ON THE MARCH 27 



the rear of the herd are thin, those in front having 

 eaten all the grass, and that at the change of the 

 monsoon, when the spring-buck columns turn north 

 again, these become the leaders, and take their turn to 

 fatten. Two species of bird habitually march great 

 distances, and in numerous bodies, but there is a 

 difference in the method and intelligence shown in 

 their travels. The guinea-fowls travel in troops often 

 numbering over a hundred ; but, like true Africans, 

 they always walk in single file, making their way 

 through the scrub or forest down to the drinking- 

 place in the same primitive order as that in which the 

 African caravan crosses the continent. The single-file 

 order has only one advantage. It saves the trouble of 

 widening paths wherefore the whole Central African 

 region is connected by paths nowhere more than 

 eighteen inches wide. But the results are worse for 

 the African than for the birds, for the slightest 

 obstacle causes a halt and a break in the line, and the 

 rear must constantly be hurried up after stoppages. 

 To the guinea-fowls, almost the most active of ground 

 birds, this habit of closing up has become a kind of 

 conscience, as any one may see who watches the eager, 

 craning anxiety of a tame brood to keep in touch even 

 when running across open ground. The guinea-fowls' 

 march is thoroughly African non-progressive and 

 uninstructive. Contrast with this the orderly pro- 

 gress of the wisest bird of Europe, the goose, when 

 travelling in companies. There are times when 

 wild geese, some of the strongest fliers among the 

 large birds, travel great distances on foot, some- 



