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


flocks in certain parts of the lower Usambaras. Being terrestrial

in habits they are caught fairly easily in snares by the natives.

This species is adorned with bright blue skin on the upper neck,

which has the appearance of being in folds, and its red face,

pretty black crest, and delicate markings on the plumage go to

make it a very handsome bird. They become quite tame within

a few days of capture and make delightful pets. Being forest

dwellers they are to a large extent insectivorous and probably

eat little else in their wild state. The curious looking folds of

blue skin on the neck baffled numbers of passengers on the way

home and quite a lot asked me why I had tied blue ribbon round

their necks. Whilst on this subject I might mention that the

number of “ brainy ” questions asked by passengers on such a

voyage is truly amazing. Some of these are very funny, such

as when one man asked me if I knew the botanical names of all

my birds, and an old lady, after surveying some Waxbills,

came out with the priceless remark “ Are these what they Call

dickey birds 1 ” To quote one more, a missionary woman, after

watching some Blue-headed Waxbills huddling up together in their

customary manner, remarked “ and do they remain true to one

another 1 ” A few examples such as these will suffice to explain

why collectors sometimes take to drink.


A few of my birds were collected at a considerable distance

from the Usambara Mountains, viz. Falkenstein’s Sunbird

(Cinnyris venustus falkensteini) and the East African Mariqua

Sunbird (C. mariquensis suahelicus), which came from the base of

Mount Kilimanjaro, and the Blue-headed Waxbills (Urseginthus

cyanocephalus), Tanganyika Melba Finches (Pytelia melba grotei),

and Grenadier Waxbills (Granatina ianthinogaster) from further

south in the Central Province in the scrub bush country.



