APPENDIX 



ROUGH VELD-NOTES ON BIRD-LIFE IN BRITISH 



EAST AFRICA 



In Equatorial Africa a British, or even a European, ornitho- 

 logist finds himself transplanted from his (more or less) familiar 

 Paloearctic avifauna and plunged into a totally new bird-world — 

 that of the " Ethiopian Region." 



Strange forms and new families in bewildering variety meet 

 one's eye at every point. Former knowledge and experience 

 help but little. One must begin the new study ah initio. 



Under such circumstances, the utility of printing cursory 

 observations made during two limited periods (though these 

 include both the summer and winter seasons) may be doubtful — 

 the more so, as our own main objective having always been the 

 big-game, that alone precluded the handling of bird-specimens. 

 Hence most of these rough notes, and all the sketches, were 

 made solely from observation of their subjects in the open field 

 — never a sufficiently accurate basis. 



The assistance of my friends on the spot, Mr. F. J. Jackson, 

 C.B., Lieut.-Governor of British East Africa, and Mr. Geoffrey 

 F. Archer, District-Commissioner at Baringo (now at Mumias), 

 and of Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant at home, Lave encouraged me to 

 add these bird-notes and bird-sketches, in the hope that (while 

 admittedly valueless to " advanced " scientific ornithologists) 

 they may yet interest and perhaps even instruct ordinary bird- 

 loving readers both at home and in Africa. 



Further to increase the difficulty of the subject, it may be 

 added, there are in Equatoria two distinct breeding-seasons, one 

 lasting from October to December, the other in April and May. 

 The bulk of the Passeres, however, appear to prefer the former. 



Many notes on birds having been already included in the 



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