ch. xxx GAME BIRDS FOR SPORT AND POT 299 
The first of these is the most common, and is found to 
the north and north-east of Kilma-njaro, on all the 
sandy hills and plains between Lake Magadi and the 
southern Guaso Nyiro river, also in Juba-land and on 
the northern Guaso Nyiro. 
Sandgrouse may be shot walking up, and for the pot 
this is a very telling way, as a couple of barrels, one 
on the ground and one as they rise, may very likely 
produce a dozen birds. But for sport they must be 
shot as they flight down to water, which they do every 
day, either morning or evening. The morning flight, 
which commences about an hour after sunrise, is 
always much the best, but sometimes there is a good 
flight just before it gets dark. Never shall I forget a 
morning’s sport which a friend and I enjoyed on the 
South Guaso Nyiro river. This river, which forms 
the west boundary of the dry and lava-strewn plains of 
the South Game Reserve, flows for nearly its whole 
course through a thick jungle of trees or between 
precipitous banks. At one spot, however, a belt of 
tall trees stands some fifty yards back from the river 
and a stretch of sand slopes gradually down from them 
to the sluggish stream which here ripples over a pebbly 
beach. Through this belt of trees the wild beasts of 
the Reserve come nightly to drink—antelopes, zebra, 
buffalo, and lion—and indeed I was attracted to the 
spot by having the pleasure of watching from the 
opposite bank by far the largest lion that I have ever 
seen strolling majestically down at mid-day. Begin¬ 
ning at about 6.30 a.m., it seemed as if every sand- 
grouse in the area east of Lake Magadi came to drink 
at this lovely spot. We had taken up our positions 
on the sandy stretch at about six o’clock on a 
sweetly cool morning, and a glorious sunrise heralded 
