224 



representatives. Everywhere along the river the 

 handsome white-headed brown Sea-Eagle {^Halicstus 

 vocifer) is to be seen perched on the trees overhanging 

 or near tlie water, and occasional!}' wading in a 

 shallow place either to bathe or to catch a small fish. 

 Other Eagles are the Bateleur, usually seen soaring 

 at a great height in pairs, and two species of Black 

 Crested Eagles, large and small, which haunt the 

 swamps. Kites and Vultures, the much needed 

 scavengers of ever}' town, are everywhere common, 

 while we have as well numerous representatives of 

 other genera of the Family, Buzzards, Hawks of all 

 sizes. Goshawks, Kestrels etc. Perhaps one of the 

 most noticeable is the Swallow-tailed Kite {Naucleriis), 

 a pretty grey and w^hite bird with a long forked tail, 

 which looks on the wing exactly like a large grey 

 slow-flying Swallow. They feed on insects, especially 

 locusts in their season, and are usually seen in small 

 flocks flying slowly towards the hills to roost, after 

 spending the day in their feeding- grounds in the 

 swamps. 



My ability to identify the various species has 

 been getting less and less as I have got farther down 

 the list, and now has practically reached vanishing 

 point, so that in reference to most of the remaining 

 families I can do no more than barely indicate the 

 most conspicuous members. Such a one in point of 

 size is certainly the Ostrich, an adult specimen of 

 which was this year (May 1904) seen close to the 

 river. Ostriches, however, though still common 

 in Senegambia behind our territory, are scarcely 

 Gambian birds, and the individual I refer to was 

 probably one which had escaped from captivity, as 

 specimens are not infrequently brought down from 

 the interior for sale in our territory, but I rather 

 doubt if they ever come so near the river of their 

 own free will. 



