516 Mr. G. H. Gurney on 
146. Corythaix porphyreolopha. Crimson-winged 
Plantain-eater. 
Corythaix porphyreolopha Smith. 
Iris brown; bill and legs black. 
The Crimson-winged Plantain-eater was local; but not 
uncommon at some of our camps. It was always met with 
in the larger trees, and I often heard its loud notes without 
seeing the bird. It was one of the most striking species 
that I met with; and one of the prettiest natural-history 
sights I saw in East Africa was when on one occasion 
I watched four of them playing together in a large tree : 
for fully twenty minutes they chased each other, jumping 
from bough to bough, flirting their tails, expanding their 
wings, and shewing the rich crimson feathers; all the time 
uttering a low, not unpleasant call-note. A party of Masai 
natives I met had some of their arrows adorned with the 
crimson primaries of this species. 
147. Schizorhis leucogaster. White-bellied Plantain- 
eater. 
Schizorhis leucogaster (Rupp.). 
The White-bellied Plantain-eater was more commonly 
distributed than the last species, and it was noticed almost 
wherever we went, provided the country was sufficiently 
forest-like to contain large trees, amongst which the birds 
live, feeding on fruit and berries. Contrary to what most 
writers have said, I almost always found them singly and 
not in small flocks; in fact, I never saw more than three 
together at a time. When sitting on a bough they keep 
continually raising and lowering their crest, but owing to 
their grey colour are very difficult to see. 
148. Strix poensis. African Barn-Owl. 
Strix poensis Fraser. 
Iris black ; bill whitish yellow; claws dark grey. 
The only pair of Barn-Owls seen in East Africa were a pair 
which were shot out of a small cave at Bondoni. 
