The Eastern Congo 



fore wings having each a broad transverse bar across them 

 of a vivid blue-green on a ground colour of black. The 

 insect eventually flew away over the trees, and although I 

 waited there for the rest of the day it never returned. Some 

 five or six miles farther on, and in the forest, I thought I 

 saw a similar insect, but I could not be sure that this was 

 not a zalmoxis. 



I put down this record for what it is worth, as the insect 

 may subsequently be captured by some lucky individual. 

 I have of course been asked why I did not stay a week or 

 a month on the spot and attempt to capture so great a prize ; 

 the answer is that at that time (not long after the signing of 

 the Treaty of Peace) passages to England were exceedingly 

 difficult to obtain, and having booked and paid for two 

 berths (for myself and my wife) on a homeward bound 

 steamer six months in advance, I was unable to give the 

 time necessary for the purpose without losing our passages. 

 As a matter of fact, I reached my port of embarkation with 

 only two days to spare. 



Enemies of Butterflies. 



From close observation made in the course of my travels 

 through Central Africa, which have been spread over a period 

 of twenty-five years, I am of the opinion that African birds 

 are not partial to butterflies as food. Always excepting the 

 African pied wagtail. The number of times I have seen birds 

 attempting to catch butterflies can be counted on the fingers 

 of one hand, and only once have I seen a bird actually with 

 one in its beak. 



The pied wagtail, which is found in great numbers 

 throughout Africa, is a notable exception to this, and in 



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