Birds of Madagascar. 5G I 



an assemblage of people who are subject to tlie same sovereign 

 is termed ^' Akdnga tsy rba volo," i. e.^ " Guinea-fowls not of 

 two (or different) plumages," something like our saying, 

 " Birds of a feather flock together." Again, " A Guinea- 

 fowl going into the forest : waiting for the rain to clear off", 

 but caught by a steady downpour.'^ The difficulty of catching 

 the bird is referred to in the saying, " Seeing a beautifully 

 marked Guinea-fowl, and throwing away the fowl at home in 

 one^s house," reminding one that '' A bird in the hand is 

 worth two in the bush." And again, the maxim that '■' Union 

 is strength " is enforced by the proverb, " Guinea-fowls going 

 in a flock are not scattered by the dogs^' (that hunt them). 



Here is a native fable referring to this bird : — " Once upon 

 a time, they say, a Guinea-fowl went to visit his friends 

 beyond the forest ; but when he got into the midst of the 

 woods he grew giddy and fell, breaking his wing. Then he 

 lamented and said, ' To go on, to go on, I cannot ; if I return 

 I long for my relations.'' And from that, they say, the 

 people got their frequent song which says, ' A Guinea-fowl 

 entering the forest : go on, he cannot ; return, wing broken ; 

 stop where he is, he longs for his relatives.' " 



(2) One species each of Partridge and Quail is found in 

 'Madagascar, the first of these being of a peculiar genus 

 {Margaroperdix). This is a handsome bird, with -black, 

 brown, and red plumage, and curved lines with white spots, 

 as its name of " Striped Partridge " denotes. It is smaller 

 than the English Partridge and is tolerably common, often 

 rising with a sudden " whirring " flight from just under one's 

 horse's nose, when riding over the long dry grass of the open 

 country. M. Grandidier says that it lays from fifteen to 

 twenty eggs, and that, according to Sakalava belief, any one 

 who, having found the nest of the Tslpby (as it is called), 

 does not break the eggs, causes the death of his mother; but 

 if, on the contrary, he destroys them, he causes the death of 

 his father ! This superstition, as he says, probably comes 

 from the rarity of finding the nest at all. Mr. Cory re- 

 marks : — " Though the Tsipoy lays so many eggs, it only 

 rears small coveys ; the largest I have seen was twelve, and 



SER. VI. — VOL. III. 2q 



