394 Mr. A. L. Butler on the 



The following is a description of a young bird which had 

 just left the nest (Feb. 20th, 1904) :— 



Head rufous to fulvous, the cheeks paler, the chin and 

 throat palest ; crest rufous to fulvous, the feathers soft and 

 scanty, about If inch long. The feathers of the neck 

 broadly tipped with rufous, their bases being black on the 

 upper neck only. Feathers of the back broadly, and those of 

 the lower surface more narrowly, edged with fulvous; median 

 secondary wing-coverts white tinged with rufous, and with 

 one black bar; tertiary coverts rufous with several broad 

 black bars. Thighs pale fulvous. No wattles on the face. 

 Iris greyish brown, with an outer ring of pale grey. 



297. Grus communis Bechst. 



Grey Cranes winter in the Soudan in great numbers. 

 I have seen them as early as September 7th, and as late as 

 the middle of May. Between these months their long lines 

 and V -formations passing over Khartoum area familiar sight. 



Their chief resorts are the cotton-soil plains on which 

 dhurra is cultivated, or the sand-banks and mud-flats in the 

 rivers. Occasionally 1 have seen upwards of a thousand 

 together. 



298. Grus virgo (Linn.). 



The Demoiselle Crane, though abundant in the cold 

 weather, is much less plentiful than the Grey Crane. 

 Otherwise the same remarks apply to it. 



299. Piivllopezus africanus (Gm.). 



a. J. Meshra-el-Rek, March 8, 1902. 



The White-faced Jacana is a common bird on the swampy 

 parts of the White Nile and its affluents. As the "sudd" 

 is reached it becomes extremely abundant. At Meshra-el- 

 Rek I noticed it feeding tamely among domestic fowls at 

 the muddy landing-place. 



300. LOBIVANELLUS SENEGALUS (Liim.). 



The Yellow-wattled Lapwing seems to be scarce. I 

 saw three pairs, which were remarkably tame, about the 

 little station of Meshra-el-Rek in March 1902, and I have 



