VOL. X.] FREDERICK COURTENEY SELOUS. 20J3 



pointed out one displaced nettle-leaf, and it wasn't in the top 

 storey either ! The nest belonged to a Blackcap and was 

 more than a foot beneath the tell-tale leaf. I can recall 

 dozens of such instances. No sign, however insignificant, 

 eluded his eye. In this way within a few years (aided by 

 visits to Spain, Transylvania, Bosnia, AsiaMinor. Iceland, etc.), 

 he amassed an amazing collection of eggs of the rarer British 

 birds and the methodical neatness of the collection was no 

 less amazing than its amount. He collected solely in 

 " clutches " and always insisted on having the full number 

 in each selected clutch. 



On one occasion when grouse-driving, Selous saw two 

 Peregrine Falcons pass over, very high, mere specks in air. 

 None of the other six guns had noticed them ; our gaze was 

 presumably limited to the level of game-flight. Selous 

 scanned the whole arc of Heaven. His observation, however, 

 was soon verified by the keeper who, a mile away, had seen 

 the " hunting hawks " and subsequently they were observed 

 frequenting those moors for a month or more. 



These local incidents may seem trivial ; so I turn to New- 

 foundland where on a preliminary visit (in 1900) Selous was 

 repelled (as I was) by the traditional but unenterprising — 

 not to say unsportsmanlike — method of shooting the caribou 

 on their migrations. He struck straight away from beaten 

 tracks and at once his quick observation discovered evidence 

 that these splendid deer frequent regions further south than 

 had hitherto been suspected. That discovery of Selous has 

 practically revolutionized the more intelligent pursuit of deer- 

 stalking in our oldest colony. Nothing in this marvellous man's 

 career strikes me more strongly than the fact that, after 

 spending the best of a lifetime in Africa, he yet developed 

 such superabundant energy as to accomplish almost equal 

 feats of ex].'loration, endurance and hunting-craft, not only 

 in Newfoundland, but right across British North America to 

 the Yukon, as well as in Sudan and Asia Minor. His superb 

 big-game trophies from each of these regions would alone 

 have earned separate recognition were they not, as it were, 

 ecli]')sed by his own still greater deeds in Africa. Ere war 

 br )!;() out, we had already booked passages together for another 

 Alrican voyage (to Sudan) and his letters since insist on that 

 pitn being carried out " if we're both alive when war ends." 



As a typical example of Selous's marked ornithological 

 acumen, may well be recalled a series of short articles con- 

 tributed by him to the first volume of this magazine. I have 

 just re-read them and regard them as models of skilled and 

 careful work. Then as regards entomology, it merits record 



