2 ARKIV FÖR ZOOLOGI. BAND 3. N:0 21. 



food by the natives, Mr. Laman says. The larger bircls are 

 mostly killed with shot-guns, the smaller ones are caught, 

 in various ways, especially during that time of the year Avhen 

 they are gathered in flocks. Snares are piit up in the trees 

 for catching birds. For small birds a great number of snares 

 are arranged on the ground on suitable spöts, and as bait 

 for alluring the prey termites are thrown among the snares. 

 The birds come then in swarms and when picking up the 

 termites they are caught in the snares. 



The natives also know how to prepare a kind of bird- 

 lime which they smear on rods and put up in trees. 



Small birds are also caught in nets which are hung up in 

 places where the swarms pass. When the birds are caught 

 alive in this way they are simply tied together into bunches 

 and brought to the märket for sale, still living, but with the 

 wings and legs partly broken so that the}^ may not escape. 

 The negroes have evidently no idea about this being a 

 cruelty. 



Small birds are simply held över fire to singe off the 

 feathers and then eaten roasted without being cleaned. 



Pigeons, turtle döves, and francolins are most valued as 

 food. 



Hardly any kind of bird is spared, except some species 

 of king-fishers with wich some superstition is connected (conf. 

 below). Birds are, seldom kept in captivity by the natives 

 except for the purpose of being sold to the white men. 



The hoopoe is said to predict a new season of the year, 

 and a certain kind of francolin, which is heard screaming in 

 the woods, is regarded to forebode rain. Otherwise the 

 natives have less sayings and fables about birds than about 

 mammals. They recognize, however, a great number of dif- 

 ferent kinds of birds and distinguish them with names which 

 are in many cases rather characteristic partly, being ono- 

 matopoietic, partly refering to some characteristic or some 

 habit of the bird. Mr. Laman has kindly communicated a 

 good many of these names, and it may be observed that 

 those from Mukimbungu are in the Mazinga-dialect, those 

 from Kingovi in the Bwende-dialect. 



