ch. xxx GAME BIRDS FOR SPORT AND POT 299 



The first of these is the most common, and is found to 

 the north and north-east of Kilma-njaro, on all the 

 sandy hills and plains between Lake Magadi and the 

 southern Guaso Nyiro river, also in Juba-land and on 

 the northern Guaso Nyiro. 



Sandgrouse may be shot walking up, and for the pot 

 this is a very telling way, as a couple of barrels, one 

 on the ground and one as they rise, may very likely 

 produce a dozen birds. But for sport they must be 

 shot as they flight down to water, which they do every 

 day, either morning or evening. The morning flight, 

 which commences about an hour after sunrise, is 

 always much the best, but sometimes there is a good 

 flight just before it gets dark. Never shall I forget a 

 morning's sport which a friend and I enjoyed on the 

 South Guaso Nyiro river. This river, which forms 

 the west boundary of the dry and lava-strewn plains of 

 the South Game Reserve, flows for nearly its whole 

 course through a thick jungle of trees or between 

 precipitous banks. At one spot, however, a belt of 

 tall trees stands some fifty yards back from the river 

 and a stretch of sand slopes gradually down from them 

 to the sluggish stream which here ripples over a pebbly 

 beach. Through this belt of trees the wild beasts of 

 the Reserve come nightly to drink — antelopes, zebra, 

 buffalo, and lion — and indeed I was attracted to the 

 spot by having the pleasure of watching from the 

 opposite bank by far the largest lion that I have ever 

 seen strolling majestically down at mid-day. Begin- 

 ning at about 6.30 a.m., it seemed as if every sand- 

 grouse in the area east of Lake Magadi came to drink 

 at this lovely spot. We had taken up our positions 

 on the sandy stretch at about six o'clock on a 

 sweetly cool morning, and a glorious sunrise heralded 



