342 THE ODYSSEY OF AN ANIMAL COLLECTOR 
of its head. Then I knew immediately that it was the Gray-necked 
Picathartes, one of the least-known and most curious birds in the 
world. It had been seen in the wild state by only two or three 
Europeans, and this was the first specimen ever captured alive. In 
my excitement I took it from the boy in double-quick time before 
he had a chance to let it slip out of his hands and put it safely in 
a suitable traveling-box. 
On questioning the boy, I learned that he had found the bird 
in a snare set in the forest for a Brush-tailed Porcupine—an 
animal that is particularly numerous in West Africa and which is 
hunted extensively by the natives for its flesh. How the bird 
escaped injury is a mystery, for a snare of this sort, attached as it 
is to a strong bent sapling, flies up with such a jerk that it would 
normally break any bird’s leg or kill it outright. 
It was indeed fortunate that I was in the vicinity, for the boy 
was taking it home for the pot but got the idea that I might like 
to buy it. The most extraordinary thing was that neither he nor 
any of the other boys had seen such a bird before. 
Later I contacted several old wood-cutters who had spent most 
of their lives in the forest, and they too were unfamiliar with the 
bird. The type specimen of the Gray-necked Picathartes was ob- 
tained in 1901 near Cameroon Mountain, but the species had 
apparently never been observed since in what is now British 
Cameroons, though since my departure from the territory it has 
been found far in the interior where there is suitable rock forma- 
tion for nesting sites in primitive forest. 
The only skins in the British Museum up to this time (1948) 
had been obtained in the forested coastal area of French Cam- 
eroons, and these were all obtained by natives over a period of 
years. 
The Grey-necked Picathartes has a completely bald head, the 
skin of which is attractively colored with blue on the forepart, 
pink on the hindpart, and with black on the sides of the face. The 
former has the appearance of closely matted short feathers. On 
account of its long and sturdy legs and strong bill it was formerly 
considered to have some affinity with the crows and received the 
English name of Bald Crow. Later an opportunity to examine a 
t Mi at pete 
