330 Mr. Boyd Alexander on the 



these variations. As I have had occasion elsewhere to 

 remark, this is a study where there can be no monopoly of 

 knowledge on the part of any single observer. Many 

 observers are necessary, and each may add something 

 valuable to the general fund of information. 



XXXII. — On the Birds of Fernando Po. 

 By Boyd Alexander, F.Z.S., Rifle Brigade. 



(Plates VP.-IX.) 



Page 



Part I. Introductory Remarks 330 



„ II. List of the Species of which specimens were 



obtained, with Field-Notes 340 



„ III. List of the Species recorded by previous Authors, 



specimens of which were not obtained 391* 



,, IV. Ornithological Bibliography of Fernando Po . . 402 



Part I. — Introductory Remarks. 

 Having completed in July last my ornithological survey 

 of the Gold Coast and its hinterland, I determined to turn 

 my attention to Fernando Po, the largest island of the 

 Benin group. Although it had been previously explored 

 by Louis Fraser, Naturalist to the Allen and Thomson 

 Expedition to the Niger, in 1841, and by Mr. Newton, 

 the Portuguese collector, in 1894*, I had hopes of making- 

 further additions to the known fauna of the island. But 

 the mountainous nature of Fernando Po, the lack of all roads 

 in the interior, the form and nature of the Government, 

 the great dearth of labour, and the evil reputation of the 

 island for health constitute formidable difficulties to any 

 scientific expedition. 



It was, therefore, not without some misgiving that I left 

 Liverpool in September last, in company with my Portuguese 

 collector, Mr. Lopes, to explore this island ; but I trusted to 

 my two years' experience on the West Coast to pull me 

 through. At Sierra Leone I had my first disappointment ; 

 I found it quite impossible to get carriers. No better 

 success awaited me at Monrovia and at Cape Coast. At 



