A whydah bird on the papyrus. — I was interested in the wealth of bird life in British East 

 Africa, especially in the strange appearance and habits of the whydah finches. During the breeding 

 season of this species of the Kamiti River, the female remains dull-colored and short-tailed, but the 

 male takes on a shining dark color, with tail feathers more than twice the length of the rest of the 

 bird, and curled at the tips. (The heavy tail is a distinct handicap in flying.) 



The time of the mere zoological collector is past ; every man in the field from now on should be- 

 come a trustworthy observer and recorder of natural history facts. The work of the camera is more 

 valuable than that of the rifle, but most valuable of all is observation of the life histories and habits 

 of the creatures of the wilderness 



The whydah bird's dance ring. — The grassland next the papyrus swamp for cue and one half 

 miles along the Kamiti River was everywhere dotted with dance rings. In the early morning and 

 evening the dark-colored male birds were to be seen in the grass, continually bouncing two feet 

 into air, wings spread, tail hanging down, and dropping stiffly back again,— up and down, up and 

 down, as they slowly danced around the rings. The whydahs make the dance rings (about two feet 

 in diameter) by snipping off the long grass at the roots, leaving a central tuft 



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