485 
Birds from British East Africa. 
side of the Ndabibi Plains. Leaving Naivasha on March 19th 
I joined Sir Alfred Pease at his Ostrich-farm at Kallima 
Theki, fifteen miles from Kapiti Plains Station, and remained 
there until I sailed for England on April 30th, having made, 
however, in the meantime, two short collecting-expeditions to 
Bondoni and Kibwezi. 
So many papers have been lately written on British East 
Africa and so much of it is now well known that I need say 
but little concerning the aspect of the various parts of the 
continent into which I went. Our several expeditions 
enabled me to collect in three totally different and distinct 
types of country which in their fauna and flora shew most 
marked changes, broadly resolving themselves into open 
plain country, bush country, and forest. 
I was accompanied by Mr. P. Groves, an experienced 
taxidermist, and with his assistance formed a collection of 
birds, including nearly 600 skins of 232 species. Many of 
these were prepared under difficulties, more especially during 
our first trip, when we were continually moving camp ; how¬ 
ever, the majority of the skins reached England in first-rate 
condition. 
In addition to collecting birds and shooting big game I 
brought home with me a large number of butterflies in 
papers, besides numerous small mammals and reptiles and a 
number of live birds, which I caught in traps taken out for 
the purpose or which the natives snared for me. Amongst 
these was a fine specimen of Centropus super ciliosus, which 
had not previously been brought alive to England. 
It is very difficult to successfully combine big-game 
shooting and scientific bird-collecting—one spoils the other,— 
and I invariably found that when out stalking an Antelope 
or a Rhinoceros I was certain to see and yet be unable to 
shoot the bird which 1 had been on the look out for so 
long. Vice versa , when collecting birds, without doubt the 
beast with the finest head would always appear. On our 
first saffari the greater part of the birds obtained were shot 
as we were riding along in the early morning from one camp 
to another, when it was more or less the rule not to shoot at 
any game unless the whole caravan, as occasionally happened, 
SER. IX.—VOL. III. 2 K 
