as Fazy.
A pair frequent the homestead of the Honourable T. H. Vigne, at
Tyger Hoek, River “ Zonder End” (1865). The flight and habits of
E