On Birds of the Province of Fohkien. 489 



fattest bird I have ever seen ; a thick layer of soft white fat 

 covered the whole body. 



"During the two following nights we were at Emkiseni, 

 her mate, poor thing, occupied the fig-tree over my tent, and 

 all night long kept up a booming ' Oo-oo/ deep and full- 

 toned. 



*' Judging from the size and powerful talons and beak of 

 this Owl, one would suppose its prey to be tolerably large 

 game. There is no game, however, at Emkiseni, except 

 Guinea-fowl (very plentiful ; I shot three round our camp), a 

 few hares, and a very few Partridges, with here and there 

 an antelope {Cejj/ialoplms sp. inc.) weighing about 35 lbs. or 

 so, and some very small mammals and snakes. 



" Some of my men told me that this Owl eats caterpillars, 

 but I cannot say whether this is a fact ; they also told me 

 it eats snakes. 



" The Wahenga, Wankamanga, and Watumbuka (who are 

 the original inhabitants of this neighbourhood ; the Angoni 

 are their conquerors and hold their country) call this Owl 

 ' Kwita ' ; they regard it, and all Owls, with superstition : 

 they say it is ' Chyuni cha uhawi ^ = ^ A bird of witchcraft ^^ ; 

 that, if it perches on a housetop, it forebodes death. ^^ 



XLIV. — Additional Observations on the Birds of the Province 

 of Fohkien*. By C. B. Rickett and J. D. de La Touche. 

 With Notes by W. E. Ogilvie Grant. 



As some of the birds avc have obtained of late are of more or 

 less interest as occurring in this district, we append lists of 

 the same, which we hope may prove of interest. 



Last November we sent our native collectors to Kuatun, 

 a village about 270 miles from Foochow, on the mountains 

 at the extreme north-west of this province, and on the borders 

 of that of Kiangsi. The village, • according to Pere David, 

 stands some 3000-4000 feet above the sea, the mountain it is 

 situated on being some 3000 feet higher and covered with 

 forest. 



* Cf. Ibis, 1892, pp. 400-430 & 477-503 ; and 1894, pp. 215-226. 



