ON AN EAST AFRICAN RANCH 41 



or over. There were white flowers that smelt like narcissus, 

 blue flowers, red lilies, orange tiger-lilies, and many others' 

 of many kinds and colors, while here and there in the pools 

 of the rare rivers grew the sweet-scented purple lotus-lily. 



There was an infinite variety of birds, small and large, 

 dull-colored and of the most brilliant plumage. For the 

 most part they either had no names at all or names that 

 meant nothing to us. There were glossy starlings of many 

 kinds; and scores of species of weaver finches, some brill- 

 iantly colored, others remarkable because of the elaborate 

 nests they built by communities among the trees. There 

 were many kinds of shrikes, some of them big, parti-colored 

 birds, almost like magpies, and with a kestrel-like habit of 

 hovering in the air over one spot; others very small and 

 prettily colored. There was a little red-billed finch with its 

 outer tail feathers several times the length of its head and 

 body. There was a little emerald cuckoo, and a tiny thing, 

 a barbet, that looked exactly like a kingfisher four inches 

 long. Eared owls flew up from the reeds and grass. There 

 were big, restless, wonderfully colored plantain-eaters in 

 the woods; and hornbills, with strange swollen beaks. A 

 true lark, colored like our meadow-lark (to which it is in 

 no way related) sang from bushes; but the clapper-lark 

 made its curious clapping sounds (apparently with its wings 

 like a ruffed grouse) while it zigzagged in the air. Little 

 pipits sang overhead like our Missouri skylarks. There 

 were night-jars; and doves of various kinds, one of which 

 uttered a series of notes slightly resembling the call of our 

 whippoorwill or chuckwills widow. The beautiful little sun- 

 birds were the most gorgeous of all. Then there were bus- 

 tards, great and small, and snake-eating secretary birds, 

 on the plains; and francolins, and African spurfowl with 

 brilliant naked throats, and sand grouse that flew in packs 

 uttering guttural notes. The wealth of bird life was be- 

 wildering. There was not much bird music, judged by 

 the standards of a temperate climate; but the bulbuls, and 

 one or two warblers, sang very sweetly. The naturalists 



