KUNOL. SV. VET. AKADEMIENS HANDLINGAR. BAND 47. N:o 5. 35 



20 lrilometres to the north of the place where it had been killed the Guaso Nyiri river 

 runs, and 011 the northern side of this river the soil consists chiefly of gravel with a liberal 

 amoimt of quartz. The Ostrich had accordingly come from that country. 



The Ostriches seen at Lekiundu and Itiolu rivers are therefore certainly blue-neckcd 

 Somali-Ostriches. North of Guaso Nyiri Ostriches were seen several times to the east of 

 the Marsabit-road. Usually they were observed 011 open plains in the thornbush, but 

 sometimes they enter even the thick thornbush. One day I came unawares upon a 

 fiiie black Ostrich in a place where the bush was so dense that we did not perceive 

 each other before the distance between us was only about 20 paces. The Ostrich dis- 

 appeared like a ghost in the bush. 



From a zoogeographical point of view it is of interest to find that the Somali-Os1 - 

 riches extend their distribution to the country round Guaso Nyiri and almost to the 

 northeastern foothills of Kenia. Reichenow has drawn attention to the interesting 

 fact that »die eine der beiden blauhalsigen Arten (S. australis) Siid-Afrika, die andere 

 (S. molybdcphanes) das Somaligebiet bewohnt, während zwischen beiden in Deutsch- 

 Ostafrika das Verbreitungsgebiet des dem nördlichen 8. camelus so nahe stehenden rot- 

 halsigen S. massaicus gelegen ist». 1 An analogy to such a distribution can be found 

 among the mammals. The Warthog from Cape and the Somali Warthog (Phacochcerus 

 delamerei Lönnb. ) are very similar inter se, but between their areas of distribution other 

 races of Warthogs are found. 



The total length of the skull of tlus old male Somali Ostrich is 212 mm and the in- 

 terorbital breadth is 63 mm. The occipital region of the skull is much more prominent 

 t han in a Speeimen of Striithio camelus from South Africa. 



An adult Cock-Ostrich in full black and white plumage is perhaps one of the most 

 conspicuous animals on the steppe. It is seen in very great distances, and, before its 

 shape can be made out, it appears to be of gigantic size, so that one is rather apt to believe 

 it to be a big Buffalo, or perhaps a Rhino than an Ostrich. The females are, by far 

 not seen in such distances, although, of course, very easily detected at a distance of many 

 hundreds of metres if there are no obstacles niding it. 



Phalacrocoracidse. 



Carbo ( Phalacrocorax) africanus (Gm.). 



Rchw. I, p. 93. 



When camping at Juja farm 19 /i, I saw several of these little Cormorants flying 

 down the Nairobi river towards evening. A similar observation was made at Blue Post 

 the following evening at Thika river. The same thing happened then every evening we 

 camped at any of the rivers which run eastward from Kenia. It is thus probable that 

 these birds pass the day at some favourite locality at the upper part of the rivers and 

 come down in the evening to feed. A speeimen was shot at Roiru river 3 U. 



1 Reichenow, Vögel Africas I, p. 13. 



