G86 Letters, Extracts, and Notes. 



The two years of field-work in the Far East which j\Ir. 

 and Mrs. Beebe accomplished in 1910 and 1911 have been 

 supplemented this summer by several months' study of 

 the collections in London, Tring, Paris_, and Berlin. 



The Shoe-bill in the Reyenfs Park. — The following parti- 

 culars concerning the fine Shoe-bill {Balaniceps rex) lately 

 received by the Zoological Society of London may be of 

 interest. 



On April 12th, 1912, the Sudan Govt. Steamer ' Amka' 

 (from Meshra to Khartoum) reached the first wood-station 

 north of Meshra. On the river between Lake Ambadi and 

 Meshra, Capts. Lai'ken and Lewis, Inspectors of the Bahr 

 el Ghazal Province of the Sudan, and I (Capt. Eric 

 Stephenson, D.S.O., 9th Sudanese) were on board. Before 

 we reached the wood station, the British Engineer in charge 

 of the ' Amka ' told us that he had been directed by 

 Mr. A. L. Butler, Director of Game Preservation in the 

 Sudan, to endeavour to capture some Shoe-bills {Bakeniceps 

 rex). There were many of these birds seen about, but we 

 failed to find any nests, although natives were landed several 

 times at likely spots. Just before reaching the wood-station 

 the engineer told us that an Arab trader had offered him 

 one of these birds, on his way up the river, for £e50. 

 Knowing that trafiic in the birds was illegal, we discussed 

 the matter and, on arrival at the station, sent for the 

 " trader " and ordered him to produce the bird, which he did. 

 Capt. Lewis, Avho was Ruler of the district, being with us, 

 heard the case, and confiscated the bird (as it was illegal 

 to possess it). The native's story was that the trader had 

 purchased this bird some months before from some local 

 natives. On the bird's arrival at Khartoum, the Sirdar deter- 

 mined to send it home, as a present to the Zoological Society 

 of London, at whose Gardens it was delivered safely in 

 Jidy last. 



As is well-known the existence of this remarkable bird 

 was first discovered by Mansfield Parkyns of Nottingham. 



