C. S. Webb—A Collector in French Cameroon



9



appeared in the Avicultural Magazine. This was a female—the male

was slightly brighter, but in catching it in a net it bit its own foot so

badly that I had to destroy the bird, which is evidence of the damage

that can be done with their powerful hooked bills. Most of the Bush

Shrikes have very pleasing call-notes, and become very tame, but they

are not the sort of birds to put into an aviary with anything smaller

than themselves.


In conclusion I will mention a few Robin Chats. The Forest Robin

(Stiphrornis erythrothorax) is a sprightly little bird that inhabits the

forest undergrowth. It is slaty brown above, with an orange crop and

yellow under parts. The white spot before each eye reminds one of the

White-starred Bush Robin (. Pogonocichla stellata) from South and East

Africa. The Blue-shouldered Robin Chat ( Cossypha cyanocampter)

and the White-headed Robin Chat ( C . niveicapilla) are much larger

and are both handsome birds. They are found in the second-growth

thickets, i.e. where the forest has been cleared and a different dense

vegetation interlaced with creepers and weedy growths has sprung up.

It is very difficult to discover the haunts of birds that live in this almost

impenetrable mass, for they can hardly ever be seen.


In his excellent Handbook of the Birds of West Africa , Bates, who

lived in Cameroon for many years, says of the second-growth : “ These

plants may be called weeds, but they grow head-high and more and

are dense, and bound together with tangled vines, so as to be

impenetrable ; the weight and thick skin of an elephant or buffalo

are needed to tear through them. A man working his way in this tangle

where there is no path has to cut, tear, stoop, and crawl, and if he gets

on a few yards in half an hour his clothes will be torn, his

hands scratched, and his shirt wringing wet with sweat. ...” This gives

a good idea cf what has to be encountered when trapping the two Robin

Chats mentioned. After weeks of search I saw a Blue-shouldered

Robin Chat in similar vegetation, about 12 feet high, consisting of

bushes covered with vines and weeds. I crawled in through a tunnel—

an animal track—and sat perfectly still inside. After a few minutes a

Robin Chat perched almost beside me, much to my joy, as I now knew

its “ home ” and would have no great difficulty in getting it alive.


These brief notes are of some of the birds I collected alive (excepting



