16 



ON SAFAEI 



snow-wliite undersides that showed up in strong contrast 

 as they rose in flight. The curious wood-ibis (Pseudo- 

 tantalus ibis) was also conspicuous among the trees that 

 fringe the Enderit — a big stork-Hke species wdth heavy 

 curved beak, naked head and neck of bright orange hue, 

 and of Uack-and-white pkmiage, Init displaying rosy 

 glints, somewhat like a flamingo, when flying. By a 

 shallow water-splash sat Egyptian geese, some preen- 

 ing, others asleep — strangely unsuspicious for that 



w^atchful tribe. Hard by, 

 however, w-ere a dozen 

 of the noisy spur-wdnged 

 plovers {Hoplopterus) , 

 and these, as their habit 

 is, speedily set the rest 

 on the alert. From each 

 patch of covert sprang 

 — or ran — great packs 

 of helmeted guinea-fowl, 

 francolins, quail, and 

 " jumping hares," the 

 latter bouncing a yard 

 in air at intervals as 

 they sped away. There 

 were C[uaint hornbills [Lophoceros), bee-eaters and 

 bush-cuckoos, while gorgeous little sunbirds fluttered 

 over each flowering shrub. A fantastic bird-form, of 

 which we saw a pair to-day, is the mop-headed touraco 

 (Turacus), with a ringing voice that sounds almost 

 human. On the thorny mimosas by the riverside sat 

 white-headed eagles [Haliaetus vocifer) that rose as we 

 passed, startling the echoes with strident cries. 



All day long the spy-glass was kept employed, 

 examining some new thing. We ^vere here, zoologically 

 speaking, in a new world — the " Ethiopian Region " — 

 and its wealth of wild-life was bewildering. Intense 

 interest kept us going without desire to kill ; indeed, for 

 several marches w^e shot little beyond w^hat w^as actually 

 necessary to feed our caravan. 



HEAD OF HELMETED GUINEA-FOWL. 



