586 Mr. A. E. Percival on Birds 



end o£ August 1898 on the river Ruo. It was in considerable 

 numbers on this one occasion only, and during tlie nine 

 months that I stayed in the district I never saw it again. It 

 was flying high in the bright sunshine, unlike the other 

 Saw-winged Swallows, which are seldom seen before dusk, 

 when they fly low and usually among trees. 



My specimen diff'ers from the type of P. antinorii, in the 

 IJritish Museum, in having the gloss on the back greenish 

 black instead of purple. 



28. Dendropicus cardinalis (Gmel.) ; Hargitt, Cat. B. 

 Brit. Mus. xviii. p. 295 (1890). 



Rare. This was the only Woodpecker seen. 



29. Indicator major Steph. ; Shelley, Ibis, 1897, p. 545. 

 Not uncommon on the Liadzi. The natives have a strong 



objection to this bird being killed, for it shews them where 

 the bees' nests are. I may mention here, that the native- 

 collected wild honey in British Central Africa is nearly 

 always uneatable. I was unable to find out the reason of 

 the objectionable flavour. Honey obtained in the low 

 country of the Transvaal and Swaziland is splendid stufl^, 

 very dark and rich in flavour. 



30. Melanobucco torquatus (Dumont); Shelley, Ibis, 

 1897, p. 546. 



A few were seen. I found a nest in a hollow tree. 



31. ScHizoRHis coNcoLOR (Smith) ; Shelley, Ibis, 1894, 

 p. 7. 



Rare, very few seen. 



32. Centropus senegalensis (Linn.) ; Shelley, Cat. B. 

 Brit. Mus. xix. p. 361 (1891). 



Extremely common on all the wooded banks of the rivers, 

 particularly on the Liadzi. 



33. CoccYSTEs cafer (Licht.) ; Shelley, Ibis, 1897, p. 545. 

 «. Ad. Ruo River, 1899. 



These birds are very noisy. I obtained one out of a pair 

 early in 1899. 



