378 
EASTERN ETHIOPIA 
XXX 
occasion Neumann saw a rose-coloured bee-eater try to 
use a stork as a steed, but it would not submit to be 
ridden. 
It is a common belief that the birds of the Ethiopian 
Region are deficient in song. Livingstone did not 
The Crested Bustard [Eiipodotis kori) with the Bee-eater 
{Merops nuhicus) riding it like a jockey. The two median 
elongated rectrices are conspicuous in the flying bird. (From 
A. H. Neumann’s Elephant Hunting.) 
share this opinion, for he wrote : “ African birds have 
not been wanting in song, they have only lacked poets 
to sing their praises, which ours have had from the time 
of Aristophanes downwards. Ours have had a classic 
and a modern interest to enhance their fame.” 
Many English birds delight us by their habits and 
associations ; a few charm us with song, but many 
make noises which can scarcely be called music, for 
example, crows, rooks, cranes and jays. The songs, 
noises and tricks of birds have been celebrated in 
