Chapter XVIII: Zoology (1)

I will precede the enumeration of my zoological collections by a short sketch of the main features of the Kilima-njaro _fauna_.

To begin with our near kinsfolk, the monkeys. I found these creatures much more abundantly present in East Central Africa than during my journeys on the West Coast. Although Western Africa is probably better provided with species of quadrumana than any other division of the continent, the monkeys are much scarcer in numbers and harder to see, possibly owing to the greater density of the forests.

During eight months on the Congo I only saw monkeys twice in a wild state, and that in one place only; and throughout my entire stay of sixteen months in West Africa I can only remember six occasions on which I actually beheld these animals in a state of nature. On the other hand, I had scarcely left the East Coast, to journey towards Kilima-njaro, when monkeys showed themselves abundantly in the wilds.

The first to attract my attention were the baboons, probably the species known as _Cynocephalus hamadryas_, _C. Sphinx_, and _C. babouin_. They were generally found on the outskirts of native plantations, where they almost subsisted on the maize and other food-stuffs stolen from the gardens of their more highly-developed fellow-primates. In the inhabited region of Kilima-njaro, generally known as the country of Čaga, baboons were strangely abundant. They were generally in flocks of fourteen to twenty, of all ages, and both sexes. They were so little molested by the natives that they showed small fear of man, and, instead of running away, would often stop to look at me about twenty yards off, and the old males would show their teeth and grunt. I have frequently seen the natives driving them from the plantations, as they might a troop of naughty boys, and the baboons retreating with swollen cheek-pouches, often dragging after them a portion of the spoil. On one occasion, in a river-bed at the foot of Kilima-njaro, my Indian servant, ordinarily a very plucky boy, met a troop of baboons, who, instead of fleeing up into the trees, came running towards him in a very menacing manner, and he was so frightened at their aspect that he took to his heels. The baboons followed, and, but that the boy forded the shallow stream, and put the water between him and his pursuers, he might have had an awkward contest. I killed a baboon once in Čaga, one of a troop who were rifling a maize plantation, and its companions, instead of running away, surrounded the corpse and snarled at me. As I had fired off both barrels of my gun, and had no more ammunition, I went back to my settlement to fetch some of my followers, and upon the approach of several men the baboons ran off. We picked up the dead one and carried it back. It was a female, and apparently young and tender. Out of curiosity I had its flesh cooked the next day and ate it,[36] hoping in this lawful way to form some idea of the practice of cannibalism; I can only say that the succulence and quality of this creature’s flesh were quite unexceptionable. I have noticed this with most of the species of Old-World monkey I have as yet tasted. During my four months’ stay in Mandara’s country I ate the common _Cercopithēcus pygerythrus_ constantly, and found it made a very toothsome stew. The most remarkable monkey in all this region is probably the Colobus, which apparently offers a new variety or sub-species in the country round Kilima-njaro, remarkable for having an entirely white heavily-plumed tail. The common species, with a black tail tipped with white, I have shot in the forested plains near the coast. The Colobus monkey is almost the only one that quite avoids the neighbourhood of man; the other genera frequent the vicinity of native plantations, and doubtless profit by the abundance of cultivated food. I never observed any Galago (a lemuroid animal) in this district, nor do the natives speak of one, although it is a genus well represented in other parts of Africa.

Bats are by no means common or often seen. I saw some fruit-bats once in the forest hanging to a sycamore fig-tree. No member of the group of Insectivora came under my notice. The Carnivora in this country of big game are, of course, well represented. The lion is very abundant and very bold; but the leopard is more feared by the natives than his larger ally. While stopping in Mandara’s country, two of that chief’s subjects were killed by leopards, one of them close to the frequented village-green. The leopard ascends the mountain up to about 8000 feet, scarcely higher. I shot one of these creatures in the valley of a stream in broad daylight. I think it had been sleeping by the water, and was suddenly awakened by my near approach, and too dazed to fly immediately. The most common dog is the side-striped jackal. There is a wild dog found on Kilima-njaro which barks loudly. It is quite nocturnal, and I have never been able to shoot it; but from its appearance in bright moonlight it looks somewhat like the Abyssinian dog (_Canis Simensis_). The natives know it by a different name from that applied to the jackal—viz. _Nzudu_.

Hyenas are very common, and both species, striped and spotted, are present; but the striped hyena more affects the hills, while the spotted kind inhabits the plains. The spotted hyena is a much more predatory animal here than one generally imagines. Not only does it steal sheep and calves from the herds, but it even carries off children, and will often attack wounded or weakly men. I once sent a sick man back to the coast a short distance by himself, and he was severely bitten at night by the hyenas. He succeeded, however, in beating them off, and recovered from his wounds.

Civets and genets are very abundant; so also are one or two specimens of ichneumon. I noticed no kind of weasel, ratel, or badger.

The _Orycteropus Æthiopicus_, or Ant-bear, is common on the plains, to judge by his many huge burrows; but I have never seen him, and only identify him from natives’ descriptions.

Among the _Rodentia_ there were few that came under my notice. A species of _Graphiurus_[37] (probably _G. capensis_) is found in the forests of Kilima-njaro. The porcupine is fairly common, and a small black rat infests the natives’ houses.

A hyrax is found on Kilima-njaro (_H. Brucei_) between 7000 and 11,000 feet. It lives entirely in the trees, which it climbs with the facility of a squirrel. It is much sought after by the Wa-čaga for its warm, furry skin, which is made into cloaks.

The elephant inhabits Kilima-njaro up to a great height. I have seen two females and a young one at an altitude of 13,000 feet, crossing a stream-valley, and mounting the opposite bank with the agility of goats. As I have also met with this creature in the Chella Mountains of Angola, where he climbs to 8000 feet, in fact, as high as he can go, I am convinced he can easily adapt himself to a mountain life.

Round the base of Kilima-njaro the rhinoceros is very abundant; and in Lake ǰipé hippopotami are found. The zebra (_Equus Chapmani_) is present in incredible quantities in the plains round Kilima-njaro. In fact, the vast herds of varied game which pasture on the level country between the snow mountains and the coast remind one of the tales of Gordon Cumming.

Among the more noticeable _Ruminantia_ are the buffalo (_Bubalus Caffer_), the giraffe (very abundant), the eland, the kudu, the bush-buck (_Tragelaphus sylvaticus_), the sable antelope (_Hippotragus niger_), the pallah, one or two gazelles, gnus, hartebeests, bless-boks, and many small species of _Neotragus_ and _Cephalophus_. The kudu penetrates up the mountain to a height of 14,000 feet, in company with the buffalo, attracted possibly by the sweet perennial pasture. A _Neotragus_ and a _Cephalophus_ are also found at high altitudes. I give here a drawing of a head of the little Neotragus antelope (possibly _N. Kirki_) found on Kilima-njaro. As you may see, it has the nose nearly developed into a trunk, a tendency which is very common, after all, among mammals, and which reaches its utmost development with the elephant.

Fig. 66.—_Neotragus Kirki._
]

In the plains round Kilima-njaro the red hartebeest (_Alcephalus Cokei_) is found in myriads. This creature by the colour of its coat and its strange shape assimilates marvellously with the huge red ant-hills (habitations of the white termites) which abound in the districts favoured by the hartebeests. When you are out stalking it is really most difficult and puzzling sometimes to know which is hartebeest and ant-hill; for the long grass hiding the antelope’s legs leaves merely a red humped mass which, until it moves, may well be a mound of red earth. The unconscious mimicry is rendered the more ludicrously exact sometimes by the sharply-pointed flag-like leaves of a kind of lily which frequently crown the summit of the ant-hill or grow at its base, thus suggesting the horns of an antelope, either with the head erect, or browsing low down. _Vide_ Chapter IV.

Among the passerine birds of Kilima-njaro I have brought back six that are new to science. Three of these are sun-birds, one is a flycatcher, and the remaining two are chats. The sun-birds are found very high up the mountain, in that resembling the hummingbirds which frequent the Andes near to the snow-line. They hover round the long tubular flowers of certain labiate plants, and on being captured it will be noticed that the feathers of the brow are thickly covered with pollen, so that in these regions sun-birds share with insects the means of fertilizing flowers.

Fig. 67.—Head of Great-billed Raven (_Corvultur albicollis_).
]

The bird mentioned in Chapter XIII. as being found at a height of 14,000 feet, the highest dweller, except the occasional passing ravens or kites, is _Pinarochroa hypospodia_, a kind of stonechat.

Other passerine birds of a note are a lovely oriole (_Oriolus notatus_), which frequents the forests of the lower slopes, and the great white-necked raven, alluded to and illustrated in Chapter XIII.

Fig. 68.—The dying Hornbill.
]

The great crested hornbill (_Buceros cristatus_) is generally distributed over the mountain up to 6000 feet, especially near habitations. They show no fear of man, being generally protected by the natives, who look upon them with superstitious awe, arising possibly from their being useful scavengers, as well as from their peculiar loud cry, which resembles at times that of the wailing of a woman in distress, at others that of the braying of an ass. In August and September they are generally breeding, and occasionally the head of the female may be seen peering out from a hole in a tree, some thirty or forty feet high, where she has been plastered in by her affectionate husband. By the chips lying about it would appear that these holes are excavated by the birds to the required size. They are monogamous, and show great affection for each other, which is fortunate, as the female during incubation has entirely to rely on her mate for daily sustenance. I shot a fine male hornbill once, at Taveita, and he fell to the ground mortally wounded. His dying struggles were quite touching to behold, and I felt almost criminal in having caused his death. His breath came and went in great gasps, and his snowy stomach was streaked with red blood. His large eye with long lashes gazed at me with calm wonder and vague reproach, as if to say, “What ill have I done that you should kill me?” He disdained to snap at the stick with which I gently poked his opened beak, and still kept his eye fixed on me, regarding my impertinent investigations of his person as unnecessary insults. So he lay during some minutes, with long shuddering breathings raising and lowering the feathers of his breast and back. Then another hornbill, evidently his mate, came and perched on the bough of a neighbouring tree and uttered a low cry. The dying bird started up to life again, raised his head high, flapped his widespread, glossy wings, dragged himself painfully along the ground, and gave vent to one sonorous bellow; then his great head dropped on one side, and his wide-open eye glazed with an expression of eager hope hardened in it even in death.

A beautiful turaco inhabits the forests in Kilima-njaro. It is bluish-green-purple, with a white-lined crest and scarlet skin round the eyes. Its wings, like most other turacos, have intense crimson pinions, and therefore it is a gorgeous object as it flaps its loose flight through the forest aisles.

Several species of pigeon are found on the mountain, notably one very fine bird, _Palumbus arquatrix_, which inhabits the upper regions.

Francolin and guinea-fowl are most abundant, but the latter bird I have never met with at any great altitude above the plains.

Numbers of water-birds frequent the shallow lakes and swamps in the vicinity of Kilima-njaro. Lake J̌ipé is a great resort of pelicans, geese, egrets, and saddle-billed storks. I have only noticed one water-bird on the mountain at any altitude, and this was a species of duck, I think _Anas xanthorhyncus_, which was found inhabiting ice-cold streams at an elevation of 11,000 feet.

The abundance of vultures has already been remarked, and is in marked contrast to what may be observed in West Africa, where these vultures are absent, and their place is filled by another Accipitrine scavenger (_Gypohierax_), who apparently finds so little offal to sustain him, that he has in many places to turn his attention to fishing.[38]

Fig. 69.—(_a_) The right _Manus_ or Wing of young Ostrich. (_b_) Scale
Feathers of young Ostrich.
]

The ostrich which is so numerous in the vicinity of Kilima-njaro, is a recently determined species—_Struthius Danaoides_, Shelley—apparently differing from _S. camelus_ in the colour of the soft parts and naked skin, and the size and markings of the egg. I kept many of the young ostriches alive during my residence at Taveita. As most of my readers know, young ostriches for the first few months of their life are covered with curious scale-like plumes, but, unless they are scientific ornithologists, they may not be also aware that the hand (wing) of the ostrich exhibits _three_ fingers, instead of the _two_ that most other birds possess. The third finger is without a claw. This is but one of the many details which make the ostrich more reptilian than other living birds. The ostriches breed during the months of June, July, and August in the vicinity of Kilima-njaro. The hatched young appear about the month of October, or a little earlier. I am told by the Wa-taveita that for the first few days after emerging from the egg they remain under the guardianship of the mother, but I must own that whenever I have myself seen them, they were, no matter if young enough to be run down and easily captured, unaccompanied by any parent. Nevertheless the natives persist in their statement, and they further averred, without any questioning from me, that the male ostrich simulates lameness (like the peewit and the wild duck), in order to distract the pursuit of his children by would-be captors.

Among reptiles, crocodiles are found in Lake ǰipé and in the River Ruvu. Large varanus lizards (_Monitor niloticus_) are frequently found in the forests of Taveita. They share the water and the trees as their habitat, generally plunging into the stream when frightened or disturbed. They seem to me to feed largely on fish, and no doubt often capture and eat small squirrels and birds. When extended full length along a tree-trunk, immobile, and exactly matching the colour of the bark with their grey-green mottled skin, these creatures are very hard to distinguish from their surroundings, and doubtless often in consequence deceive the sharp eyes even of a squirrel. From what I know of these creatures, and from what the natives tell me, they use their long, heavy, whip-like tail as a powerful weapon. When driven into a corner they will slash right and left, and if the tail strikes your shins they will certainly be barked. A blow with the tail will kill a dog, and I believe many an unwary bird, squirrel, and possibly small monkey, is flicked from a tree overhanging the stream into the water, and plunged after by the agile lizard. The teeth of this creature are weak and blunt, and only sufficient for mastication.

There are some five species of snakes, mostly non-venomous. The common python is present.

Chameleons are not only very common on Kilima-njaro, but are found up to an altitude of 13,000 feet. The natives consider them venomous and hurtful, and scream with fear if one is pushed near them. They regarded me as a sorcerer when I handled these creatures with impunity. Of course the poor little chameleons, like the “effets” that our nurses always warned us against, are entirely innocuous, and make, moreover, interesting pets, being a source of amusement with their goblinish ways and strange appearance. Frogs are found in the ice-cold streams as high up as 13,000 feet. Tree-frogs of many kinds haunt the forest, and chirp perseveringly.

Fig. 70.—Varanus Lizards.
]

Fish are nowhere found in the rivers of Kilima-njaro, save in the River Lumi, which flows into Lake ǰipé. I give a drawing of the only kind caught in the Lumi, which is the river of Taveita. It is probably a species of Barbel or _Labio_, of the family _Cyprinidæ_. In Lake ǰipé a silurus is very common, and there are many other kinds of fish also present, but the shores of the lake are deserted, nobody fishes there, and the fish would not rise to ordinary bait; and therefore as my time at ǰipé was short, and my health bad, I had no opportunity of investigating its piscine forms. Freshwater crabs of the genus _Thelphusa_ (_T. depressa, var. Johnstoni_) are present in most of the mountain streams. They appear to be most closely related to the river-crabs of Natal and South Africa.

Fig. 71.—A Fish from the River Lumi.
]

Throughout this region butterflies are few and scarce. They do not penetrate much higher than 8000 or 9000 feet. The common clouded yellow is often seen on Kilima-njaro.

Bees and wasps penetrate to a height of 14,000 feet. They belong principally to the genus _Xyloropus_. Most of the beetles are allied to, or identical with, South-east African forms. One new species has no allies nearer than India. Others are related to Abyssinian species, and some to the beetles of Somali-land.

APPENDICES.[39]

1. NOTE ON A NEMATOID WORM (_Gordius verrucosus_) OBTAINED BY MR. H. H.
JOHNSTON ON KILIMA-NJARO. BY F. JEFFREY BELL, M.A., F.Z.S.

The single specimen of _Gordius_ which was obtained by Mr. Johnston belongs to a well-known and widely-distributed species, but yet presents points of interest such as are almost always absent from so-called new species.

So far as my knowledge extends (and on this particular point it is in advance of that of Dr. Linstow, who, in his valuable “Compendium der Helminthologie,” does not mention the parasite now under consideration), _Gordius verrucosus_ is in earlier life parasitic on a species of the genus _Mantis_; and there is in the British Museum a specimen of “_Mantis_, sp.,” which, as Mr. Waterhouse has been good enough to point out to me, is really _M. membranacea_, accompanying a _Gordius_. The whole of the abdomen of this Orthopteron is completely emptied of its contents. A similarly excavated Mantis, the appearance of which had excited Mr. Waterhouse’s wonder, is to be found among the insects collected by Mr. Johnston between 3000 and 5000 feet.

A specimen, belonging apparently to the same species, is to be found half-in and half-out of the abdomen of _Hierodula bioculata_, a Mantid collected on the west coast of Africa, and lately presented to the trustees by Dr. Günther, F.R.S.

With regard to the geographical distribution of the species, it is to be noted that it is sufficiently wide to include South Africa and Ceylon; while there are in the British Museum specimens named respectively by Dr. Baird, the author of the species, and by Dr. Örley, who in 1881 went carefully through the collection in the Museum; these specimens are reported as coming from Vera Paz, Guatemala (presented by O. Salvin, Esq.), and the “neighbourhood of Irazu, Costa Rica” (presented by Messrs. Godman and Salvin). The fact that the same parasite is to be found in hosts of different species is well known. The present case, in which _Mantis membranacea_ from Ceylon, _Idoleum diabolicum_ from Kilima-njaro, and _Hierodula bioculata_ from West Africa, are infested by a common form, is almost exactly paralleled by the case of the _Tænia_ described by Peters from a rhinoceros from the Mozambique, and by Murie and Garrod in rhinoceri from India.

As to the second point which has arisen, the presence of _G. verrucosus_ in Central America, I note differences in the form of the integumentary papillæ, which are sufficient to induce me to suggest that no stress should be at present laid on this point, though they are not enough, when taken in conjunction with my own want of experience in the degrees of possible variations, to lead me to put myself into more decided opposition to the views or determinations of such workers as Dr. Baird or Dr. Örley.

2. DESCRIPTION OF A NEW VARIETY OF RIVER-CRAB OF THE GENUS _Thelphusa_,
FROM KILIMA-NJARO. BY E. J. MIERS, F.L.S., F.Z.S.

The species of _Thelphusa_, or River-Crabs, are extremely numerous, and their discrimination is often very difficult, on account of the changes which the species undergo as they increase in age and size.

In the collection brought by Mr. H. H. Johnston from Kilima-njaro are two specimens of this genus, which I assign, though not without some hesitation, to the _Thelphusa depressa_, Krauss, described from types taken near Pietermaritzburg, Natal. They agree with the description and figure in their depressed carapace, which is considerably dilated at the branchial regions, in the non-development of the lateral epibranchial tooth, and in other essential characters; but differ in the more strongly defined cervical suture of the carapace, and the more strongly denticulated merus, and much less strongly arcuated dactylus of the chelipedes. As regards this latter character, I may observe that in a series of _Thelphusæ_ (perhaps _T. difformis_) in the Museum collection, the dactyli of the chelipes are in some males arcuated, and in others nearly straight.

I append a detailed description of the specimens from Kilima-njaro, which I propose to designate _T. depressa_, Krauss, var. _Johnstoni_, but which may prove to belong to a distinct species.

THELPHUSA DEPRESSA, Krauss, var. JOHNSTONI.

Cf. _Thelphusa depressa_, Krauss, Sudafrik. Crustaceen, p. 38, pl. 11. fig. 4 (1843).

Carapace transverse, widest in its postfrontal region, depressed, with the dorsal surface nearly smooth, and divided into two nearly equal portions by the zigzag cervical suture, which extends transversely across the carapace to the postero-lateral margins; behind this a second transverse depression (not a suture) crosses the carapace behind the cardiac region. The postfrontal crest extends to the antero-lateral margins of the carapace, and is interrupted only by the meso-gastric suture, which bifurcates posteriorly (as usual in the genus); this crest is granulated near to the antero-lateral margins, which are defined by a distinctly granulated line; the lateral epibranchial teeth are not developed. On the hepatic and branchial regions are several faintly indicated lines, which extend inward for a short distance over the dorsal surface of the carapace from the lateral margins. The front is about one-third the width of the carapace, punctulated above, with its anterior margin sinuated, its antero-lateral angles obtuse and not prominent. The orbital margins are entire, and defined by a raised line, which is granulated except near to the front; the inferior orbital margin is regularly arcuate, not (as in _T. perlata_) angulated near to the interior subocular lobe, which is not at all prominent; the tooth, also, at the exterior orbital angle is very little developed; the parts of the carapace adjoining the antero-lateral angles of the buccal cavity are very distinctly granulated. The eye-peduncles are slender (for a species of this genus), and the eyes do not attain the exterior angle of the orbit. The exterior maxillipedes are formed as in _T. perlata_, having the ischium and merus of the endognath distally truncated, the merus rounded at its antero-external angle, and scarcely emarginate at its antero-internal angle. The chelipedes in the adult male are unequal, the right the larger; in both the merus is armed with a series of spinules on the anterior margin, and with a somewhat longer spine near the distal extremity; the carpus with a spine followed by a smaller spinule on the inner margin; the palm is somewhat compressed and nearly smooth, rounded above; the dactyl and pollex are denticulated on the inner margins, and have between them, when closed, a rather narrow interspace; the dactyl is slightly arcuated and as long as, or rather shorter than, the palm. The ambulatory legs are of moderate length, with the fourth to sixth joints compressed, and with the superior margins acute; the margins of the penultimate joints near to the distal extremity and the dactyli are armed with small spinuliform teeth, which on the dactyli are disposed in four longitudinal series.

_Adult male._
Lines. Millims.
Length of carapace 17¼ 37
Breadth of carapace about 25½ 54·5
Length of a chelipede. 44 93·5

This form may be distinguished from other African species in which the postfrontal crest is distinctly developed, by the following characters:—From _T. perlata_, M. Edw., which is found at the Cape and Port Natal, by the wider transverse carapace, which is more dilated at the branchial regions, and not dorsally granulated near the antero-lateral margins, and by the form of the orbit, whose inferior margin is regularly concave (not as in specimens referred to _T. perlata_ in the Museum collection), abruptly angulated near the interior subocular lobe. From _T. inflata_, M. Edw., by the less convex carapace, straight postfrontal crest, and the granulated line which borders the antero-lateral margins of the carapace. _T. aubryi_, M. E., _T. africana_, A. M. E., and _T. emarginata_, Kingsley, from the Gaboon, West Africa, and Port Natal, have an additional tooth between the exterior angle of the orbit and the postfrontal crest. In _T. goudoti_, M. E., from Madagascar, the postfrontal crest is less developed, and the immobile finger of the chelipedes forms more or less of an angle with the inferior margin of the palm. Another species from Madagascar, _T. madagascariensis_, A. M. E., which has not, I believe, been figured, is distinguished by the lesser development of the postfrontal crest and the straighter fingers of the chelipedes, which meet along their inner margins. In the West African _T. bayoniana_, _T. anchietæ_, and _T. dubia_, Brito Capello, the lateral epibranchial tooth is more developed. In _T. limula_ Hilgendorf, from Senegambia, the postfrontal crest is less distinctly developed near the lateral epibranchial teeth, behind which, in the males, are indications of two other teeth.

3. A LIST OF THE LEPIDOPTERA COLLECTED BY MR. H. H. JOHNSTON DURING HIS
RECENT EXPEDITION TO KILIMA-NJARO. By F. D. GODMAN, F.R.S., &c.

Mr. Johnston’s collection of Lepidoptera contains 61 specimens, including 27 species; of the latter there are 21 species of Rhopalocera and 6 of Heterocera. Of the Rhopalocera I have described three species as new, and a fourth, a _Chrysophanus_, of which only one specimen of a female is in the collection, remains unnamed, though it too is probably new. This small collection therefore contains nearly twenty per cent. of novelties, which must be considered a high proportion.

But so small is the series that I do not think any comparison of the Lepidopterous fauna of this region with that of the rest of Africa can be entered upon with advantage. Suffice it to say that by far the majority of the species are widely distributed African ones; that there is a northern element, as shown in _Colias edusa_, and perhaps the _Chrysophanus_; and that there is barely a trace of the Abyssinian fauna in the materials before me. But these suggestions may all be set aside whenever a representative collection is made. Of the 27 species no less than 19 are represented by single specimens.

RHOPALOCERA.

1. DANAIS DORIPPUS.

_Euplœa dorippus_, Klug, Symb. Phys., Insecta, t. 48. f. 1–5.

Kilima-njaro, rocky, wooded, and cultivated country and grassy downs, at 4000–5000 feet, July.

Four examples (2 ♂︎, 2 ♀︎).

None of these specimens have any white on the secondaries, and agree best with Fig. 5 of Klug’s plate. _D. dorippus_ is a common East African species.

2. ACRÆA JOHNSTONI, sp. nov.

_Alis anticis rufis, apicibus et marginibus externis (introrsum valde
sinuatis; nigro-fuscis) posticis ad basin et marginibus externis
late nigrescentibus, area discali albida venis fuscis divisa; subtus
anticis fere omnino rufis ad marginem externum canescentibus, venis
nigris et inter eas striolis fuscescentibus; posticis ut supra limbo
externo canescente venis et striolis inter eas diviso; maculis
quibusdam ad basin nigris; palpis, femoribus iuterne, abdomine
infra, et maculis costalibus, rufis; capite et thorace maculis albis
notatis._

Kilima-njaro, clearing in forest at 5500 feet, September.

A single male specimen of this apparently very distinct species.

3. ACRÆA INSIGNIS.

_Acræa insignis_, Distant, P. Z. S. 1880, p. 184, t. xix. f. 6.

_Acræa Buxtoni_, Hew. Ent. Month. Mag. xiv. p. 154.

Kilima-njaro, wooded hills at 5000 feet, August.

This insect was first described by Hewitson from examples procured by Buxton in the neighbourhood of Zanzibar, and was named by him after its discoverer. Mr. Distant pointed out that the name _A. Buxtoni_ had been already applied to another species by Mr. Butler, and hence renamed it as above. Our collection contains a good series of this insect, chiefly taken by Mr. Last at Mamboia in Eastern Central Africa. These exhibit considerable variation in the amount of black at the base of the secondaries, for while some specimens have only four or five isolated spots, others have a large confluent patch occupying the basal third of these wings, and between these two extremes we have every intermediate, all captured in the same locality and at the same time.

Mr. Johnston procured but a single example, which has the confluent black patch, and agrees in this respect with some of our own specimens from Mamboia.

4. ACRÆA BRÆSIA, sp. nov.

_Alis anticis semihyalinis ad basin rosaceo suffusis macula in cellula
altera ad finem ejus quinque in serie fere recta ultra eam, una
inter ramos medianos, duabus inter ramum medianum primum et venam
submedianano nigris, margine externo fusco nigro maculis lunulatis
submarginalibus rufis, posticis rosaceis ad basin obscurioribus
margine externo nigro area discali plus minusve maculata; subtus
anticis fere ut supra posticis flavidis nigro distincte maculatis,
ad basin et marginem internum rosaceo notatis, margine externo nigro
lunulis septem flavidis includente; fronte, palpis et pedibus
fulvis; abdomine subtus flavido, lateribus albo maculatis; capite,
prothorace et thorace albido distincte maculatis._

Kilima-njaro, in wooded country at 5000 feet, August.

A single male specimen allied to _A. oncæa_, differing in its diaphanous primaries and its more rosy secondaries.

5. ACRÆA NATALICA.

_Acræa natalica_, Boisd. Voy. Deleg. ii. p. 590; Hopff. Pet. Reise, Zool. v. p. 371, t. 23. f. 12, 13.

Kilima-njaro, grassy downs at 6000 feet, June.

One example (♀︎).

Agrees best with specimens of this species, but the disk of the secondaries is whiter and the spots in general are larger.

6. PYRAMEIS CARDUI.

_Papilio cardui_, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 276.

Kilima-njaro, in thin forest country at 7000 feet, July.

One much worn male.

7. JUNONIA CLELIA.

_Papilio cletia_, Cram. Pap. Exot. t. 21. f. E, F.

Kilima-njaro, rocky country at 4000 and 5000 feet, wooded country and grassy downs at 5000 feet, June and July.

8. JUNONIA ÆNONE.

_Papilio ænone_, Linn. Mus. Ulr. pp. 274, 275.

Kilima-njaro, in rocky, grassy, and wooded country at 5000 feet, wooded country at 6000 feet, June and July.

Six specimens, all males, of this widely ranging species.

9. PRECIS SESAMUS.

_Precis sesamus_, Trimen, Trans. Ent. Soc. 1883, p. 347.

Kilima-njaro, forest country at 7000 feet, July.

One example (♂︎).

10. LYCÆNA GAIKA.

_Lycæna gaika_, Trimen, Trans. Ent. Soc. 3rd ser. i. p. 403.

Kilima-njaro, grassy downs at 5000 feet, June.

One male.

The single specimen agrees with Trimen’s description and with our series of this species. It appears to us to be distinct from _L. lysamon_, with which Mr. Trimen united his _L. gaika_ in the “Rhopalocera Africæ Australis.” Both species occur in South Africa, but _L. lysamon_ may always be distinguished by the presence of a black spot within the cell of the primaries.

11. CHRYSOPHANUS, sp.?

Kilima-njaro, grassy downs at 5000 feet, June.

A single female example of a true _Chrysophanus_, which we are unable to recognize and which we hesitate to describe without specimens of the other sex.

12. TERIAS RAHEL?

_Papilio rahel_, Fabr. Ent. Syst. iii. p. 204 (apud Trimen).

Kilima-njaro, wooded country at 5000 feet, August.

A single female specimen, which we cannot undertake to determine with certainty without examples of the other sex. It may possibly be a female of _T. candace_, Feld., from Abyssinia.

13. PIERIS SEVERINA.

_Papilio severina_, Cram. Pap. Exot. t. 338, f. G, H.

Kilima-njaro, wooded country at 5000 to 6000 feet, July and August. Taveita, dense forest at 2300 feet, September.

One male and three females.

14. PIERIS HELLICA.

_Papilio hellica_, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 760.

Kilima-njaro, wooded, rocky, and cultivated ground, grassy downs, at 4000 to 5500 feet, July and August.

Thirteen males and one female.

All the specimens have the primaries rather more pointed, with a slightly blacker apex, and the colouring of the underside is brighter than in the examples in our collection.

15. ERONIA CLEODORA.

_Eronia cleodora_, Hübn. Samml. exot. Schmett. ii. t. 130.

Tavieta, in dense forest at 2300 feet.

16. CALLIDRYAS PYRENE.

_Colias pyrene_, Swains. Zool. Ill. i. t. 51.

Kilima-njaro, in wooded country at 5000 feet.

Two females only.

17. CALLIDRYAS FLORELLA.

_Papilio florella_, Fabr. Syst. Ent. p. 479.

Kilima-njaro, in wooded country at 6000 feet.

A single female specimen.

18. COLIAS EDUSA.

_Papilio edusa_, Fabr. Mant. Ins. ii. p. 23.

Kiliman-njaro, wooded and grassy country at 4000 and 5000 feet, July.

Four males and one female.

19. TERACOLUS AURIGINIUS.

_Teracolus auriginius_, Butl. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. ser. 5, vol. xii. p. 103.

Kilima-njaro, in wooded and grassy country, 5000 and 6000 feet.

Two examples agreeing with specimens in the British Museum thus named by Mr. Butler.

20. PAPILIO DEMOLEUS.

_Papilio demoleus_, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 753.

Kilima-njaro, in wooded country at 5000 feet, August.

A single specimen of this common African species.

21. PAPILIO BRONTES, sp. nov.

_Alis nigris fascia lata communi, ad costam anticarum disjuncta,
metallico-cæruleo, macula parva ad anticarum apicem et posticis
serie submarginali ejusdem coloris; subtus fusco-nigris anticis ad
apicem et posticis omnino, brunnescentioribus, his venis et striis
tribus in cellula longitudinalibus nigris, fascia communi
submarginali a vena mediana anticarum ad angulum posticarum analem
transeunte, venis nigris divisa, in anticis quoque inter venas
bisecta lactescente-alba, margine posticarum interno maculis parvis
duabus ejusdem coloris, posticis subcaudatis, vena mediana
producta._

Kilima-njaro, in forest country at 5000 feet, August.

Allied to _Papilio bromius_, but the transverse band is of a deeper blue, both wings are less elongated, the secondaries are more acutely produced at the anal angle. Beneath, the light coloured submarginal band is straighter on the secondaries and less broken up, moreover it is extended on the primaries as far as the median nervure beyond the cell, the apex of primaries and the secondaries are browner and though the latter have three radiating streaks in the cell as in _P. bromius_, there are no intervenal streaks beyond it.

A single male specimen is the only one Mr. Johnston obtained.

HETEROCERA.

Mr. Johnston’s collection contains six specimens of as many species of Heterocera, and for these Mr. Butler has kindly given us the following names.

22. ACHERONTIA ATROPOS.

Kilima-njaro, forest at 3000 feet, September.

23. MECYNA POLYGONALIS.

Kilima-njaro, wooded country at 5000 feet, August.

24. HYPINA, sp.?

Kilima-njaro, wooded country at 5000 feet, July.

25. STERRHA OACRARIA.

Kilima-njaro, scrubby heath at 8000 feet, July.

26. PRODENIA?

Kilima-njaro, wooded country at 5000 feet, September.

27. AMYNA, sp.?

Kilima-njaro, wooded country at 5500 feet, August.

4. ON THE INSECTS COLLECTED ON KILIMA-NJARO BY MR. H. H. JOHNSTON. By
CHAS. O. WATERHOUSE.

COLEOPTERA.[40]

The series of Coleoptera collected by Mr. Johnston comprises examples of fifty-six species. Many of them belong to widely distributed genera and are not of special interest.

Of the nine species taken at an elevation of 10,000 to 14,000 feet, the following are worthy of note:—Two male examples of _Carabus Deckeni_, Gerstaecker, which was described from a single female example found in this mountain. The species, however, proves to be a _Calosoma_, and not a _Carabus_, and is nearly allied to a species found in Abyssinia.

There is a single specimen of one of the Trichiidæ, which I have provisionally placed in the genus _Calometopus_, although the clypeus not being emarginate it is possible that a new genus may have to be made for its reception. I have named the species _Calometopus planatus_. There are only two species of this genus known, _C. senegalensis_ and _C. nyassæ_.

The third species which I would mention is one of the Heteromera of the family Moluridæ. I have named it _Melanolophus ater_; it appears to be most nearly allied to _M. septemcostatus_, described by Fairmaire in Revoil’s “Faune et Flore des Pays Çomalis,” but which, if I have correctly determined it, occurs also in Abyssinia.

Of the species found at lower elevations the majority, so far as I have identified them, are only known from South-east Africa (e.g. _Melyris parvula_, Gerst., _Himatismus buprestoides_, Gerst., _Amiantus castanopterus_, Haag, _Sepidium muscorum_, Gerst., _Anomalipus heraldicus_, Gerst., _Mylabris kersteni_, Gerst., _Epicauta dichrocera_, Gerst., _Rhopalizus sansibaricus_, Gerst., _Phrissoma giganteum_, Guérin); others are found in most parts of Africa (e.g. _Calosoma senegalensis_, Dej., _Oryctes boas_, Fabr.).

Of the new species which I describe, _Scarabæus cribricollis_ has its nearest ally, so far as I know, in an Indian species _S. sanctus_, Fabr.; _Amblysterna Johnstoni_ is nearest to _A. natalensis_, Fabr.

CARABIDÆ.

CARABUS DECKENI, Gerst.

This interesting species was described by Dr. Gerstaecker (Wiegm. Arch. f. Naturg., 1867, p. 10; Von der Decken’s Reise in Ost-Africa, iii. p. 56, pl. iv. f. 2) from a single female example found by Dr. Kersten on Kilima-njaro at an elevation of 8000 feet.

The two examples male and female found by Mr. Johnston differ from the female described by Dr. Gerstaecker in being rather smaller (only 13 millim. long), and, so far as one can judge from description, in having the elytra smoother with less impressed striæ.

Dr. Gerstaecker remarks on the fact of a species of _Carabus_ being found in this locality, none ever having been found before in South Africa. The species, however, is not a _Carabus_, but a _Calosoma_, as is indicated by the compressed third joint of the antennæ; a character which Dr. Gerstaecker overlooked when he stated that the separate joints of the antennæ are formed as in _Carabus pumilio_.

SCARABÆIDÆ.

SCARABÆUS CRIBRICOLLIS, n. sp.

Black, somewhat dull. Head closely and very strongly punctured, the punctures longitudinally confluent on the front of the clypeus, the anterior teeth of which are rather acute and moderately reflexed. Thorax nearly twice as broad as long, moderately convex, with a transverse impression in the middle of the base. In the middle of the disk is a shining (but finely punctured) line, which does not extend much beyond the middle; all the rest of the surface is strongly punctured; the punctures near the shining line are a little separated from each other, but at the sides and on the fore part they are crowded together and asperate; the sides are strongly rounded, finely serrate, and fringed with black hair. The elytra are a little narrower than the thorax, very slightly narrowed posteriorly, dull, but with the suture shining; the striæ are fine, the interstices flat and finely coriaceous (except the sutural interstices and the scutellar region), with numerous dull shallow punctiform impressions placed very irregularly. Femora and tibiæ fringed with black hair. Sternum smooth and shining, with a well-marked broad impression between the intermediate legs.

Length 22 millim.

This species most nearly resembles the Indian _Scarabæus sanctus_, Fabr. The sides of the thorax are, however, more regularly rounded, much less sinuate before the posterior angles; the shining discoidal line is broader, and there are no smooth spots on each side of this line. The elytra have the striæ finer and neater, the interstices are flatter, coriaceous, with the punctiform impressions smaller and more separated from each other.

ONTHOPHAGUS JOHNSTONI, n. sp.

Entirely black, except the apex of the antennæ, which is rusty-yellow. Head as long as broad, obliquely narrowed in front of the middle, rounded at the apex, closely and coarsely rugose, except near the eyes. There is a slightly raised straight ridge between the eyes, and a second, longer one halfway between this and the front of the clypeus. The thorax is smooth, shining at the sides and in front, slightly dull above; the fore part is perpendicularly truncate; the truncature bounded above by a slightly prominent ridge; viewed from the front there are three shallow impressions: on each side there is a line of small tubercles bounding the discoidal area; the surface of the disk is moderately closely but extremely delicately punctured, and appears impunctate to the naked eye; the sides are more distinctly punctured: the base is oblique on each side, and is angularly produced in the middle. The elytra are convex, shining, not quite twice as wide as the length at the suture, rounded at the sides and apex, very delicately striated, the striæ delicately punctured; the interstices flat, sparingly punctured; near the suture the punctures are extremely delicate but become more distinct towards the sides. The pygidium is rather sparingly but distinctly punctured. The sides of the sterna, the margins of the femora, and the posterior tibiæ are fringed with long black hair.

Length 21–25 millim.

I know of no species which much resembles this. Its most near ally is a species which I have seen named _O. noctis_, Th., in Mr. Bates’s collection. The species has somewhat the general build of _O. marsyas_, Ol.; the head is longer, the clypeus not sinuous at the sides; the thorax rather flatter above, with a prominent, nearly straight ridge in front above the anterior perpendicular truncature; the anterior angles are as if truncated; the base is more angularly produced in the middle of the base; the elytra are scarcely narrowed at the base, &c.

TRICHIIDÆ.

CALOMETOPUS? PLANATUS, n. sp.

Nearly black; the elytra dark testaceous, with the suture, margins, and a lunate spot near the scutellum smoky black. Antennæ and tibiæ reddish yellow, the margins of the abdominal segments pale yellow. Head very closely and rather strongly punctured; the clypeus more finely punctured, a little broader than long, _not_ emarginate at the apex, but slightly arcuate, the angles obtuse; all the margins reflexed. Thorax a very little broader than long, moderately convex, very strongly and rather closely punctured, parallel at the sides to considerably in front of the middle, where it is obliquely narrowed; the anterior angles nearly right-angles, very slightly prominent; the posterior angles obtusely rounded; the base gently arcuate and margined: on the disk there is a slight impression a little in front of the middle: the sides have the lateral ridge only behind the middle and at the anterior angle; the slightly swollen under flank is thus not separated from the upper surface of the thorax in front of the middle. Scutellum elongate, triangular, strongly punctured. Elytra twice as broad as the thorax, a little longer than broad; flat, with the sides nearly perpendicularly deflexed; dull, the suture and sublateral ridge shining: each elytron with six somewhat irregular dorsal lines of dark punctures; the apex closely rugulose. Pygidium closely vermiculate-strigose. Club of the antennæ a little longer than all the previous joints taken together. Body beneath and the legs sparingly clothed with yellow hair. Anterior tibiæ obtusely tridentate. The posterior tibiæ with a triangular tooth a little below the middle; the edge above this tooth with four or five small teeth. Tarsi long and slender; claws red. Abdomen shining, not very closely but strongly punctured; the basal segment yellow in the middle, margined with yellow at the sides.

Length 12 millim.

A single example was met with. It is probable that this species may have to be separated from _Calometopus_ on account of the form of the clypeus, which is not emarginate. Never having seen the type of the genus (_C. senegalensis_), I am unable at present to say in what other way it differs.

BUPRESTIDÆ.

AMBLYSTERNA JOHNSTONI, n. sp.

Size and general form of _A. natalensis_, Fabr. Golden green, shining, the underside and legs coppery, the sides of the abdomen violet. Thorax more convex than in _A. natalensis_, more closely and much more strongly punctured; the sides more regularly arcuate, with only a very small lateral impression; the dorsal median channel well-marked. Elytra very strongly and irregularly punctured, with small punctures interspersed; the punctures near the shoulders are somewhat transverse, and the interspaces being very narrow become transverse rugæ. All the large punctures are finely punctured and filled with pale pubescence, which gives the elytra a speckled appearance. The lateral and apical costæ are as in _A. natalensis_, but not so strongly marked, and there is no lateral stripe above the lateral costa. Antennæ black, with the opaque portions smoky. Underside of the body somewhat violet, the abdominal segments margined with green. Legs coppery.

Length 25 millim.

PSILOPTERA LÆTA, n. sp. (Illustrated P. Z. S. 1885, p. 235.)

Rather parallel, depressed, bluish green above, brassy green below. Head very rugose. Thorax nearly one-third broader than long, a little broader across the middle than at the base, and then obliquely narrowed in front, with a shallow median impression and one on each side; the surface rather strongly but very irregularly punctured, coarsely rugulose-punctate at the sides; the irregular space on each side of the median impression sparingly punctured, shining coppery; and a little more removed from the middle there is an irregular-shaped coppery spot a little in front of the middle. Scutellum black. Elytra nearly parallel for two-thirds their length, then narrowed to the apex, not very convex, with lines of somewhat strong punctures; the alternate interstices flat, the others in parts very slightly convex; the flat interstices are strongly and not very closely punctured; the others have each about eight ovate finely punctured impressions; the raised parts smooth and slightly brassy. At the sides there is a submarginal, closely, and finely punctured impressed line, extending from under the shoulder to near the apex; in this stripe there is some very fine whitish pubescence, which is only visible in certain lights. Prosternum with a triangular projection on each side of the front margin. Abdomen irregularly and strongly punctured, and finely pubescent.

Length 30 millim.

MOLURIDÆ.

MELANOLOPHUS ATER, n. sp. (Illustrated P. Z. S. 1885, p. 235.)

Dull black. Head closely and strongly punctured, with a slight impression on the forehead. Antennæ with the third joint nearly as long as the fourth and fifth taken together; the fourth joint a little longer than broad, the following joints very similar; the tenth joint the same length as the ninth, but broader than long; the eleventh as broad as the tenth, but short, truncate at the apex. Thorax as long as broad, or even a trifle longer, very convex (densely and strongly punctured, the intervals irregular, shining, rugæ or granules), moderately narrowed at the base and apex; arcuate at the sides, with no lateral ridge; the front margin nearly straight, the anterior angles not prominent, the base slightly bowed. Elytra not quite twice as broad as the thorax, oblong-ovate, moderately convex; each elytron with three zigzag shining costæ (two dorsal, one lateral), the interstices plicate and rugulose; the suture not costiform. The sides of the elytra shining, the surface uneven and sparingly punctured. Prosternal process closely and rather strongly punctured; the meso- and metasterna less so. Abdomen dull, very finely punctured, the punctuation of the apical segment rather stronger. Legs rugose, _not_ clothed with paler tomentum.

Length 14–15 millim.

The females are rather broader than the males, especially in the elytra, which are more oblong and somewhat flattened dorsally. The males have two very small shining spots on the disk of the thorax in front of the middle, and there is an indication of a fine median line.

I have been in doubt whether to place this species in the genus _Amiantus_ or the more recent genus _Melanolophus_, Fairm. (Faun, et Fl. des Pays Çomalis, 1882, p. 69). The general form is, however, more that of _Melanolophus_, but the suture of the elytra is not costiform. The anterior angles of the thorax are not produced forward as in _Amiantus_. The antennæ are rather shorter than in either of these genera.

HYMENOPTERA, ORTHOPTERA, &c.

The other Insects collected by Mr. Johnston do not present anything remarkable. There is, however, a very fine specimen of Mantis (_Idolum diabolicum_, Saussure), of which a male example in the British Museum is from the White Nile.

LIST OF BIRDS COLLECTED OR OBSERVED ON KILIMA-NJARO AND ITS
VICINITY.[41]

BY CAPTAIN G. E. SHELLEY, F.Z.S., AND MR. H. H. JOHNSTON, F.Z.S.

⁂ Those birds which were only observed by the author, and the skins of which were not obtained, have their numbers inserted in brackets.

1. ALSEONAX MINIMA (Heugl.).

_Muscicapa minima_, Heugl. Orn. N. O.-Afr. p. 435, pl. 18. f. 1. ♂︎, 4000 feet; ♂︎, 6000 feet; ♂︎, 7000 feet.

2. MUSCICAPA JOHNSTONI.

_Muscicapa Johnstoni_, Shelley, P. Z. S. 1884, p. 558.

♀︎, 6000 feet.

Found on the southern slope of the mountain just above Moši, on the borders of the cultivated district.

3. LANIUS CAUDATUS, Cab.

_Lanius caudatus_, Gadow, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. viii. p. 254; Fischer, Zeitschr. ges. Orn. (Madaraz), 1884, p. 344.

♂︎, 3000 feet. In immature plumage.

This species affects the desert and waterless districts at the foot of the mountain, where it perches upon the low shrubs, and pounces upon the grasshoppers, which are very abundant in these districts, and form its principal food.

4. LANIUS COLLARIS, Linn.

_Lanius collaris_, Gadow, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. viii. 1883, p. 255.

_Lanius humeralis_, Fischer, Zeitschr. ges. Orn. (Madaraz), 1884, p. 344.

♂︎, 4000 feet; ♂︎ ♀︎, 5000 feet; ♂︎, 6000 feet; 2 ♀︎, 7000 feet.

One of the commonest birds on the mountain, and very bold.

5. DRYOSCOPUS SUBLACTEUS, Cass.

_Dryoscopus sublacteus_, Gadow, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. viii. 1883, p. 140; Fischer, Zeitschr. ges. Orn. (Madaraz), 1884, p. 348.

♂︎, 3000 feet; ♂︎, 5000 feet; ♂︎, 8000 feet.

6. DRYOSCOPUS CUBLA (Shaw).

_Dryoscopus cubla_, Gadow, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. viii. p. 148; Fischer, Zeitschr. ges. Orn. (Madaraz), 1884, p. 345.

♂︎ ♀︎, 3000 feet; ♂︎, 5000 feet; ♂︎, not labelled. The female had the irides scarlet.

7. CRATEROPUS KIRKI, Sharpe.

_Crateropus Kirki_, Fischer, Zeitschr. ges. Orn. (Madaraz), 1884, p. 316.

♂︎, 5000 feet.

Very common and bold.

8. PYCNONOTUS LAYARDI, Gurney.

_Pycnonotus Layardi_, Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. vi. 1881, p. 132; Fischer, Zeitschr. ges. Orn. (Madaraz), 1884, p. 341.

♀︎, 3000 feet; 2 ♀︎, 5000 feet.

9. TURDUS CABANISI, Bp.

_Turdus cabanisi_, Seebohm, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. v. 1881, p. 229.

♂︎, 5000 feet; ♂︎, 6000 feet.

The most northern locality of this species, whence it ranges southward on the east coast to the Transvaal.

Almost confined to inhabited districts.

10. PINAROCHROA HYPOSPODIA, sp. n.[42]

Kilima-njaro, ♀︎, 14,000 feet.

Close to _P. sordida_ (Rüpp.), which is the type of the genus _Pinarochroa_; but the present bird is slightly larger, paler and less isabelline beneath, and has the white on the tail more limited, each feather having broad blackish-brown ends.

Upper parts brown, slightly darker on the crown and quills; tail—the four outer pairs of feathers white with broad blackish-brown ends; this colour extends somewhat down their shafts, and covers about one-third of the end-portion of the outer web of the exterior feather, and nearly the entire inner web of the third feather from the centre; the centre two pairs entirely black. The wing-coverts and inner secondaries are broadly edged with sandy brown, and the remainder of the quills have almost obsolete similarly coloured edges. Sides of the head in front of the eye and the cheeks slightly washed with ashy brown. Underparts ashy buff, slightly darker on the lower throat and front and sides of the chest, and passing into rufous-shaded brown on the flanks, thighs, and under tail-coverts; under surface of the wings dark brown with the coverts rufous-brown; the axillaries and inner margins of the quills ashy buff. Total length 5–7 inches, culmen 0·55, wing 3, tail 2·2, tarsus 1·25.

Found only at great altitudes, affecting the grassy and boulder regions, where they are to be seen in family parties of from three to five. Here they enliven the desert scenery by flitting before the traveller with a constantly repeated pleasing chirp, and perched upon the boulders flit their tails up and down after the manner of Chats.

11. PRATINCOLA AXILLARIS.

_Pratincola axillaris_, Shelley, P. Z. S. 1884, p. 556.

♂︎ ♀︎, 5000 feet; 3 ♂︎, 6000 feet; ♀︎, 7000 feet; ♂︎, 8000 feet; ♂︎, 10,000 feet. Breeds in September.

Very abundant but not met with below 5000 feet. They are bold, and frequent the native villages in their lower range.