from Efulen in Cameroon. 91 



which insects work. I have several times seen a dead tree 

 inhabited by a colony of the little * Ovol ' [? Barbatula du- 

 chaillui] with the trunk and branches bored full of holes. 

 These birds were not seen or heard tapping on the trees, and 

 they did not run over the perpendicular tree-trunks like 

 Woodpeckers, but had to take to the wing in order to change 

 their position. The stiff-tailed Woodpeckers found here 

 are often heard tapping in the forest, but not loudly like 

 those at home, as if for the sake of making a noise. The 

 man who killed the four large ' Ovol ' on July 23rd said 

 that there was a big colony of them in a dead tree. He 

 climbed a neighbouring tree, so as to be within short 

 range of the birds' holes, and shot nine of them, as they 

 came and went, with his cross-bow and little palm-stalk 

 arrows. All nine were males, for I examined them all in 

 order to get specimens of both sexes. The little ' Omvek ' 

 [Barbatula scolopaceal is continually heard uttering its 

 monotonous ' kom ! kom ! kom \/ the same note being 

 repeated a dozen times, nearly as rapidly as the ticking of 

 a watch, with a short pause — then the same thing occurs again 

 as long as you have the patience to listen. It reminds one 

 of the tinkling of a hammer on a small anvil. 



" The little Owl called ' Obimven ' is, according to the 

 unvarying testimony of the natives, the bird that makes a 

 weird call or song, usually heard at evening time, which 

 consists of three clear notes, the last in a trilling tone, uttered 

 rapidly and repeatedly. It reminds me a little of the ciy of 

 the Whip-poor- Will in America. 



" Hornbills are very characteristic of the forests, the 

 rushing noise of their wings and their harsh cries being 

 always heard where there are trees and vines with the fruits 

 they love. The crested 'Bebone' is generally (? always) 

 seen near the ground in the forest, and is said to make a 

 practice of following flocks of monkeys overhead in the trees, 

 and picking up the fruits they drop.^^ 



The species represented in Mr. Bates's collection are as 

 follows : — 



