934 ME. J. S. BUDGETT ON HIS [Nov. 28," 



Having returned to M'Carthy's Island on December 5, I devoted 

 myself again to fishing and catching Polypterus. I found that all 

 the specimens of Polypterus lapradii had already returned to the 

 river from the swamps, where they come up to spawn in the wet 

 season. However, large numbers of the young of Polypterus 

 senegalus could still be caught by damming up the swamp-outlets. 



This is a favourite way of fishing with the natives. They make 

 dams across the creeks at short intervals, and then leave them in 

 connection with each other for some days. Then damming up the 

 connections, they bale out the water from the lowest compartment, 

 collect the fishes, and proceed to the next compartment. 



Very much more difficult is it to catch the Polypteri in the river. 

 Nets which were vexy successful with other river fishes, failed 

 utterly with Polypterus. The seine-net and trammel were given 

 up, and the native cast-net was used with better success. The 

 results of weeks of patient work were not encouraging however, 

 and I gradually realized that the time to catch Polypterus 

 was during the rainy season, when it had betaken itself to the 

 flooded lands. 



However, during these fishing days at Nianimaru, many interest- 

 ing fishes were caught, and most of the common small Passerine birds 

 were skinned. Moreover, this fishing was not without its dangers 

 and excitement, as a look-out had ever to be kept for Hippopotami 

 which swai-med iu all the creeks. Moreover, frequently in the 

 morning, when the trammel-net was examined, a Crocodile (Croco- 

 dilus cataphractus) or a Sawfish (Pristis perotteti) had to be slain. 

 Several specimens of the latter were thus caught up as far as 

 M'Carthy's Island, some of them measuring- 9 feet in length. 



Fly-fishing was tried without success. The line aud hook were 

 used more by the natives than myself. The trammel was found to 

 be the best kind of net to use for the Mormyridce, which were seldom 

 caught in other ways. The Mormyrids apparently keep to the 

 bottom of the river, and were seldom taken in the seine near 

 shore. 



It was noticed that a very large proportion of the fishes caught 

 in this river were brilliantly coloured red in the ventral posterior 

 portion of the body. Of fishes I believe 40 species were obtained, 

 including 2 Selachians, Protopterus annectens, Polypterus lapradii 

 and P. senegahis, 8 species of Siluroids and 7 Mormyridae, and 18 

 others belonging to various groups. Most of the fish were tried 

 as food, but there was only one that was really good eating : this 

 was, I beheve, a grey mullet and was taken far up the river. 



Often the creeks in which the cast-net was thrown were very 

 narrow, and the canoe slid silently amongst the most luxuriant 

 vegetation abounding with Bee-eaters and Flycatchers. Altogether 

 representatives of 108 species of birds were shot, measured, and 

 described; but skins were made only of the smaller birds, of which 

 examples of 52 species were obtained, belonging to 23 families. 



"With Dr. Gadovv's assistance, most of these have been identified. 

 Of the Upupidce, in addition to the gregarious Irrisor already 



