NATURAL HISTORY 309 



Djirri, a far cry ; and so I felt there was every chance of 

 extending its distribution to the east in the days to come. 



Frequenting the tall trees that are scattered on the hill- 

 top there was a pair of red-winged starlings (Onycognathus 

 hautlaubi), rare birds which are confined to the hills. Their 

 flight is remarkable as they go from tree to tree, buoyantly 

 dipping up and down like vessels riding on a rough sea. In 

 the valleys where there are streams I heard again the red 

 thrush singing, and lower down in the forests of tall cane- 

 grass I discovered the presence of a rare reed-warbler {Cala- 

 mocicMa alfredi). 



The foregoing distribution of birds may be regarded as 

 typical of the hills that lie in the country between the KibaU 

 and the Nile. 



The hilly and enclosed country of the Kibah region 

 possesses a somewhat distinct fauna. It is no longer the 

 same as the West African distribution; the hill ranges of 

 the Nile, the Ruwenzori mountains on the coast, and the 

 forest region on the south separate it from that of East and 

 Central Africa. Of course, in the valleys where there are 

 streams and tropical growth, members of the Timeliidce, 

 or chat-thrushes, and of the Pycnonotidce, or bulbuls, both 

 so famihar in the forests of West Africa, are still met with. 



The neighbourhood of the httle village of Grudima in the 

 heart of the Kibah country was an ideal spot, and several 

 species which I obtained there were new to my collection. 

 From the little river Arebi the ground rises considerably 

 towards the east and my road passed over wooded hills, 

 where dwelt the Gudima people among their farms. Much 

 ground had^been cleared, and the slopes of the hills were 



