75 



BirJ) 1Rote6 from the (Sambia. 



By E. HoPKiNSON, M.A., M.B., D.S.O. 

 {Continued from page 51). 



ry TARUNGS. Of these the most widely distribu- 

 iNC ted and commonest species is the Long-tailed 

 }^ Glossy Starling, which is found everywhere, in 

 trees, in the fields with the cattle or feeding in 

 flocks on the ground in the ricefields or swamps. The 

 next commonest is the Purple-headed Glossy Starling 

 {Lamprocoliiis ptirpureus), which frequents much the 

 same situations, but usually goes about in much larger 

 and very noisy flocks. I have seen two other species 

 (and of course there are others I have not met with), 

 namely the smaller Pholidauges ieiicogaster, the White- 

 breasted Starling, a lovely bird with metallic maroon 

 upper parts and white breast and belly, and L. chlor- 

 opterics, the Green-winged Glossy Starling. The 

 Glossy Starlings are all lively, confident and noisy 

 birds, typical Starlings in every way, while Pholi- 

 dauges is, as far as I have seen, much more retiring in 

 its habits and less self-assertive than its larger and 

 more gregarious relations. I must not forget to 

 include the Oxpeckers {Buphaga), brown. Starling- 

 like birds with yellow and red bills, which live on the 

 ticks and other insects which infest the cattle. They 

 are seen hopping round and hanging to the hide of 

 the beasts, busily engaged in searching the hair for 

 their prey, a service which delights the animal, even 

 apparently when the bird is pecking at what looks 

 like a painful sore. 



CROWS. The common Crow of the Gambia is 

 the widely distributed African species, Corvtcs scapic- 

 latus, the Pied Crow, one of which I kept during my 

 last tour in this country and which I eventually 

 brought home. Like all Crows, he took kindly to 

 captivity, and is, I believe, still alive at the Zoo, 



