58 



SAVAGE SUDAN 



taped rather over 14 feet; but further south I saw 

 monsters that must have approached 20 feet in length 

 with the girth of a porpoise. 



Naturally the altered surroundings introduced entirely 

 new forms in bird-life. The dense swamp- jungles along- 

 side of which we cruised swarmed with coucals, or 

 bush-cuckoo (Centropus monachus], with purple and black- 

 headed herons, with reclusive rails and chestnut jacanas, 



unknown warblers and 

 weaver - finches in a 

 variety that defied any 

 hasty analysis. Wher- 

 ever firmer ground 

 afforded root-hold for 

 riverside trees, these 

 were crowded with 

 herons of varied species, 

 as well as with sacred, 

 glossy, and hagedash 

 ibis, white egrets in 

 three sizes, buff-backed 

 and squacco herons, 

 openbill storks, darters, 

 and cormorants liter- 

 ally in thousands. Each 

 big tamarind-tree was often not only covered externally but 

 filled inside with birds ; for closer examination revealed 

 scores of reclusive night-herons and little bitterns 

 hidden in its inmost depths of foliage. It was odd to 

 watch long-legged herons and egrets perching like 

 steeple-jacks on the very topmost and thinnest sprays 

 so thin as to sway for yards beneath the burden, 

 necessitating much careful balancing. The low-growing 

 ambatch-trees by the water's edge formed favourite 

 perches for cormorants (the small white-breasted African 

 species) and for snake-like darters {Plotus}, many of 

 which sat "spread-eagled," drying their wings in the 



IN THE RIVERSIDE TREES Egrets and Darters. 



