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SAVAGE SUDAN 
will necessarily have some days to spend in its capital— 
Khartoum ; and these days (should he have any apprecia¬ 
tion of wild Nature) need never be wasted. Khartoum, 
it should be borne in mind, is desert-beset; hence its palm- 
shaded groves and its verdant gardens, all stimulated 
by irrigation, constitute the City a veritable oasis in the 
desert. So, at least, it is regarded by many (not all) 
of the feathered tribes, which here revel in unwonted 
wealth of shade and the luxury of watered lawns. Thus, 
SILVERBILLS Sunning.— Khartoum, January 17th, 1913. 
X 
for example, one particular tree grew in our garden. It 
was of the deciduous order, naked, and of many boles— 
rowan-like in that respect. In science the name of this 
tree is Erythrina brucii , and it perfects its blossoming 
ere yet a single leaf has unfolded. Thus, in January, it 
displays masses of deep-crimson flowers growing on boughs 
bare of all else, save thorns. This one tree afforded studies 
of hour-long interest. Around those gorgeous blossoms— 
as well as on the golden sunflowers hard by—hovered 
brilliant green sunbirds (Nectarinia fiulchella), hardly 
bigger than butterflies, poising in mid-air, while their 
curved beaks probed each calyx for some tiny insect-prey. 
Above, on its topmost boughs, perched other three kinds 
