On the Black-collared Crested Guinea-fowl. 365


THE BLACK-COLLARED CRESTED GUINEA-FOWL


Guttera cristata.

By L. M. Seth-Smith, B.A., M.B.O.U.


While in Unyoro (Uganda Protectorate) lately I was

engaged in making a survey for a new road between Masindi

and Butiaba, a port on the eastern shore of Lake Albert.


The old road passes through a corner of the Budougo

forest for a few miles, a forest teeming with objects of interest

to the naturalist. It is, however, almost all enclosed within the

boundaries of a game reserve, of which the old road is the

southern boundary. There are a few miles to the south of the

road where collecting is possible. When encamped near the

forest I made enquiries of the natives (as I usually do in a

locality new to me) about the game and birds to be found in

the forest, and among other information thus obtained, I was

told of a bird called Enkanga, which they said was something

like the common Guinea-fowl Enjiwiba {Numida ptilorhyncha).


Lunyoro, I may here remark, is one of the oldest of the

Bantu languages, and many of the Swahili words are borrowed

from it ; the Swahili word Kanga, which is used for the common

•Guinea-fowl, evidently being borrowed from the Lunyoro name

of this bird. I determined, if possible, to get some of these

birds, which the natives told me were very common in the forest ;

they also said that they sometimes caught them in their nets

when hunting a little bluish grey Duiker which is common

throughout the forest, so I told them to bring me the next they

caught, if possible, alive. Days went by and none were brought

.and I never happened to come across any myself, though now

and then I found blue-spotted feathers of some species of Crested

■Guinea-fowl. At last, after continually enquiring as to when

they were going to bring them, two were brought to me one

morning ; one dead and the other only just alive — this latter died

the same evening. This was disappointing, but at any rate I

was able to identify the species.


The natives told me that they had been out for several

•days trying to get them but had only just succeeded in doing so.

I ate these birds and found them most delicious, far fattef^antT



