Annals of the Transvaal Museum. 
113 
water, which is quite undrinkable for man and beast. At tlie few 
places where sweet water is obtainable Kaffirs nave settled down for 
years and years, and it is not at all improbable that their presence 
near tlie only sweet- water pools chased the animals away. Lake 
Manyene was reported to have salt water ; to our pleasant surprise 
we found it sweet. 
Birds of prey were equally rare. The only ones seen by me were 
a couple of Helotarsus ecaudatus in the vicinity of Inguenha’s kraal 
and a pair of owls ( Glaucidium capense), male and female, which were 
killed at Dhlebende. Their stomachs were full of caterpillars. Our 
boys caught two young Melierax canorus, which died . during the 
journey. In general, there was little bird life. In the neighbourhood 
of Salamanga one Otis ludwigi was shot near Inguenha ; the ordinary 
Numida coronata was abundant, and the crested guinea fowl ( Guttera 
cristiata) was also fairly plentiful, but Francolins were very scarce. 
On the pans near this kraal we found numerous ducks ( Anas 
erythrorliyncha ) and also many Jacanas (Actophilus africanus A 
single Plot^us was perched on the branch of a dead tree, a few cormo- 
rants were on the wing, and these were all I noticed in water birds. 
At the Lake Manyene only a few cormorants were seen by me 
personallv. The taxidermist, who arrived at the lake earlier than I, 
said that the southern shore of the lake was swarming with birds, 
apparently mostly pelicans. 
In my diary there is not a single note about Passerine birds. 
Evidently they were not conspicuous. The only remark made was 
that at Dhlebende we heard for the first time the clamorous call of 
Jardine’s babbler (Crateropus jardinii), and saw a few specimens of 
the long-tailed Shrike (Urolestes melanolenca. 
Generally, the landscape was flat ; here and there a small rise 
broke the monotony of the river. Fortunately the vegetation was 
rather varied. On the road from Inguenha to Gadhla one comes 
at first across a very sandy patch of ground, covered with long grass 
and small trees, whilst every now and then gigantic mahogany trees 
(Afzelia quanensis) made their appearance. But after having passed 
Begabe’s kraal one crosses patches of the Likuani Forest, a long stretch 
of very dense vegetation. The trees here are not at all high, and with 
the exception of a few really large trees I should prefer to call this 
forest a dense bush. In many places large lichens, very much like 
ITsnas, are hanging from the branches and give the idea of a sub- 
tropical rain forest, or give at least the impression that the atmosphere 
is generally wet. But during our visit, which lasted about six weeks, 
no rain fell and the soil was absolutely dry= Still it must not be 
forgotten that the sea is not far off (20 miles at the utmost), and at 
Inguenha we felt its effects in the atmosphere and the guns had to be 
cleansed from rust every day. In these patches of high shrub Lories 
(Gallirex porphyreolopha) were' found, and two of them were captured 
by our natives. As there was no proper food for them at hand they 
died in a few days. 
Once at Inguenha our camp was visited by a small swarm of 
hornbills (Lophocerus nasutus). They made a great noise and soon 
disappeared in a northerly direction. 
Reptiles were rare. Hear Inguenha at one of the pans a Python 
sehae 10 feet 6 inches in length, but very thick, was shot (not 
preserved), as well as a Thelothornis Idrtlandi. 
