KUNUL. SV. VET. AKADK.MI UNS 11 AN DLI N(J Alt. HAND 47. No 5. 5 



very much resistance but among whicli pungent nettles often make bhemselves verj dis- 

 agrceably felt. Towards the steppe the forest is less moisl and oftcn tnore or less thin 

 and sunlit. It consists Ihereof other trees with less thick foliage bhan <>n the mountain 

 slopes. Along the somewhat larger rivers there is a more or less broad and more or Less 

 dense fri n ge of trees along which the forest fauna may extend, sometimes far from its real 

 and regular habitat, and these strips of forest are and have been of much importance for 

 the distribution of the birds. Along certain lowland streams where the ground is moist 

 the fringe of trees at the river consists of very large yellow-barked acacias, quite different 

 from those of the acacia-steppe. In the dry country again, along Guaso Nyiri and its dry 

 tributaries from the north doum-palms skirt the riverside and at Guaso Nyiri itself 

 there was also a number of poplar-like trees. In the deep ravines on the mountainslopes 

 in the bottom of which there always is some small river the vegetation is particularly rich, 

 and here Musa, and tree-like ferns can be seen (Pl. 2, fig. 1). In the uppermost forest- 

 region clumps of bamboo are mixed with the trees, andstill higher up the bamboos dominate 

 (Pl. 2, fig. 3) until in consequence of the altitude they have to give place to small shrubs. 



Through the agency of man the natural conditions have been much altered. The 

 country inhabited by the chiefly agricultural tribes of Kikuyu and Meru is at least parti v 

 densely populated. These tribes have cut down the former forest över väst stretches of 

 land, sometimes so thouroughly that there are kilometres between each tree which has 

 been allowed to remain for the hanging of beehives. Sometimes, however, clumps of 

 trees and bushes, or even groves have been left standing, and these may in some instances 

 be large enough to pennit some forest birds to remain. But the cultivations or »shambas» 

 of the natives are also from an ornithological point of view different according to what 

 is planted on them. If the crop consists of grain, Pennisetum, Andropogon, maize, 

 sweetpotatoes, beans of different kinds etc. there is a considerable difference in the 

 natural conditions for birds than if the plantations consist of bananas and yams. In 

 the latter case the shambas are not fields but groves, for to support the vines of the 

 yams (Dioscorea) sticks are put in the ground, and these sticks are then allowed to grow 

 up to small trees. If then in addition to this the small shambas are surrounded by 

 dense hedges of spiny Solanums, large Salvias etc, as of ten is the case, several different 

 kinds of birds may find their refuges in these localities. 



A very common type of landscape in the Kikuyu- and Meru-country which occupies 

 hundreds of square miles is the »bush» whicli also is formed through the agency of the na- 

 tives or rather by their neglect. When a piece of land has been cultivated for some time 

 it is abandoned, and another bit chosen for planting. The former shamba is then in a very 

 short time overgrown by weeds and bushes which attain a height of usually about lVa m. 

 but sometimes up to 3 m. Among these weed-bushes a prickly Solanum with påle lilac 

 flowers and round yellow berries is most prominent but there are many others, Labiatce, 

 Compositce etc. interwoven with vines of Conovolvulus, Rubus etc. In certain places a tall 

 Pteris is almost dominating. 



There is comparatively little water, and especially only small waters in these parts 

 of British East Africa. The waterbirds are accordingly very few as well regarding species 

 as specimens. But the rivulets are sometimes spreading to small swamps with reed-beds, 



