^ The Lonely Wonder-world of the Nyika 



as an instance only one out of an abundance of forms, 

 who can reproduce in pictures the endless variety of birds, 

 the world of winged life ! Every day added to my know- 

 ledge of these multitudinous flocks, through the increase 

 day by day of my bird collection, which I obtained at 

 the cost of much labour, and which has been the means 

 of giving to science many hitherto unknown species. 

 As I added each new bird to it, I added also to my 

 knowledge of these beautiful creatures, as yet so little 

 known, and slowly, very slowly I became familiar with 

 them. What splendour of forms and colours ! In what 

 enormous flocks does the feathered race inhabit the 

 wilderness and the primeval forest ! The Biblical account 

 of the flocks of quails in the desert sounds to us like a 

 legend, and yet it is no legend. At times when we too 

 were marching across the same kind of ground, there flew 

 past us with a whirr of many wings huge flocks of quails, 

 that sought and found their safety in flight. At times 

 I have also seen similar flocks of snipe. How long has 

 it been since both these kinds of birds appeared in such 

 flocks in our country at home ? 



The endless variety of form and colour, the movements 

 of the animals which the eye perceives under the ever- 

 changing tropical light, that shows everything brilliantly 

 and sharply defined, all this taken together makes up 

 memory-pictures of a charm that nothing can surpass. 

 But he only can picture them to himself who has gone 

 forth and made them his own. 



The huge sea-turtle comes creeping along, emerges 

 from the waters of the Indian Ocean, and makes for the 



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