Birds from the White Nile. 16 



106. Plectropterus gambensis (L.). Half-way between Om- 

 durman and ed Dueim we first met with spurwinged geese. 

 Small flocks of them were fairly common all the way to Kaka, 

 but only near Mohadan Zeraf they occurred in greater numbers. 

 They were always very shy. 



107. Dafila acuta (L.) *. Big flocks of the beautiful males 

 of the Pintail were not uncommon in the lower parts of the 

 White Nile up to ed Dueim. I saw a few of them near el 

 G-erassi as late as the beginning of April. 



108. Querquedula querquedula (L.) f. Shot on the 3 rd of 

 April near el Haschaba on the White River. This duck was by 

 no means- so common as the Teal. I noticed it only once. 



109. Spatula clypeata (L.) *. Observed in the beginning 

 of April near el Haschaba. 



110. Nettion crecca (L.) f. The Teal was shot or observed 

 every day on our way southwards from Omdurman to Dueim 

 in February. 



111. Dendrocygna viduata (L.). This duck was observed 

 from about Abba Island southward. The farther south we came, 

 the more abundant it was. We often saw enormous flocks of it. 



112. Otis arabs L. smc. This splendid bustard was observed 

 now and then along the White River, especially in the evenings, 

 when it came down to the river to drink. Generally there were 

 two of them together. They were always very shy. I shot a 

 male on the first of April with my Mauser carbine near Kawa, 

 and its tolerably thin-walled stomach was quite stuffed with 

 big locusts. Also in the neighbourhood of the 6 th cataract we 

 observed it once. 



113. Otis melanogaster Rupp. smc. A younger female of this 

 bustard was shot near our farthest station at Grhrab el Aisli 1 . 



1 The female of this species resembles very much the female of Otis 

 tyrtlanbi, but as the culmen of the specimen in question is only 41 mm, the 

 gjteal spots on the back of a very pure black and the under wing-covers 

 I 'lack with white points and no white cross bars, I dont hesitate to consider 

 it a melanogaster. So for as I know, this species has not before been found 

 in the midle sections of the White River. 



J&gerskiold: Expedition. 3. G ) - 



