Birds from British East Africa. 485 



side of the Ndabibi Plains. Leaving Naivasha on March 19th 

 I joined Sir Alfred Pease at his Ostrich-farm at Kallima 

 Theki, fifteen miles from Kapiti Plains Station, and remained 

 there until I sailed for England on April 30th, having made, 

 however, in the meantime, two short collecting-expeditions to 

 Bondoni and Kibwezi. 



So many papers .have been lately written on British East 

 Africa and so much of it is now well known that I need say 

 but little concerning the aspect of the various parts of the 

 continent into which I w^ent. Our several expeditions 

 enabled me to collect in three totally different and distinct 

 types of country which in their fauna and flora shew most 

 marked changes, broadly resolving themselves into open 

 plain country, bush country, and forest. 



I was accompanied by Mr. P. Groves, an experienced 

 taxidermist, and with his assistance formed a collection of 

 birds, including nearly 600 skins of 232 species. Many of 

 these were prepared under difficulties, more especially during 

 our first trip, when we were continually moving camp ; how- 

 ever, the majority of the skins reached England in first-rate 

 condition. 



In addition to collecting birds and shooting big game I 

 brought home with me a large number of butterflies in 

 papers, besides numerous small mammals and reptiles and a 

 number of live birds, which I caught in traps taken out for 

 the purpose or which the natives snared for me. Amongst 

 these was a fine specimen of Centropus super ciliosus, which 

 had not previously been brought alive to England. 



It is very difficult to successfully combine big-game 

 shooting and scientific bird-collecting — one spoils the other, — 

 and I invariably found that when out stalking an Antelope 

 or a Rhinoceros I was certain to see and yet be unable to 

 shoot the bird which 1 had been on the look out for so 

 long. Vice versa, when collecting birds, without doubt the 

 beast with the finest head would always appear. On our 

 first saffari the greater part of the birds obtained were shot 

 as we were riding along in the early morning from one camp 

 to another, when it was more or less the rule not to shoot at 

 any game unless the whole caravan, as occasionally happened, 



SER. IX. VOL. III. 2 K 



