886 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D. 



of the district is a kind of conglomerate, with a matrix containing much ox- 

 ide of iron. At the River Mucozo this formation is succeeded by a very hard 

 white quartz rock, containing but little mica or feldspar; the scenery is hilly, 

 broken, and extremely beautiful. Three days' journey from Mucozo, over a 

 wild and rocky country, brings you to the once populous kingdom of the 

 " Soba" Dumbo, once a powerful king; only a handful of subjects, however, 

 now remain. 



The greater part of Cambambe is rocky, and destitute of forest or large 

 trees; large tracts are covered with grass and shrubs. Birds of many species, 

 and of beautiful colouring, are abundant. The most extraordinary bird in 

 appearance and habits is a large black hornbill (Bucorax Abyssinicus) called 

 by the natives Engungoashito. It is about the size of a large turkey, but 

 longer in the body and tail. They are found sparingly nearly everywhere 

 in Angola, becoming abundant, however, only towards the interior. The 

 males raise up and open and close their tails exactly in the manner of a tur- 

 key, and filling out the bright cocks-comb-red, bladder-like wattle on their 

 necks, and with wings dropping on the ground, make quite a grand appear- 

 ance. They do not present a less extraordinary appearance as they walk 

 slowly with an awkward gait, and peer from side to side with their great eyes 

 in quest of food in the short grass, poking their large bills at any frog, snake 

 or other reptile that may come in their way. Their flight is feeble, and not 

 long sustained. The note or cry of the male is like the hoarse blast of a horn 

 repeated short three times, and answered by the female in a lower note. It 

 is very loud, and can be heard at a considerable distance, particularly at 

 night. 



The lovely " plaintain-eaters," principally the Corythaix Paulina, are 

 very abundant all over Angola — where thick forests are found. They are 

 common in the country about Pungo Andongo, and also near the River 

 Quanza. They have a very loud, hoarse cry, quite unlike that which a bird 

 might be imagined to produce, which has a very singular and startling effect 

 when heard in a forest. It is its unearthly cry that makes this bird an object 

 of superstition to the natives of the whole of Angola. If one of these birds 

 should perch on a hut or on a tree within the enclosure of a town, and sing, 

 it is thought such a bad omen that the inhabitants vacate it and remove to an- 

 other place. One most singular circumstance connected with this bird is the 

 fact that the gorgeous blood-red colour of its wing feathers is soluble, espe- 

 cially in weak solution of ammonia, and that this soluble colouring matter 

 contains a considerable quantity of copper, to which its colour may very pro- 

 perly be due. 



It is impossible to describe the beauty of the districts of Cazengo and 

 Gelungo Alto, and the country about the River Lombige, a small tributary of 

 the River Zeuza, as the River Bengo is called inland. " Mountains and deep 



