64 
BIRDS. 
upon yellow ground, and shone almost like a mirror. 
At this season of harvest the crops were favourable 
for concealing lions ; and after a native had been 
killed by one, we were recommended not to go out 
after sunset. "When travelling at night, the natives 
move quickly in bodies, blowing cow-horn trumpets, 
which sound wild in the stillness. While we were at 
Mineenga three men were chased by a pair of lions, 
and just as the last man reached a hut, he was picked 
off by a horrible man-eater. I went to see the spot. 
There were the tracks of the poor victim when knocked 
down and dragged, and where his blood was first spilt; 
farther on, blood lay in quantities, as the body had 
been trailed along; but of the body itself only a small 
bit of bone was left. The incident had happened just 
after sunset, said to be the most dangerous time. 
Here Speke shot and brought in a load of four large 
black geese, weighing 9 lb. each, having curious horny 
spurs to their shoulders, and taking to trees on being 
wounded. Farther south I had seen the same kind 
flapping their wings and pluming themselves between 
showers on rocks in the bed of a stream, and I took 
them for cormorants. Their wings were white outside 
and black under. The natives came in numbers to see 
these birds, such a load of them never having been 
seen before. The wing-feathers were converted into 
head-dresses, but the meat was rejected. Flocks of wild 
pigeon and varieties of small hawks were constantly 
seen about the groves of palms. We shot numbers 
of the former, but they were not good eating, though 
plump to look at : a large red wattle surrounded the 
eyes ; their plumage was extremely pretty ; wings and 
rumps blue, with one white bar across their black tails : 
