THE LAST JOURNAL OF W. A. FORBES. 473 



Dec. 2nd. Felt seedy, and did not go out in consequence all day. 

 Got a good Polypterus, and in evening a large specimen of the silvery 

 Siluroid (with very long upper tentacle) and an adult of the banded- 

 firmed Percoid. Shuma brought in for inspection a mutilated and much- 

 contracted skin of a Viverra, apparently V. civetta, thickly spotted with 

 black, with black head and white patch on each side ; fur rather long. 



S. Dec. 3rd. Got two more Polypterus from natives, still alive when 

 brought ; neither very big. Greenshields shot a nice Laniarius barbarus 

 in tree behind yard. Went down creek in evening, but did not fire a 

 shot. 



Dec. 4th. Got a Macronyx croceus (structure of tarsus typically Osci- 

 nine and Alaudine) and a Halcyon rufiventris (?) in palm-groves ; but 

 saw little else particular, except a flock of six or seven Colius, which I 

 u chivied " hard, but could not get within range of. A large specimen 

 (28 inches long) of the large-scaled Ceratodoid Osteoglossum was brought 

 in, but too big for pickling with the poor spirit at my disposal. 



Dec. 5th. Went down to palm-groves in morning, with gun and net. 

 Got a Pogonias and Estrelda cinerea, and saw a solitary Colius, but could 

 not get up to it. Caught a few butterflies &c., and had a little sweeping 

 amongst rushes and ferns &c. in damp parts, producing a very curious 

 Mantis, wonderfully plant-like, and two or three species of stalk-eyed 

 flies. Got two new specimens of fish from natives, a very curious horse- 

 headed form, and two large specimens of a large-scaled Cyprinoid. In 

 evening shot a male Macrodipteryx in factory-yard, the long feathers ibis, 1883, 

 apparently broken or shot short. Alarm of a hyaena in night (before). P- 531. 



Dec. 6th. Only got an Estrelda melpoda in morning's shooting, and 

 saw nothing interesting except a Hypergerus and the Ibis which has very 

 conspicuous light metallic-green shoulders and white stripe on sides of 

 head. In evening went down other branch of creek. Saw few birds, 

 except Ceryle gigantea (as usual) and a lot of Treron and Corythaix in 

 big tree near fork. Got five Bats (three EpomopJiorus and two of the 

 insectivorous form), and coming back got a female Macrodipteryx in reed- 

 beds. Got one big and a lot (about fifteen) of smaller Polypteri. 



Dec. 7th. Went out for two hours' entomologizing in morning, and 

 got four specimens of Lyccena, two Hesperias, Danais, Acrcea, &c. &c. in 

 or on road to palm-groves. Got a very blubbery fat Malaptei-urus- 

 like fish (greenish grey spotted with black above, whitish beneath), a 

 Scaroid (silvery dark-striped, like a young mullet, with red fins), a 

 Clupeoid with red fins (? = that gob at Lukoja), two specimens of Chse- 

 todontoids (silvery, one with entirely red fins and unmarked ; the other 

 with eleven long lines, the more dorsal zigzagy, fins edged with red and 

 larger scales), and a large dull grey barbel-like fish. In evening down 

 to palm- groves. Got a Turdus pelios and a second larger specimen of 

 Centropus, of which I had also got (but not recognized as distinct) a 

 young bird. 



