ifjj
AVES.
I d id not succeed in finding an undescribed bird in the district
of Pretoria, nor did I much expect to do so. The bare
plains of the high veld support no rich avifauna, whilst the
neighbouring districts of Lydenburg, Potchefstroom, the road
to the Limpopo and the banks of that river had already been
worked by those excellent field-ornithologists, Mr. Thomas
Ayres * and Mr. P. A. Barratt f. Moreover, the high lands
of Natal around Newcastle, which form part of the same
area as that which comprises the Southern Transvaal, have been
visited by Majors E. A. Butler and H. W. Peilden and Capt.
S. Gr. Reid ||
Immediately around Pretoria the Accipitres are always en
evidence. The Common Yulture, Gyps kolbii, as scavenger,
continuously patrols the air, and settles in flocks as the carcass
of some dead ox is sighted (see ante, pp. 69, 70). The Rufous
Buzzard (Buteo desertorum) is a terror to the poultry-breeders
around the town, and next to the Yulture is the most abundant
in this order of birds. Montagu’s Harrier (Circus pygargus) is
not at all uncommon, but does not venture, as a rule, within a
few miles of the town, and is difficult of approach. The Jackal
Buzzard {Buteo jakal) is also very scarce in the district; I only
procured it myself among the wooded lowlands of Zout-
pansberg. My greatest acquisition was a specimen of Wahl-
berg’s Eagle {Aquila wahlbergi), obtained a’ very-few miles
outside the town of Pretoria, a spot where the Black-shouldered
Kite (Elanus ceeruleus) could be generally seen flying or
hovering high in the air, and seldom in reach of the gun.
Several species of Kestrels were very abundant, usually fre-'
* | Ibis,’ 1869,1871, 1873, 1876-80.
-t ‘ Ibis,’ 1870. -
{ | Zoologist,’ 1882.'
M 2