852 MR. A. LOVERIDGE : NOTES ON 



in colour, streaked, blotched, or freckled with reddish-brown in 



great variety. The nests were all situated in thorn-trees ; those 

 that were putting forth green shoots were given preference ; 

 they had deep foundations of thorny sprays, upon which was built 

 a cosy nest of moss, lined with fine fibres or grass. The old birds 

 ait very close, and make no attempt to leave if merely looked at ; 

 one's hand must be approached unreasonably close before they 

 will slip off. The clutch was invariably three (Lumbo, 28. x. 18). 



SCHIZORHIS AFRICANA LEUCOGASTRA Reichw. 



Many species of Plantain-eaters were collected, bat none were 

 more difficult to obtain than this species, Avhich frequents sandy 

 thorn-bush country. At Dodoma its harsh cry was quite a 

 feature of the scrub-life. The '"ha-haa" (emphasis prolonged 

 on second syllable) has quite a jeering sound as the bird rises from 

 some conspicuous perch it has chosen on the top of a thorn-tree 

 (commanding a good view of the dense thorn patch), and, flying 

 off for a short distance, leaves the perspiring hunter to push his 

 way through another few hundred yards of tangled undergrowth, 

 with the probability of a recurrence of the flight, which seems 

 always to be accompanied by the cry (Dodoma, 5. xii. 18). 



Oentropus monachus Riipp. 



A series of skins were obtained at Dar-es-3alaam and Lumbo. 

 At the latter place the bird was very abundant, and was found 

 to be feeding largely on maggots in the human f?eces so common 

 in the bush about the camp. The throat plumage in most of the 

 skins was soiled with foecal matter, and a good deal was found in 

 the stomachs of the birds along with the maggots. The offensive 

 smell made the birds most unpleasant to skin. I watched a bird 

 feeding in the early morning. The natives say that the skulking 

 habits of this Cuckoo amongst the bushes are an evidence of its 

 sense of shame for the diet which it has adopted (Lumbo, 

 21.vii. 18). 



At the back of my tent was a large mango-tree whose base 

 had been wired in to form a large circular chicken-run, in which 

 a hundred and fifty fowls were kept. Early one morning one 

 of these Cuckoos flew into the mango-tree, and as the shadow of 

 the Cuckoo fell across the enclosure, a panic seized the fowls, 

 which flew and ran en masse against the wire-netting with a 

 bang ; there they crowded and trampled upon each in the greatest 

 confusion. They take no notice of the crows passing overhead 

 or perched in the nearby palms. Undoubtedly the Cuckoo was 

 mistaken for a hawk (Lumbo, 25. ix. 18). 



Coccystes gland arius Linn. 



The Great Spotted Cuckoo, of Europe, was first seen about 

 September 1917, when a pair flew over the camp at Morogoro. 

 Later, a male was shot on 27.x. 17 and another on 29. i. 18. 

 A gaudily-coloured grasshopper {Zonocerus elegans) was found 

 in fair numbers in its crop. 



