192 
BIBD-LIFE. 
Arab tribes of East Soudan call it—bolds the first 
place amongst the characteristic birds of Africa which we 
are about to mention. There is, in fact, only one other 
species in Africa which is as remarkable as this—the 
Ostrich. It would indeed suffice if we were to take these 
two birds as types of Africa. One of them “ the new 
wonder of the desert, the camel of birds, a bird which 
flies on its legs and steers with its wings, a winged 
giraffe, which affords the Arabs matter for a thousand 
fables;” the other, “ the wondrous guardian of the holy 
stream which shrouds its source in secresy,” in its origin 
a mystery, in itself a riddle. The sacred Ibis, no less a 
servant of the ancient god, added its long-established 
renown to the sacred stream. Legend has given the 
Boot-bill its celebrated name, a name as remarkable as 
the bird itself, which it has earned from the atmosphere 
of fable, with which it is surrounded, owing to its 
fantastic form—“the whale-head” and “king”!—and 
verily with him the innermost and obscurest realm of 
the world is revealed. 
In addition to these, Africa possesses a large number 
of characteristic birds. Although its animal world 
in general and its Avi-fauna in particular are com¬ 
paratively poor in species, Africa, nevertheless, possesses 
something peculiarly its own, while each order, in that 
country, has its characteristic forms. 
One of the characteristic birds of Africa is the Gray 
Parrot (Psittacus erythacus ), the choicest of its kind and 
the one most capable of learning—a Parrot which, so 
far as is known at present, has no species allied to it.* 
* Dr. Brehm has here forgotten the closely-allied species, P. timneh; while 
Mr. Blytli, we believe, is inclined to recognize even as many as three or four 
sub-species.--IF. J, 
