ZOOLOGY 
337 
Amongst Owls may be noted the fine eagle owl (Bubo maculosus ‘) and 
a remarkable fishing owl ( Scotopelia ). The ubiquitous barn owl, scarcely 
differing in plumage from the English bird, is found in British Central Africa 
as it is almost all over the world. 
The Rails are another group of birds similar to the Turacos, representing 
a generalised type from which many other orders of birds branch off They 
would appear on the one hand to have affinities with the Geese (. Anseres ) 
through the Screamers; with the Grebes and Divers through the Finfoots; with 
the Plovers (and the Plover group again gives rise to bustards, to gulls and 
to pigeons ; from the bustards branch off the flamingoes and in another direc¬ 
tion the Raptorial birds through forms like Seriama and Serpentarius ); with the 
cranes; with the Gallinaceous birds through the Hemipodes; with the herons 
(and thence the storks), the cormorants and pelicans, and so on. 
The Rails and their distant connection the still more remarkable Finfoot, 
are well represented in British Central Africa. In regard to the former we have 
a large blue Porphyrio with crimson-red beak and red feet ; a black coot; 
pretty little rails which are often blue or dark purple, other rails scarcely 
distinguishable from the English water hen; and the common corncrake. The 
blue Porphyrios are very easily tamed but they are awkward pets to keep 
in the aviary, as they are most carnivorous in their tastes and will kill and eat 
the smaller birds. Some notice should be taken of the remarkable prehensile 
character of their coral-red feet which are furnished with very long toes. They 
are in the habit of standing on one leg while the other foot holds tightly the 
object they are eating which, in addition to birds, small mammals or fish, may 
be snails or large insects. It is interesting to see one of these birds tightly hold 
a large snail shell and pick out by degrees the reluctant snail. They are very 
clever also in moving about the branches of a tree, and their feet though so 
clumsy in appearance are very well adapted for climbing, and this aberrant rail 
does climb. It will go up a nearly vertical tree trunk “hand over hand” as 
it were, creeping about more like a mammal than a bird. The remarkable 
finfoot ( Podica) is met with in Nyasaland more frequently than in the other 
parts of Africa over which its range extends. It is an almost untamable bird, 
very difficult to keep in confinement, where it soon dies from refusing food. It 
is awkward in its movements. The snake-like action of the head and the 
shape of the beak recall the darters. The finfoot dives readily and keeps under 
water as long as a duck. It swims with its body extremely low in the water 
and the bobbing head and neck often appear to be a snake swimming across 
the stream. 
The most prominent representative of the Anseres is the spur-winged goose 
—a fine large bird with a stately walk and a handsome plumage of dark 
blackish-brown shot with iridescent tints of bronze-green, with white wing 
coverts, a white patch on the throat and on the stomach, and a dark crimson 
knobbed beak and bare skin round the eye. In the adult male the wing 
is armed at the wrist with a powerful spur sometimes over an inch long. As 
this spur is situated just on that joint of the wing whence so powerful a blow 
is so often struck by swans and geese it must be a considerable weapon of 
offence though it never seerps to use it against man. This spur-winged goose 
is readily domesticated but does not appear to breed easily in captivity. 
1 The Manchichi of the A-nyanja \vho regard it as a peculiarly weird bird on account of its cry 
at night which is like the wailing of a person in agony. The manchichi is with the jackal and the leopard 
the associate of the Mfili or witch-ghouls \yho dig up and devour corpses. 
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