16 
ON SAFARI 
snow-white undersides that showed up in strong contrast 
as they rose in flight. The curious wood-ibis (Pseudo - 
tantalus ibis ) was also conspicuous among the trees that 
fringe the Enderit—a big stork-like species with heavy 
curved beak, naked head and neck of bright orange hue, 
and of black-and-white plumage, but displaying rosy 
glints, somewhat like a flamingo, when flying. By a 
shallow water-splash sat Egyptian geese, some preen¬ 
ing, others asleep—strangely unsuspicious for that 
watchful tribe. Hard by, 
however, were a dozen 
of the noisy spur-winged 
plovers (Hoplopterus ), 
and these, as their habit 
is, speedily set the rest 
on the alert. From each 
patch of covert sprang 
—or ran—great packs 
of' helmeted guinea-fowl, 
francolins, quail, and 
“ jumping hares,” the 
latter bouncing a yard 
in air at intervals as 
they sped away. There 
were quaint hornbills (Lophoceros ), bee-eaters and 
bush-cuckoos, while gorgeous little sunbirds fluttered 
over each flowering shrub. A fantastic bird-form, of 
which we saw a pair to-day, is the mop-headed touraco 
( Turacus ), with a ringing voice that sounds almost 
human. On the thorny mimosas by the riverside sat 
white-headed eagles (. Halia'etus vocifer) that rose as we 
passed, startling the echoes with strident cries. 
All day long the spy-glass was kept employed, 
examining some new thing. We were here, zoologically 
speaking, in a new world—the “ Ethiopian Region ”— 
and its wealth of wild-life was bewildering. Intense 
interest kept us going without desire to kill; indeed, for 
several marches we shot little beyond what was actually 
necessary to feed our caravan. 
