54



/doss' Touracou.



about their nesting habits ; in fact, the Baganda take no interest

in natural history unless it be connected with food. The majority

know nothing about birds, and can only tell one the names of a

few of the commonest. Their information has at all times to be

received guardedly, as the names they give often turn out to be

entirely wrong, and some would I believe make up a name

rather than disappoint you, as they think, by not giving a name

at all.


The Baganda are also very bad climbers, which, I think,

strikes one as curious, the general idea being that any nigger

can climb like a monkey, but the reason is probably to be found

in the fact that all their food is easily obtainable without the

necessity of climbing.


To return to the Touracous. They were rather wild for a

day or two in a cage as they had been accustomed to a small

flight aviary, but they very soon settled down and were greatly

admired on board ship on the way home.


Their food consisted almost entirely of fruit, but a little

meat was also given, as I was told that there had been at one

time several small birds including Vidua principalis in the aviary

with them, but that these had gradually disappeared except the

male principalis , and the Touracous were supposed to be the

culprits. I cannot vouch for this and I do not know whether

my friend had actually witnessed it, but they quite appreciated

the meat which I gave them. The fruits given to them at

different times included bananas, mangos, grapes, peaches,

oranges, plums and apples; nothing seemed to come amiss,

although they probably preferred mangos and grapes. Before I

received them, boiled sweet potatoes had been their main food

with occasionally a ripe banana ; sweet potatoes seem to be an

excellent food for almost any animal, and one’s ‘boys’ will re¬

commend them even for carnivorous animals, but as I pointed

out above the natives are not naturalists.


The crest of these Touracous appears to be of just the

same tint as that of the red wing feathers, and it would be

interesting to know whether the colouring matter of the crest

feathers is soluble like that of the wing, one would imagine not,

unless the bird puts its head under its wing in a rain storm.



