On a Trip in Uganda.



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and not quite so brilliant,* evidently, I think, gets its food by

thrusting its beak into soft ground. What its food is I have

not yet found out, but its beak is always covered with earth both

inside and out.


About ten miles after leaving Kelele’s the Mpologoma

is crossed; this is an immense swamp full of Papyrus, through

which a narrow channel has been cut for canoes. The canoe

journey used to take about f-liour but now it only takes

about five minutes, after which one walks across on Papyrus

which has been laid down forming a kind of path. As soon as

I had started across here it began to rain in real tropical style,

and I got the most thorough soaking through that I have ever

had.


At Masangauo’s, the camp one reaches soon after crossing,

there are an immense number of Guinea Fowl, and from here

onward one is in the Quail country. The natives catch these

quailsf by hundreds by means of call-birds and nooses set in the

grass. The call-birds are put in small cages which are hung on

a pole from thirty to forty feet long and every bird caught is

put in a cage and hung up with the rest (see illustration).

One sees as many as twenty cages on one pole. In each cage

the natives also put a shell and stone, and perhaps a small

piece of wood. On asking the reason'for this I was told that the

bird moving about made these things rattle, and that this makes

the birds call. The Quails have quite a high market value, and

I believe about a hundred go to buy a wife. The natives are

quite clever at catching birds. Twice on the road I met men

with baskets full of Green Fruit Pigeons ,\ say a dozen in each.

I could not quite understand how they had caught them, but

apparently it was when they came to water, and I think with

nooses. I have never yet seen these birds on the ground and I

fancy that they only come to drink.


About here I came upon the Senegal Turtle Dove (Turtur

senegalensis ) and also a pretty little Long-tailed Dove || which

seemed very fond of the road.



* Halcyon chelicuti.


+ Coturnix delegorguei.


t Vina go calva.


|| CEna capensis.



