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EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 



In a Supplement to ' Great and Small Game of Africa,' published 

 by Kowland Ward, Ltd., Mr. Lydekker naturally describes and figures 

 the Okapi. He writes : — "No European appears hitherto to have seen 

 a living Okapi, and such accounts of its habits as we possess at present 

 are derived from native sources. According to the information elicited 

 from the forest dwarfs by Sir Harry Johnston, the Okapi generally 

 goes about in pairs — male and female — and neither sex has horns. It 

 inhabits only the most dense portions of the forest, and feeds chiefly 

 by browsing upon leaves. One curious problem connected with this 

 animal awaits explanation, namely, the reason for its very peculiar 

 type of coloration, which is almost certainly of a protective nature. 

 The striping of Zebras, as is well known, renders these animals prac- 

 tically invisible in the open at a comparatively short distance ; and a 

 similar explanation naturally suggests itself in the case of the striped 

 limbs of the Okapi. If we could imagine the creature living in such 

 circumstances that its body was concealed among foliage while the 

 limbs were exposed to view, such an explanation would fit the case. 

 The darkness and gloom of the densest parts of the forest in which 

 the Okapi is said to dwell are, however, described as being so intense 

 that protective resemblances of this nature would apparently be 

 superfluous. Before a definite opinion can be given on these points 

 it will be necessary for a competent observer to see the creature in its 

 native haunts." 



Mr. D. le Soukf has contributed to the last number of the ' Emu ' 

 a second part of his paper on " Protective Colouration of Australian 

 Birds and their Nests." We read: — "Honey-eaters vary much in 

 colour, but the males and females do not, as a rule, vary much in 

 markings, but by far the larger majority of hen birds have greenish 

 or dull- coloured backs. Their nests are mostly hanging, and built in 

 varying situations, according to the colour of the bird, and you can 

 generally make a good guess at the shade of the owner's back by the 

 place it builds its nest in : if among green leaves at the end of a 

 branch, the bird will probably be greenish, as, for instance, Ptilotis 

 pencillata (White-plumed Honey-eater) ; if lower down among the 

 dead branches, grey or brown ; and if in very thick vegetation low 



