Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 1 (1897).djvu/189

Rh to be netted as it flies among its favourite trees, a species of Zizyphus, but it is very rare, and only a few are annually secured. The beautiful Ceratorrhina burkei and the resplendent C. derbyana are found on the twigs or silky leaves of a species of Combretum, probably C. holosericum; but though the second species can usually at the right time be found, the first is a beetle to be "hoped for." We walked many miles to a nook found by Ayres to be a peculiarly favoured spot in the restricted area of this species. A fine large Prionid Tithoes confinis is found under the bark of dead trees, and we procured an example of the large Cicindelid Ophrydera rufomarginata; so it will be seen that Rustenburg has some attractions for the coleopterist, but it should be visited early in the summer, and shortly after the rains have commenced.

In the search for these insects we reached the hills and the narrow perpendicular waterfall, which can be often seen a long distance away. Here, enclosed by trees and rising ground, we experienced that peculiar charm of South African scenery that is gradually acquired, never forgotten, and yet is so difficult to analyse or describe. But, as is so frequently the case among these surroundings, animal life was abnormally absent and there were no flowers; it seems a country—to the naturalist—of the past. The water after its long perpendicular drop flows through some rocky pools beneath, and I never drank any that possessed such a tonic and highly stimulating effect. After drinking it we seemed to have left all fatigue behind, and to be invigorated for a fresh march. This was once a fern paradise; a few tree ferns are still left, but unfortunately a market has been found for them, and civilisation has once more ransacked nature.

Among birds the South African Paradise Flycatcher, Terpsiphone cristata, is not uncommon at Rustenburg, and I found the nest during my stay. It is well described in Layard's 'Birds of South Africa,' as "composed of fibres and dead leaves, stuck over with bits of bark, cobwebs, and lichens to resemble a knot in the tree." The last sentence, however, is not to be taken as denoting concealment, for the nest is thoroughly exposed. I found this one on a projecting branch on which were very