269 



BIRDS FROM THE GAMBIA. 



By E. HoPKiNSON. 



The following are some rough notes on the more 

 interesting birds which I brought from West Africa last 

 July, and which I still have in my possession, either in a 

 garden-aviary or indoors. 



On the whole, I am very doubtful if the result is 

 worth the trouble and expense involved in collecting 

 them in Africa and bringing them home ; for of the 700 

 odd which I brought, the great majority were of the 

 commoner species which can usually be bought so 

 cheaply in London. On the other hand, the mortality- 

 has, I think, been considerably lower in this lot than 

 among the ordinary dealer's birds of the same kind : no 

 doubt because they were a shorter time in the crowded 

 travelling cages, and got rather better lookeurTrft-er on 

 the vo\'age ; it certainh' cannot be attributed to their 

 arrival in siunnier weather this 5'ear. 



I will now take the birds in order, and say what I 

 have to say under each head : nothing ver}- noteworthy 

 or original, I am afraid. 



FiREFiNCHES. Of these I have three kinds, the 

 Common (Lagonosticta senegala), the Vinaceous (L. 

 vinacea), and thirdly, three specimens of a species I 

 have onh' recently identified, the Red-breasted Firefinch 

 (L, rnfopida). 



With these birds I have been very lucky, as out of 

 the dozen which I kept, only two have so far died (one 

 Common and one Red-breasted). This is to me quite a 

 new experience, as I have never before been able to keep 

 r'irefinches for any length of time even indoors, much 

 less outside — as these birds still are (and where the}' 

 will probably have to remain all the winter now, as I 

 cannot catch them to bring them in as I ought). Any 

 other bird in the aviary is sooner or later easily captured 

 with a butterfly-net, but these are so wonderfully quick 

 in dodging the net that I have not yet succeeded in 



