N. Rhodesia and Katanga District of Congoland. 79 



portions of North-east Rhodesia. I have already recorded, 

 the birds collected on the first Expedition in a paper pub- 

 lished in the ' Memoirs and Proceedings of the Manchester 

 Literary and Philosophical Society' (vol. 51, pt. iii.). The 

 majority of the species of the first collection, even when not 

 represented by skins, are now again mentioned with addi- 

 tional notes as to their distribution and habits. There are 

 also a few species, mostly of large size, which were observed 

 but of which skins were not brought home. 



I have already described the general features of the 

 country traversed and have pointed out * the marked in- 

 fluence which the great Mchinga Escarpment, west of the 

 Luangwa Valley, has upon the distribution of the local fauna. 

 Aery many of the birds in the Luangwa Valley at the foot 

 of the Escarpment are characteristically South African, 

 whilst Central-African birds appear immediately the top of 

 the Plateau is reached, with, especially in Katanga, an 

 admixture of species belonging to the tropical West Coast. 

 Apart from special localities, such as Lake Bangweolo which 

 swarms with water-birds, the open plains which are tenanted 

 by many species of Larks and Longclaws, and the patches 

 of dense forest which are full of Ground-Thrushes, Bulbuls, 

 and forest-loving Flycatchers. The most interesting bird-life 

 is, perhaps, to be found in the rather thin woodland which 

 covers a very large proportion of the country. 



It is in this woodland that, as Marshall and other observers 

 have pointed out, large parties made up of many species of 

 insectivorous birds are met with. These birds are usually to 

 be found travelling slowly in a definite direction, searching 

 the trees and bushes for insects as they go along. An actual 

 party of this nature observed near Kamboveon March 29th, 

 1907, comprised examples of the following birds : — Irrisor 

 viridis (4 or 5), Rhino pomastus cyanomelas schalowi (1), 

 Thamnolaa shelleyi (2 pairs), Tchitrea plumbeiceps (1 pair), 

 Batis molitor (several), Dendropicus hartlaubi (1 pair), Sal- 

 pornis salvadorii (1), Pants afer (1), Parus rufiventris (1), 

 and several specimens of Eremomela and other Tree-Warblers, 



* In a paper read before the Royal Geographical Society (Nov. 22nd, 

 1909). 



