516 Mr. G. H. Gurney on 



146. CoRYTHAix poRPHYREOLOPHA. Crimson-winged 

 Plantain-eater. 



Corythaix porphyreolopha Smith. 



Iris brown ; bill and legs black. 



The Crimson-winged Plantain-eater was local, but not 

 uncommon at some of our camps. It was always met with 

 in the larger trees, and I often heard its loud notes without 

 seeing the bird. It was one of the most striking species 

 that I met with ; and one of the prettiest natural-history 

 sights I saw in East Africa was when on one occasion 

 I watched four of them playing together in a large tree : 

 lor fully twenty minutes they chased each other, jumping 

 from bough to bough, flirting their tails, expanding their 

 wings, and shewing the rich crimson feathers ; all the time 

 uttering a low, not unpleasant call-note. A party of Masai 

 natives I met had some of their arrows adorned with the 

 crimson primaries of this species. 



147. ScHizoRHis LEUCOGASTER, AVliite-belHed Plantain- 

 eater, 



Schizorhis leucoguster (lUipp.). 



The White-bellied Plantain-eater was more commonly 

 distributed than the last species, and it was noticed almost 

 Avherever we went, provided the country was sufficiently 

 forest-like to contain large trees, amongst which the birds 

 live, feeding on fruit and berries. Contrary to what most 

 writers have said, 1 almost always found them singly and 

 not in small flocks; in fact, I never saw more than three 

 together at a time. When sitting on a bough they keep 

 continually raising and lowering their crest, but owing to 

 their grey colour are very difficult to see. 



148. Strix poensis. African Barn-Owl. 

 Strix poensis Fraser. 



Iris black ; bill whitish yellow ; claws dark grey. 

 The only pair of Barn-Owls seen in East Africa were a pair 

 which were shot out of a small cave at Bondoni. 



