-^ The Voices of the Wilderness 



company, are so distantly related. The curious warbling 

 of the honey-finder {Indicator indicator, Gm.), which 

 often guides the man who follows it to a wild bees' nest, 

 also easily makes a permanent Impression on the ear of 

 the traveller. 



And there are many other bird-voices that delight 

 any one who takes pleasure in sound. When silvery 

 moonbeams streamed over the camp, the night-jars 

 (especially Caprimulgus fossei [Verr.] Hartl.) buzzed and 

 hummed forth their strange song everywhere around. No 

 matter how remote and desolate the wilderness In which 

 the traveller laid down his head to rest, these goat-suckers 

 were to be heard. Their voice makes a strong impression 

 on us even In our own country In the lonely woods, but 

 Its effect Is much more striking on the far-off equatorial 

 velt. With noiseless soft beating of Its wings the bird 

 comes gliding past us ; Its wings almost touch us. When 

 It pours forth Its song, Its monotonous sleepy song, I 

 could listen to It for hours. In the daytime It starts up 

 suddenly from the ground here and there In front of 

 you, uttering the feeblest of cries, that It Is Impossible 

 to represent. In the next Instant It vanishes like some 

 huge moth, and even the sharpest eye cannot dis- 

 tinguish it amongst the dry branches and leaves, or 

 clinging close to the rocky ground. The song of the 

 night-jar Is among my most vivid recollections of the 

 bird-voices of Africa. 



In the neighbourhood of water, wherever it may be, 

 and In the thick undergrowth, wherever the African 

 wilderness extends, you hear the call and cry of a peculiar 



