200 
EASTERN ETHIOPIA 
XV 
Shrikes are numerous throughout the Ethiopian 
Region, and there are many species, due probably to 
the abundance of dense thorny thickets in which these 
])irds live and which afford admirable protection to 
their nests. A shrike perched on the topmost twig, or 
at the end of a long projecting bough, of a leafless thorn 
tree, keeping a keen look-out, is a characteristic feature 
of the Nyika. Two particularly interested me. On the 
morning after our arrival at Lake Nakuru I was 
astonished to hear a call exactly like that of the Bell- 
l)ird {Cotmga), loud and clear like the sound of a 
hammer strikino: a rinoing blow on an anvil. It was a 
long time before I could get these birds identified. 
One is a bush shrike, which Speke called the “Black 
metal-toned Whistler,” and the other is the ^Ethiopian 
Bush Shrike {Lanimius cetliiopicus), sometimes called 
the Organ Shrike. They inhabit the undergrowth, and 
thougli plentiful are shy and rarely seen. It is stated 
that organ shrikes pair for life. Many bush shrikes 
make weird noises, and as they have the habit of 
sneaking away in the bush, it is often hard to recognise 
tlie author of a particular noise or call. 
When these shrikes produce the bell sound, they 
reply to each other from distant points with' such 
exactitude and in such quick succession that the calls 
seem to be uttered by one bird. (Bohm.) This has a 
peculiar ventriloquistic effect when the listener is 
unaware that the sounds are produced by two birds. 
The bell-like note uttered by these shrikes has left a 
deep and ineffaceable impression on my memory. 
