Birds from the Fantee Country. 471 



The third collection is the first consignment, I trust, of a 

 series, an account of which I hope, from time to time, to lay 

 before the readers of ' The Ibis/ Through a chain of fortuitous 

 circumstances, I made the acquaintance of His Excellency Go- 

 vernor Ussher, now in Fantee; and part of the materials of the 

 present paper is due to that gentleman's goodness. 



I also take this opportunity of returning my best thanks 

 to StafF-Surgeon B. Hinde, who had also begun to collect 

 for me, and had already obtained some birds, when ill-health 

 unfortunately compelled him to return home. He then most 

 kindly took under his charge the collection forwarded by His 

 Excellency, and brought it to England in beautiful condition. 

 The specimens of which it consists are all preserved in the best 

 possible manner, and alone are sufficient to show how much an 

 energetic naturalist may do, even in a district so well explored as 

 the Fantee country is supposed to be. 



For the fourth collection I am indebted to another kind friend, 

 Mr. Andrew Svv^anzy, F.L.S,, who submitted to my inspection 

 an excellent series of Fantee birds which he had received from 

 time to time. Full notices of the species in Mr. Swanzy's pos- 

 session will be found in the body of the paper ; but I must express 

 my obligations to hira for the gift of many valuable specimens, 

 thus making my series of Fantee birds more complete. Lastly, 

 and after I had finished with the other four collections, a second 

 consignment of bird-skins from Governor Ussher has reached 

 me, just in time to record in their proper places the species it 

 contains. During his recent visit to the river Volta he was so 

 good as to take a collector ; and I feel sure that all ornitho- 

 logists will be thankful to him for this proof of zeal in the good 

 cause, as through his endeavours we have now some information 

 about the ornithology of a hitherto unexplored locality. In his 

 last letter he writes : — " I observed, on the Volta, Pelicans and 

 a very small Flamingo (rose-colour and black), a few Curlews, 

 Sandpipers, and so forth, and a very few of a common kind of 

 Teal, grey and chestnut, which I have shot at most places on 

 the coast ; but, as a rule, water-birds were very wild and very 

 scarce. The banks of the Volta are open, and not sedgy, and 

 afford but little cover for them ; but for the war, however, I 



