EGYPTIAN GOOSE 191 



In German Southwest Africa this species is said to be a common resident in the south and central 

 parts (Andersson, 1872), which is remarkable considering the nature of the country. It is hardly 

 likely that any are to be found in the great Kalahari Desert (Bechuana Protectorate), Southwest 

 but though Andersson (1872) does not mention seeing the species on Lake Ngami it un- Africa 

 doubtedly frequents the salt pans of the Okawango Basin, and has been recorded from Victoria Falls 

 on the Upper Zambesi (Sclater, Ibis, ser. 8, vol. 5, p. 109, 1905). From Portuguese West Africa there 

 are records only for the southeast, where the species appears to be common on the Cunene River, 

 having been taken at Humbe and Coroca (Barboza de Bocage, 1877-81). Though not West 

 recorded from other parts of this Colony, I am inclined to believe that the species in- Africa 

 habits every part of the regions on the Gulf of Guinea, though it is certainly a much rarer bird there 

 than in East Africa. Recently, however, flocks have been recorded from Zambi on the Lower Congo 

 (Menegaux and van Saceghem, 1918). There are no records of its occurrence in the French Congo, 

 but it was met with in Ubangi, northwestern Congo Free State, by Dybowski (Oustalet, 1893), and 

 has been taken in the interior of Camerun at Tibati, Laro, Bansso and the Nun River (Reichenow, 

 1911). It does not seem to occur on the coast of Camerun, and the same remark appears applicable 

 to Nigeria, where it has been taken in the interior at Loko and commonly in North Haussaland (Hart- 

 ert, 1886) as well as about Lake Chad, where it commonly breeds (B. Alexander, 1907). There are no 

 records of its occurrence on the littoral of Dahomey, but specimens have been taken at Kariniama 

 and north well into the arid regions to Say on the Niger (Bouet, 1914). The only record for Togo is 

 also for the hinterland, the species having been seen at Mangu (Reichenow, 1899). So far as I know 

 it has not yet been recorded from the Gold or Ivory Coasts, nor from Liberia or Sierra Leone. In 

 French Guinea the species has been found on the Niger, 450 miles from the coast; and is said not to 

 occur in the coastal districts (Klaptocz, 1913). Beaudouin (Hartlaub, 1857) has recorded it for Bissao, 

 however, which is on the coast of Portuguese Guinea. According to Rochebrune (1883-85), the species 

 is not common, but occurs in the interior of Senegambia. 



In northwestern Africa the Egyptian Goose is practically unknown. Carstensan's (1852) statement 

 that it breeds in Tangiers requires further evidence for substantiation. There are no records of its 

 occurrence anywhere between Senegal and Algeria. In this latter Province it was recorded as a bird 

 of passage by Loche (1867) and later by Koenig (1888). A flock was observed at Batna, Province 

 Constantine (Taczanowski, 1870). But only recently the species has been met with in Tunis. Millet- 

 Horsin (1912) states that it is a rare bird there, but he gives numerous localities where it has been 

 observed or taken. 



GENERAL HABITS 



Haunts. The Egyptian Goose, being a large and showy bird, familiar to travelers 

 of all ages, has been the subject of field notes so numerous that all of them cannot 

 possibly be referred to. The best general accounts are those of Naumann (1896- 

 1905), A. E. Brehm (1879), von Heuglin (1873), Layard (1875-84). 



The species has a place in the literature and art of the ancients : Egyptians, Greeks 

 and Romans. It was also a favorite with the Dutch painters of the middle seven- 

 teenth century. It inhabits all parts of Africa, excepting the heaviest-forested areas 

 and the permanently desert tracts, but it is nowhere a bird of the coastal regions. 

 In the highlands of Abyssinia it is found at altitudes up to 7000 and 8000 feet (von 

 Heuglin, 1873) and Markham (1869) found that it was particularly fond of the high 

 marshy plains. Its habits in northeastern Africa closely resemble those of the Ruddy 

 Sheldrake, but it is more apt to frequent the meadows (Blanford, 1870). In Egypt 



