252 A JOURNEY UP THE RIVER CONGO. 
the Kunéné and the Senegal. Gypohierav is not a true 
vulture, but is a form related to the fish eagles, possibly 
also to the ospreys, and to that primitive raptorial, Poly- 
borowes. He is no means a mere scavenger, but goes in 
ordinarily for a more refined and respectable line of life, 
though it is true that he adapts himself to all cireum- 
stances and places, and can, if necessary, get through very 
dirty work. On the Congo, Gypohierax is extremely 
abundant, and here this accommodating bird has become a 
most accomplished fisherman, being much more deft in 
catching fish than the proper fishing-eagles (Halletus), 
who are to the manner born. May yer ypohieras prosper ! 
He has all my sympathy. He is one of those clever, 
adaptable creatures, like the rat among mammals and the 
crow among birds, that can turn their hands, or rather 
their stomachs, to anything, and consequently are never 
at a loss for a living. It always annoyed me to see the 
way in which Europeans on the Congo massacred poor 
Gypolverax. He is a bold bird, conscious of well-doing, 
and in his mature black-and-white plumage (the young 
birds are dun-coloured) offers a very good mark to the 
neophyte’s rifle. Consequently, scarcely does a party of 
newly-arrived Europeans ascend the river without “ pop- 
ping” at the poor vulture as he sits on the topmost bough 
of a dead tree. The white-headed fishing-eagle 1s more 
often heard than seen. His vociferous, boisterous screams 
ereet the rising and the setting sun; but these birds will 
also screech loudly at night or in the day, if anything 
occurs to arouse their suspicion. 
Amongst noticeable hawks is a very common species of 
Milvus (IM. nuigrans), a large dark-plumaged bird found 
everywhere on the Congo. Also remarkable is a small 
and pretty Astur (A. sphenurus ?), hardly bigger than the 
common kestrel, and a dove-coloured grey all over. 
Curiously enough, Helotarsus ecaudatus, the Bateleur 
eagle, is entirely absent from the Congo, although he is 
such a common bird in Angola. 
Macherhamphus Anderssoni, that curious bat-eating 
hawk first discovered in Ovampoland and afterwards (an 
