378 



EASTERN ETHIOPIA 



occasion Neumann saw a rose-coloured bee-eater try to 

 use a stork as a steed, but it would not submit to be 

 ridden. 



It is a common lielief that the birds of the Ethiopian 



Resjion are deficient in song. 



O o 



Livino'stone did not 



A^^'M' 



The Crested Bustard (Eupodolis l-ori) with the Bee-eater 

 (Meropi nubicus) v\Amg it like a jockey. The two median 

 elongated rectrices are conspicuous in the flying bird. {From 

 A. H. Neumann's Elephant Hunting.) 



share this opinion, for he wrote : " African birds have 

 not been wanting in song, they have only lacked poets 

 to sing their praises, which ours have had from the time 

 of Aristophanes downwards. Ours have had a classic 

 and a modern interest to enhance their fame." 



Many English birds delight us by their habits and 

 associations ; a few charm lis with song, but many 

 make noises which can scarcely be called music, for 

 example, crows, rooks, cranes and jays. The songs, 

 noises and tricks of birds have been celebrated in 



