﻿2 
  Capt. 
  G. 
  E. 
  Shelley 
  on 
  Bids 
  

  

  commaud 
  of 
  Capt, 
  B. 
  L. 
  Sclater, 
  R.E.^ 
  F.R.G.S.^ 
  proceeded 
  

   via 
  Zanzibar 
  to 
  Nyassaland, 
  and 
  have 
  since 
  that 
  period 
  been 
  

   actively 
  engaged 
  in 
  the 
  discharge 
  of 
  their 
  respective 
  duties. 
  

  

  Before 
  he 
  started 
  INIr. 
  Johnston 
  had 
  arranged 
  with 
  the 
  

   British 
  South 
  Africa 
  Company, 
  within 
  whose 
  territories 
  

   British 
  Central 
  Africa 
  is 
  situated, 
  that 
  the 
  Natural 
  History 
  

   Collections 
  made 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Whyte 
  should 
  be 
  handed 
  over 
  to 
  

   my 
  care. 
  In 
  June 
  last 
  I 
  had 
  accordingly 
  the 
  pleasure 
  of 
  

   receiving 
  the 
  first 
  instalment. 
  This 
  embraced 
  about 
  30 
  

   specimens 
  of 
  Mammals, 
  430 
  of 
  Birds, 
  and 
  90 
  of 
  Reptiles 
  and 
  

   Batrachians, 
  besides 
  other 
  objects. 
  My 
  friend 
  Capt. 
  G. 
  E. 
  

   Shelley, 
  F.Z.S., 
  one 
  of 
  our 
  leading 
  authorities 
  on 
  Ethiopian 
  

   Ornithology, 
  kindly 
  undertook 
  to 
  determine 
  the 
  birds 
  for 
  

   me, 
  and 
  has 
  furnished 
  me 
  wdth 
  the 
  following 
  list. 
  

  

  Capt. 
  Shelley 
  points 
  out 
  that 
  the 
  Nyassaland 
  collection 
  is 
  

   of 
  special 
  interest 
  with 
  regard 
  to 
  the 
  question 
  of 
  the 
  zoological 
  

   boundaries 
  between 
  Eastern 
  and 
  Southern 
  Africa. 
  It 
  is 
  a 
  

   well-established 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  Quanza 
  River 
  forms 
  a 
  very 
  

   strongly 
  marked 
  barrier 
  between 
  the 
  faunas 
  of 
  Western 
  and 
  

   Southern 
  Africa, 
  probably 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  great 
  dissimilarity 
  

   in 
  the 
  landscape 
  of 
  the 
  opposite 
  banks 
  of 
  that 
  river, 
  but 
  such 
  

   does 
  not 
  seem 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  case 
  with 
  the 
  River 
  Zambesi. 
  It 
  

   appears 
  to 
  him, 
  after 
  examining 
  this 
  collection, 
  that 
  the 
  

   most 
  natural 
  boundary 
  for 
  the 
  South-African 
  Zoological 
  

   Subregion, 
  on 
  the 
  eastern 
  side, 
  will 
  include 
  the 
  highland 
  

   districts 
  which 
  border 
  the 
  watershed 
  of 
  the 
  Zambesi 
  and 
  

   Lake 
  Nyassa. 
  Thus 
  the 
  South-African 
  Subregion 
  will 
  extend 
  

   on 
  the 
  north 
  to 
  about 
  10° 
  S. 
  hit., 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  east 
  over 
  the 
  

   high 
  border-land 
  between 
  Lake 
  Nyassa 
  and 
  the 
  coast, 
  leaving 
  

   a 
  great 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  province 
  of 
  Quilimane 
  in 
  the 
  East- 
  

   African 
  Subregion. 
  

  

  The 
  present 
  collection 
  of 
  430 
  specimens 
  was 
  made 
  by 
  

   Mr. 
  Whyte 
  principally 
  in 
  three 
  localities 
  in 
  the 
  Shire 
  

   Highlands 
  — 
  Mount 
  Milanji, 
  Mount 
  Zomba, 
  and 
  Mpimbi. 
  

  

  ] 
  . 
  Mount 
  INIilanji, 
  as 
  we 
  learn 
  from 
  Mr. 
  Whyte^s 
  report 
  

   on 
  it 
  to 
  Mr. 
  Johnston 
  *, 
  is 
  a 
  large 
  mountain 
  mass 
  in 
  the 
  ex- 
  

  

  * 
  See 
  abstract 
  of 
  this 
  Report 
  in 
  ' 
  Nature/ 
  vol. 
  xlvi. 
  p. 
  482 
  (loth 
  Sept., 
  

   1892). 
  

  

  