G18 Colonel S. R. Clarke on [Ibis, 



species of CormorJint, Senegal and Spnrwing Plovers and 

 Greenshanks and Lily-Trotters thronged the sandy islands, a 

 ceaseless stream o£ Spurwing Geese and Open-bills passed 

 overhead, and the smooth surface o£ the river near the fringe 

 of reeds was continually broken by the splashes of diving 

 Kingfishers. 



It was a deliohtful scene — an evenino- to be rememlxM'ed. 

 We shot a few herons and plovers, and then lay on the 

 ground, the silence broken by the rip])ling of the clear river 

 below us, the plop-plop of rising fish, and now and again 

 the wild whistle of Fishing Eagles {Haliai-tus vodfer). We 

 looked beyond the river at a fresh countr}^ ; by the track we 

 had come the slightly rolling veld had continued to the 

 actual bank of the stream, but on the north side the river 

 held in domination a wide tract of country ; grassy flats 

 intersected by lagoons and reed-beds extended beyond our 

 ranoe of sight, and promised a rich reward for several days' 

 investigation. Unfortunately, the Lechwe and Puku we 

 were seeking were not so abundant as we had expected, and 

 after a couple of days spent among these delights of marsh- 

 birds, we left for tlie thicker bush near the Nasenga River. 



During these days we saw vast numbers of Spurwing 

 Geese, and found them easy of approach. One party came 

 to bathe in the river 50 yards away from our tents and j)aid 

 a toll towards our food supply. I crawled up to another lot 

 of about fifteen, and shot one with my Mauser ; they were 

 so slow at rising that I was able to pump up another cart- 

 rid oe and kill a second before it was on the wing. Other 

 large birds were Crowned Cranes {Balearica regulorinn\ and 

 another Crane which we thought to be the Stanley, but though 

 we saw two or three pairs we were not able to secure a 

 specimen ; the Goliath Heron and the Saddle-billed Stork 

 were also seen, and we killed one of each. There were a 

 few flocks of Whydahs and Bishop-birds about the reeds, 

 unfortunately the species were not identified ; and I saw one 

 Quail, but generally speaking small birds were not very 

 abundant. Further on, beyond the country of lagoon and 

 reed beds, we found large grassy flats which appeared to be 



