C. S. Webb—Notes on a Collecting Trip to N.E. Tanganyika 217


lower forest regions at the beginning of April there is quite a

big influx of the brightly coloured European Orioles, on their

migration northwards, and occasionally the South African Oriole

(Oriolus auratus notatus) can be seen, which can be distinguished

in the field by its yellower wings, these being for the most part

black in the European species. A different bird entirely is the

striking looking Green-headed Oriole (Oriolus chlorocephalus ),

which is confined to the evergreen forests of East Africa. On

account of being so local this bird is far from being well known,

although in its native forests it is one of the most conspicuous

birds on account of its bright coloration and peculiar call-notes.


Of the insect pests to be found in these areas perhaps the most

annoying are the jigger fleas, those homely little fellows which

burrow under one’s toe-nails and lay their eggs. Altogether I

was favoured by the attentions of eight of these creatures—-not a

very pleasant experience when a lot of walking has to be

done as they leave a nasty cavity under the toe-nail which is very

sore and sometimes slow in healing. Another pest is the Safari

ant. These are the marching variety and go along in millions and

will kill and eat anything alive. They are very troublesome at night

and an Amani resident told me he lost forty-two young turkeys

in a night in this way. Fowls are frequently killed, especially if

broody, and one has to be especially careful with puppies or

anything that has not the sense to clear at the first sign of danger.

I had fifteen large and rare chameleons in a wire netting

enclosure which were all killed and eaten one night, and by the

morning only the skeletons remained. For safety all my birds

were kept on benches and tables, the legs of which were standing

in vessels containing paraffin. It is not an uncommon thing for

people at Amani to be driven out of their houses in the middle

of the night because of a visitation of Safari ants, in which case

one must stay with a neighbour until they have passed on. They

usually defeat all efforts to drive them out, on account of their

incredible numbers.


To revert to birds, I must mention that ornament of the forest,

the Crested Guineafowl (Guttera pucherani), which is found in



