376 SAVAGE SUDAN 



euphorbia replaces the northern pine ; the same red-roofed 

 wood-built houses, some gaily painted, and all raised on 

 stone pillars, peep through a similar rude environment 

 of dark foliage, with lichen-clad boulders broadcast. 



Erkowit lies sheltered in a basin-like depression, en- 

 circled by serrated peaks rising to 5000 or 6000 feet in 

 height. Most kindly the Sirdar, Sir Reginald Wingate, 

 had placed a luxurious "rest-house" at our disposal, and 

 from its verandahs we surveyed a scene almost Swiss-like. 



A feature of this mountain-region was its eagles and 

 eagles, with all big birds of prey, have ever attracted me. 

 Of the eagle-tribe we had already in the Sudan secured 

 or safely identified no less than ten species, to wit : 



(1) Tawny eagle (Aquila rapax). 



(2) White-footed forest-eagle (A. albipes, supra, p. no). 



(3) Wahlberg's eagle (A. wahlbergi, new to the Sudan). 



(4) Booted eagle (A. pennata, new to the Sudan). 



(5) Crested hawk-eagle (Lophoaetus occipitalis). 



(6) White-headed river-eagle (Haliaetus vocifer). 



(7) Serpent-eagle white-breasted (Circaetus gallicus). 



(8) Serpent-eagle dark-breasted (C. cinereus}. 



(9) Bataleur eagle (Helotarsus ecaudatus). 

 (10) Osprey (Pandion haliaetus}. 



Besides these ten, I felt convinced of having recog- 

 nised a golden eagle (Aq. chrysaetos) on White Nile, 

 as mentioned at p. 168 ; and among these Red Sea hills 

 we also observed large dark eagles which we believed to 

 be imperial eagles. Should these two assumptions be 

 correct, our census of Sudan eagles would reach the 

 round dozen. 



The great euphorbia - clad ranges that encompass 

 Erkowit are daily, hourly surveyed and plundered by 

 these majestic Raptores how defenceless denizens survive 

 is an obscure problem. The lives of the big francolins 

 and dikdiks, of young ibex, klipspringers, and gazelles 

 must be held on a day-to-day tenure. At certain out- 

 standing crags that commanded accustomed fly-lines, we 



