Recent Ornithological Publications. 303 



can be ignorant that Mr. Du Chaillu has discovered some re- 

 markable novelties in the order of Birds, whatever he may have 

 done in Mammals. In this branch of his investigations, how- 

 ever, he has had the advantage of the services of Mr. John Cas- 

 sin, the well-known Ornithologist of the iicademy of Natural 

 Sciences of Philadelphia, who has thoroughly worked at his 

 specimens, and has been able to discriminate between what was 

 really new, and what were merely more perfect examples of 

 already named species. Mr. Du Chaillu's narrative contains 

 several notices concerning some of the more important species 

 which he discovered, to which we must call our readers' at- 

 tention. 



The new Guinea-fowl {Numida plumifera^) "is very shy, but 

 marches in large flocks through the woods, where the traveller 

 hears its loud voice. It utters a kind of ' quack,' hoarse and 

 discordant, like the voices of other Guinea-fowls. It avoids the 

 path left by travellers ; but its own tracks are met everywhere 

 in the woods it frequents, as the flock scratch and tear up the 

 ground wherever they stop. It is strong of wing, and sleeps by 

 night on the tops of high trees, a flock generally roosting toge- 

 ther on the same tree. When surprised by the hunter they do not 

 fly in a body, but scatter in every direction. Thus it is a diffi- 

 cult bird to get, and the natives do not often get a shot at it." 



Of the Phasidus niger, remarkable as being the nearest ap- 

 proach in the iEthiopian fauna to anything like a true Gallus or 

 Phasianus, Mr.DuChaillu tells us that when he met with it for the 

 first time in the woods, he thought he saw before him a domestic 

 fowl. " The natives have noticed the resemblance too, as their 

 name for it shows — couba iga, signifying wild-fowl. Wild they 

 are, and most difficult to approach ; and also rare even in the 

 forests where they are at home. They are not found at all on 

 the sea-coast, and do not appear until the traveller reaches the 



* For a good figure of this species and the Phasidus niger, see ' Journal 

 of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia,' new series, vol. iv. 

 pis. 2 & 3. In the same work (pi. 49) are also representations of two 

 beautiful Meropidce discovered by Mr. Du Chaillu, Meropogon breweri 

 and Meropiscus midleri ; aud in the following plate are figured some very 

 remarkable species of Muscicapidee. 



