NoVKMISKR, 1901 ] 



KNOWLEDGE 



21.3 



THE WHITE NILE-FROM KHARTOUM TO 

 KAWA. 



AN ORNITHOLOGIST'S EXPERIENCES IN THE SOUDAN. 

 By HaHKV F. WlTHEKBY. F.Z.S., M.n.o.u 



v.— BIRDS. 



O.NE of the finest sights in bird-life is tliat of a falcon 

 t.aking its prey. Laiiuer falcons* were fairly coninion 

 on tlie White Nile, and several times they swooped 

 down upon sandgronsc which we had winged, and 

 altenipled to carry them off. Usually, however, a shout 

 would make the falcon drop such ea.sily won prey. One 

 dav when we were riding, a bird rushed over our heads 

 at a tt'nific pace living towards the river, which was 

 not moiv than a hundred vards away. Before we could 

 determine the species of the bird there was another rush 

 of wings over our heads, and looking up wc saw two 

 launer falcons flving side by side. They did not appear 

 to be going very fast, but their pace must have . been 

 great, since in the short distance between us and the 

 river, they made up the thirty yai-ds or so between 

 them and the bird they were chasing. Just as they 

 caught it up, one of them shot foiT.vard slightly and 

 made a downward swoop like a flash. It then sailed 

 en along the river's edge, while the other immediately 

 turned and flew leisuiely back the way it had come. 

 There had been no struggle and no uneven movements 

 on the part of the falcon ajid nothing to indicate that 

 the prey was taken. We could only imagine that the 

 ]}ursuei-s were disappointe-tl and that they did not care 

 to continue the chase across the river which the quarry 

 seemed to have reached, but as it had unaccountably 

 disapjDeared from our sight we could not be sure. The 

 falcon which had m;ule the swoop and was flying along 

 the river's edge settled upon the ground some 200 or 

 .SOO yards away from us, and then to our intense sur- 

 prise, we saw that it had indeed captured its prey in 

 that rapid swoop, and that it was now standing upon 

 it and teai-ing it. We shouted and fiietl a. shot and the 

 falcon rose, but bore off its prize and would not release 

 it. so that we could only conjecture from tlie brief sight 

 that we had of it as it was rushing over our heads, 

 that it was a pigeon or a sandgiou.se. 



Saudgi-ouse shooting at many points along the banks 

 of the White Nile affords such sport that millionaires 

 would give untold gold for were it to be had in England 

 or Scotland. For an hour or more between 7 and 9 

 in the morning one can stand behind a bush or sand- 

 hill w^ith a continuous stream of birds passing like 

 rockets backwai'ds and forwards over one's head. Flock 

 after flock comes down from the diy dusty desert to 

 the cool waters of the river. The birds generally stay 

 at the river for but a few moments. Alighting on the 

 edge of the water or often with their feet submerged, 

 they take a sip or two, and then flying up and whirling 

 round, shoot back to their desert home. In some places, 

 however, where broatl grassy flats bordered the river, a 

 large number of sandgrousc were to be found all day, 

 and they seemed to live and feed there in preference to 

 the arid inland country. There were two species of 

 these sandgi'ouse. The majority wore of a spcciesf with 

 a sandy-coloured back and a rich dark brca,st, a bird 

 which is found in astonishing numbers over the greater 

 part of the northern half of Africa. The other speciest 

 was decidedly rare and only seen singly or in pairs and 



• Falro fonppif^rus, Schl. + Pteroolurmt csuatva (Temni.V 



* Vifirocluru^ Keitfgallv^i (Linn.). 



never in flocks. It was a larger birtl of a less uniform 

 colouring, and with bright yellow tliroat ami cheeks. 



Although these birds gave such good sport and were, 

 besides, a very welcome addition to the wiry fowls and 

 an occasional, and always aged, sheep or goat which we 

 obtained from the natives, tiie shooting of them was by 

 no means a ])lea,sure. The gi'eat dry heat of the 

 Soudanese sumnicr injured almost everyt.hing we 

 possessed, and tiie effect' it had upon tlie while powder 

 with which our cartridges were loaded produced most 

 trying results. I was told by an expert at home 

 that the extieme dryness of the atmospiiere withdraws 

 tho moisfciu-o from the powder and so causes a too rapid 

 explosion. The fulminate in the cap of the cartridge is 

 affected in the same way, and, as a consequence, all the 

 powder is probably ignited at once, a great deal of gas 

 is generated, and a considerable ex|>losion occurs. The 

 result is extremely unconifmtable and annoying. After 

 shooting 10 or 12 cartridges one becomes quite deaf, and 

 the recoil of the gun makes a consideiablo bruise. 

 Moreover, a strong heavy gun after a time was so 

 damaged as to become dangcrotis to use. We found that 

 the explosion was much more violent after tlic cartridges 

 had been cairiod in the sun for some hours, and also 

 after several shots had been fired in quick succession. 

 Metal and glass exposed to' the sun were always burning 

 hot, and after a few shots had been fired quickly a gun 

 was too hot to hold with the bare hand. I am advised 

 on good authority that this violent explosion of white 

 powder in a hot dry climate could be prevented by 

 using a small cap and a small charge of ])owder. A 

 charge of .35 grains of Schulze to one oz. of shot in a 

 twelve-bore cartridge instead of the usual charge of 38 

 grains of powder would remedy the defect without 

 deteriorating the killing power. But care must be 

 exercised in the loading, and the oxtj-a space in the 

 cartridge ca,se must not be filled with hard wads or 

 used for a deep " tiu'ii-over," which would triul to 

 keep the powder back and increase the recoil. 



Besides the sandgrousc, pigeonsij ])rovidod us with 

 many a meal — indeed, too many. So numerous were 

 these pigeons and so thickly did they cluster in tho trees 

 that, to .save time and ammunition, wc often shot from 

 twelve to sixteen with a single caa-tridge. The pigeons 

 were great drinkers, but. unlike tho sandgrouse, their 

 favourite hour for imbibing was just before sunset. 

 Sandgrouse also came down to the river just then, but 

 only irregularly and in small numbers. Appax'ently only 

 the very thir-sty individuals drank in the evening as 

 well as the morning. After their drink the pigeons flew 

 to a considerable height in the air and then, arriving 

 above their intended roosting place, they suddenly closed 

 their wings and hurled themselves down like stones. 

 Just before tho tree-tops were reached they checked 

 their headlong plunge with outstretched wings, and 

 circling round once or twice, alighted noisily in the 

 acacias. In fact this downward plunge to tho roosting 

 trees was performed by these African pigeons in much 

 the same way as it is by our wood pigeons at home. 



One evening, from the same spot, T fired some twenty 

 shots at pigeons as they were plunging down, and I 

 noticed in a tree thirty yards away from me a little 

 bittern, l| which sat motionless stretched upwards as stiff 

 as a ramrod during tho whole cannonade. We saw many 

 little bitterns in the trees in the Soudan, and they 

 generally adopted this stiff and attenuated attitude, 



§ Turlur omhifinnx Hoc. Turlur roneor/riseua (.'^iindcv.). 

 i[ Ardt'lta mini'ta (Linn.). 



