488 Mr. J. S. Budgett on the 



On May 4th I reached Fatotenda, where I stayed a day 

 or two near a small lake much frequented by birds. I saw 

 there black and white Ibises and several Spoonbills. Near 

 Darsilanii I noticed several flocks of about twenty Leona 

 Nightjars [Macrodipteryx longipennis) . The males with 

 the elongated wing-feathers were rather more numerous 

 than the females. They flew continually round and then 

 settled on the ground at my feat. I reached my head- 

 quarters on May the 11th, and then heard for the first time 

 the call of a Cuckoo, the note of which resembled that of 

 Cuculus canorus, but the bird I shot was C. gularis. 



I now went down to Nianimaru for the last time (May 18th). 

 The rainy season was just beginning, though unusually early. 

 I obtained there Halcyon chelicutensis far away from the 

 river, and my first Black-throated Weaver-bird [Hyphan- 

 iornis ciicullatus) , which I afterwards found everywhere in 

 thousands, building so closely in the large baobab trees 

 {Adansonia digitata) that the grass-nests, with their entrances 

 underneath, were not more than a foot or two apart. The 

 Bee-eater, Dicrocercus furcatus, now seen for the first time, 

 was abundant. Platystira cyanea was fairly common in the 

 dense forest-growth at the water's edge ; and Pacliyprora 

 senegalensis in the low bushes in the open. Honey- guides 

 {Indicator sparrmam) , perched on the tree-tops, were uttering 

 a loud, melodious, but monotonous cry of two descending 

 notes. 



On June 1st I returned to M'Carthy Island, where I 

 stayed during the rains until the end of July. The Secretary- 

 bird was not unfrequently observed, and birds had generally 

 begun to build. Laniarius barbarus makes a shallow nest 

 of twigs, not unlike that of the Bullfinch, in rather obvious 

 positions. There were now abundant in the swamps two 

 brilliant Weaver-birds, Euplectes franciscanus and E. oryx; 

 they both make round grass-nests with side entrances, 

 attached to two or three of the stems of the tall swamp- 

 grasses. Vidua principalis was fairly common, and 1 often 

 watched the male hovering over the female, rapidly opening 

 and shutting the long tail-feathers, causing them to assume 



