198 WANDERINGS AND MEMORIES 



be viewed, but in spite of their abundance, it was 

 just a chance, and though we hunted early and 

 late during subsequent days close to the river, 

 where their recent kills were scattered in all 

 directions, we seldom saw them, and even then 

 always in the vicinity of dense bush, to which 

 they quickly retreated. 



How wonderful is the African morning in the 

 wilds, and the coming of day with all its manifold 

 sights and sounds ! This, indeed, is the place above 

 all others in which it is good to be a naturalist 

 and to appreciate the marvellous pageant of Nature 

 as the dawn unfolds. 



It is at this hour that the infinite variety of 

 tropical life can be seen. From 5.30 to 9.30 there 

 is a delicious atmosphere of coolness and activity, 

 when birds and mammals are on the move to 

 feed and travel, and though for the most part ever 

 watchful, they are as yet not prone to hide them- 

 selves. If we are out very early we may see a 

 Bushbuck with his wife creeping slowly along on 

 feed at the very edge of the forest — a Ratel, a 

 Mongoose, a Jackal or a Hyaena, night wanderers, 

 generally speaking, trotting home to lie up for the 

 day. There is a whole world of activity in the 

 forest whilst we sleep, and if we could only have 

 the power of sight at night what wonderful scenes 

 could we record ! It is only the tail-end of the 

 habits of night dwellers we view, and then not 

 always the most interesting ones. 



If we except the purely night movers, whose 

 cries extend often until the dawn, the first bird 

 to raise his voice is the Bush Cuckoo, sometimes 

 known as the " Water-bottle " bird, owing to his 



