4 Hon. N. C. Rothschild and Mr. A. F. 11. Wollaston 



The list of birds which follows will, wc hope, prove of 

 interest and of some value as an addition to our knowledge 

 of their geographical distribution. It will be noticed how 

 large a number of the species belong to Abyssinia also. \Vc 

 have purposely omitted to mention a large majority of the 

 migratory birds which we saw. We liave, moreover, made 

 uo attempt to describe the call-notes and songs, or to render 

 them into words ; such things can only be learnt by personal 

 experience. 



Our thanks are due to Mr. E. Hartert and the authorities 

 of the Tring Museum for much valuable help in identifying 

 our specimens. 



N.l>. — Species marked with an asterisk were ftilly 

 identified, but specimens of them were not obtained. 

 We purposely avoided shooting Vultures, Cranes, &c., 

 partly because most collections are well supplied with them, 

 and partly on account of the great difficulty of drying and 

 packing the skins of large birds. 



1. Nectakinia metallica Lieht. 



28 c?, CI J, 188 ^, 2i)9 S, S-ll J, 401 S juv., 

 419 c? juv., 203 ? . 



This was the only species of Sun-bird which we obtained. 

 It was very plentiful in the scrub along the river-bank, 

 especially frc(iuenting those places where the Sodom-apple 

 [Culotropis jn-uccra) was growing; a pair of these birds 

 perched on the flowers of this plant, with constantly 

 qTiivcring tails and wings, made as pretty a luctui'c as one 

 could wish to see. 



Von Heuglin says that this species begins to breed in 

 June and July, when it lays a white egg with large red 

 spots at the broad end. We found several nests; the first, 

 on March 10th, contained three much-incubated eggs, and 

 this seems to be the full clutch. All the eggs which we 

 obtained were pure white, M'ith a very few minute purplish 

 spots, hardly visible without the aid of a lens, scattered 

 over the broad end. The nest, Avhicli somewhat resembles 

 that of the Long-tailed Tit, is usually built in an acaeia-bush. 



