1921.] 
On Birds of Northern Bliodesia. 
611 
XXXIV.— An account of the Birds met with during a two 
months' shooting trip in Northern Rhodesia. By Colonel 
Stephenson R. Clarke, C.B., M.B.O.U. 
(Plate VII.) 
In the following pages I endeavour to give a short and, I 
fear, a superficial account of the birds observed while making 
a two months’ shooting trip during August and September 
1920, in north-western Rhodesia. I had meant to have 
collected birdskins more seriously, but I met with two un¬ 
expected mischances ; in the first place, it was not found 
possible to secure the services of a trained bird-skinner, and, 
in addition, I injured my right arm the second day out from 
Monze, and was unable to use my shot-gun for a month 
after. 
My son Edmund accompanied me, and we engaged as 
guide and hunter Mr. F. Cooper, of Mazabuka. On our 
way north my son and I broke our journey from Capetown, 
in the Free State, to shoot specimens of the Black Wilde- 
beeste and Blesbok ; during the few days spent there we 
motored from Win burg to the Hoopstad district and back 
by a different road, something over 100 miles each way. 
I felt a natural pleasure in renewing acquaintance with the 
birds of the Free State veld after twenty years’ absence ; 
the small number of Raptores seen (even allowing for the 
fact of it being the winter) seemed to show a great diminu¬ 
tion in their numbers since then : Tinnunculus rupicoloides is 
still abundant, but the only other members of the group seen 
in these two long drives were two Secretary Birds and one 
Black-shouldered Kite, nor did we see any of the Francolins, 
I had certainly expected to see Francolinus gariepensis. On the 
other hand, White-quilled Knorhaan(0^’s afroides), Nam aqua 
Sandgrouse ( Pteroclurus namaqua ), Two-banded Courser 
(.Rhinoptilus africanusf Burchell’s Courser (Cursorius rufus), 
and theKiewitjes ( Stephanibyx coronata ) were abundant, and 
I also saw several Blue Knorhaan ( Otis ccerulescens) in twos 
and threes, and, unless I was mistaken, many flocks of the 
