1917-] the Birds of Yemen. 139 



hands of the Imam by now, except in such districts as 

 repudiate liim and the Turks. 



Both sides are suspicious of aliens and of each other, 

 while my pursuits required a freedom of movement which 

 was a constaut source of anxiety to a Government that had 

 to practise a conciliatory tribal policy. I soon saw that 

 there was no chance of extending my expedition southwards 

 along the inland plateau, and had long known that north 

 and east were alike out of the question. 



I therefore finished off the Sanaa district and returned to 

 the coast, working the vicinity of Hodeida just before 

 leaving in October 1913. 



The present political situation in Yamen convinces me 

 that it will be long before another naturalist is allowed to 

 work a'field in the interior, and the coastal districts are now 

 closed. 



One other journey should be possible, viz., Hodeida to 

 ]\lokha by dhow, and thence via Taiz up on to the inland 

 plateau towards Ibb, Yerim, and Dhamar. This plateau 

 culminates towards Yerim, in which district the Tiban and 

 Bana rise to flow southwards to the sea in the Aden Pro- 

 tectorate. Yerim is 8860 feet above sea-level. 



There yet remains Asir. This province cannot be worked 

 with Ottoman credentials, yet it must be borne in mind that 

 there is a Turkish maritime blockade of the Asiri coast. 



In Asir the central plateau appears to break up into 

 numerous ranges and isolated massifs, and desert tracts are 

 more frequent inland. In such districts I should expect to 

 find the Arabian Ostrich, as also in the desert north and 

 east of Mareb. I know it occurs in Jauf. 



The difficulty in penetrating any of the above-named 

 regions is that the Turks will not let you try, and to tem- 

 porarily evade officialdom is merely to run up against some 

 semi-detached chieftain who would hand you back to the 

 powers that be in order to curry favour while not omitting 

 to " bleed " you first. The practical naturalist cannot tour 

 in disguise under such conditions ; his pursuits and impedi- 

 menta betray him to the sophisticated mind. 



