Seth-Smith,L. M.

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4 BIRDS IN UGANDA FORESTS
for thesepurposesit is oalculatedthat the Societyshould
havean incomeof at least£]80a year.
If eaohmemberwould secureone new memberduring
the currentyearandwritehimself,or inducea friendto send
in anarticleor interesting'note' for the Journal, theSociety
would beon a soundbasis,andthe presentcontinualanxiety
of the Editors as to wherethe necessarymanuscriptfor·the
next Journal is comingfrom would be avoided.
In conclusion,the Committeethankall memberswhohave
helpedduring the past year by contributingarticlesto the
Journal or introductionof new members,to the measureof
successtheSocietyhasattained.
JOHN SERGEANT,
HonorarySecretary.
NAIROBI, March1911.
BIRDS IN UGANDA FORESTS
By L. M. SETH-SMITH
I think I maysaythat Africanforestsappealto everyone
-the lovely 0001shade,the silence,the vast height of the
trees-but moreespeciallydo they appealto naturalists,as
theycontainaninfinitevarietyof everykindof livingcreature,
many of which,I believe,still remainto bediscovered;but
moreimportantstill, the habits of nearly all are practically
unknown.
I do not wish to insinuatethat the habits of oreatures
whosehabitat is in the moreopenoountryarewell known,
but observationsare much more difficult in forests and,
hence,far less is known.
It is mostextraordinaryhowoneis ableto walk througha
forestwithoutseeingor hearinga bird,except,of course,some
of thelargerspecies,suchasglossystarlings,parrots,hornbills,
&c.,and possiblyoatchinga glimpseof somebird as it flies
acrossone'spath like a flashand disappearsinto theunder-
growth. Only a few daysago I was walkingwith a friend
BIRDS IN UGANDA FORESTS 5
througha largeforest,whenhe suddenlyexclaimed:' That's
the first bird I haveseenin theforest.' Quiteso,butwhata
differencewhenoneremainsquietfora fewminutes.A moving
leaf catchesone'seye,thena twitter is heardin a thicket in
front, and by degreesthe placeseemsfull of birds; but even
thenthe undergrowthis too thick to Seemuch,andonlynow
andthendoesonecatcha sightof anything.
However,it is one'sonly chanceto remainquite quiet,
and,as I personallypreferto be as comfortableaspossible,
I alwaystake out with me a chair, and usuallyoneor two
boyswhohaveto remainabsolutelyquiet,but areusefulfor
retrieving.
Onelosesquitea largepercentageof birdsbytheirdropping
into thick undergrowthandvanishing-that is the only word
I canuse; theyfall and the spot is markedas carefullyas
possible,but no signof the bird canbe found,andthe search
is at lastgivenupin disgust.
It shouldbe rememberedthat birdswhenshotnot unfre-
quentlycatchin theundergrowth,andthis shouldbesearched
if thebird is not foundontheground.
The majorityof forestbirdsareof dull colouration,andso
we get the sunbirdsrepresentedin forestsby Gyanomitra
obscura and the genus Anthothreptes,of which the species
axillaris, hypodelaandtephroloema,areall foundin theBudongo
forest.
Mostof the birdsI shallmentionherehavebeenobtained
by mein the above-mentionedforest,whichlies in a triangle
of countrybetweenMasindi,Butiaba,andFajao.
The tits are representedby Parus jU'f6!!reus(the dusky
tit-mouse)and Parisoma plumbeum (Hartlaub'stit-warbler),
whichhavethetypicaltit habitof searchingeverycrannyand
crevicein barkfor theirfood. Thesegenera,unliketheircousin
lEgithalus (ofwhichwegetthespeciesparoulusin thecountry),
preferto keepto thelargerstemsof treesandat a reasonable
heightfrom the ground,whereasmy very limited experience
ofparvulus showsthat it keepsto the topmostsmallbranches
of hightrees.
The genus Nigrita (negro finches)is representedby
8chistacea,diabolica, and fuscO'nota.
6 BIRDS IN UGANDA FORESTS
Theweaverbirdsareinteresting. Spermospisarubricapilla
is to befoundin mostof the forestsin Uganda,I believe,but
it is notnecessarilya forestbird, as it is alsoto be foundin
patchesof thick bush. I wasfortunatein obtainingthe type
of the maleof this speciesin the Budongoforest,the bird
previouslybeingknown,I believe,only by the skins of two
females. I have sinceobtainedit at Mubendeand in the
Mabiraforest,andfeelsureI haveseensomeon severalother
occasions.
It is without doubt a very shy bird and keepsalmost
exclusivelyto thick undergrowth,and this must be the only
reasonthat it is so little known,as its bright redbreastis
very conspicuous.
Malimbus is representedby rubricollisand malimbicus.
Theseareweaverfinches.I watcheda familypartyof thelatter
speciesa short while ago in the Mabira forest. The young
werein that stagein whichtheywerequitecapableof finding
theirfood,butat thesametimelikedto befedbytheoldbirds.
At thedistancetheyoungbirdslookedjust like thefemalesin
plumage.They arefascinatingbirdsto watch,quiteas much
at home,whilesearchingfor food,clingingto the undersideof
branchesason the top, thebrightredheadbeinga verycon-
spicuousobjectin the dull light of a forest,especiallywhena
ray of suncatchesit.
Of CinnamopteryxI haveobtaineda pairoftricolor(chestnut
weaverfinch)in the Mabiraforest,but the femaleis identical
with the descriptionof C. interscapulariswhich Shelleycon-
sidersmay be a black-breastedvarietyof tricolor. I feelsure
that my skins are a pair, but they have not yet beensent
homefor identification.
Oriolesarerepresentedby Brachyrhynchus,whosefinenotes
frequentlyresoundthroughouthe forest.
Nicatorchlorisis foundin mostof theforests. It is a shy
bird,and I haveusuallyseenit in thick undergrowth.
In 1907I obtaineda pair of Bleda woosnami(Woosnam's
yellowbulbul)in theBudongoforest. This specieshadonlya
few monthspreviouslybeenfound for the first time by the
RuwensoriExpedition. This forestalsoproduceda specimen
which,at first,puzzledtheauthoritiesat theSouthKensington
BIRDS IN UGANDA FORESTS 7
Museum,butprovedtobeSylviellatoroensis(theTorocrombec),
of whichtheonlypreviouslyknownspecimenwasobtainedby
Mr. Jackson. My specimenhad a tail about half an inch
longerthanthetype. Closelyalliedto thisrarity I obtaineda
new species,which I namedCryptolophabudongoensis(the
Budongofly-catcher),of whicha pair wereobtained.
Apalis denti (Dent's warbler) and Alethe carruthersi
(Carruthers'robin-chat),both namedafter membersof the
RuwensoriExpedition,werealsoobtained.
Those two charmingbirds, Dyaphorophyiacastanea nd
J amesoni,are fairly common. They seemlike little ballsof
fluff in one'shand,the very shorttail hardlyshowing. They
makeat timesa curiousclickingnoisewhen flitting about,
apparentlymadewith thebeak.
Erythrocercuscongicusand Tro-chocercuskibaliensis(fly-
catchers),bothspeciesfirstobtainedby theAlexander-Gosling
Expedition,wereobtainedin theBudongoforest.
BothTerpsiphonecristataandEmini (Paradisefly-catchers)
arecommon. By-the-by,doesEmini changeinto the white
plumagelikecristata?
Therearejust twospeciesI shouldliketomention,Columba
unicinetaandGutteracristata. Thefonner,a finewood-pigeon,
hasbeenshotby veryfewcollectors,andyet it is to be found
in almosteveryforestin UgandaandUnyoro. It is & shybird
andkeepsto thetopsof treesandsoescapesobservationto a
largeextent,but earlyin the morningand in the eveningit
feedslower downon trees,which the Ba,gandacallMusasa,
togetherwithgreenpigeons. Its noteis & verymournfulcoo-oo,
andcaneasilybedistinguishe.doncelearnt; and,lastly,Guttera
cristata,amostlovelyblue-spottedguinea-fowl,withblackcrest.
I took oneof thesebirdshomea.livethreeyearsago,and
it is, I believe,still to beseenin theZoologicalGardens. What
wasmostnoticeableaboutit wasits extremetamenessalmost
immediatelya.fterbeingcaught,and the speciesshouldthus
be very easilydomesticated.I fed it on the journeyon raw
meatand biscuitsmixedup, possiblynot the bestdiet,but it
thrived,andwhenin Englandit remainedin an aviaryabout
two years,its main food beingblackbeetles. The reasonof
its dismissalto the Zoowas, that the lady of the household
8 A NOTE ON ANTHROPOMETRY
imaginedthat blackbeetleswerebeingencouragedratherthan
got rid of, for the sakeof the bird. My specimensappearto
havebeenbrighterthanthosepreviouslyin collections,or there
is someslightdifference,andit hasbeengiventherankofa sub-
speciesnamedGutteracristataseth-smithi,thoughthe difference
is, I believe,so slightthat it wouldappearto bea mistaketo
forma sub-speciesof it until manymorespecimenshavebeen
obtained.
I am afraidthat the aboveis but little morethana list of
birds; but I think it showsthat thereareagreatmanybirdsof
immenseinterestin forests,especiallywhenI mentionthatmost
of thesebirdswereobtainedin mysparetimeduringa fewdays
I spentin theforestin 1907.
I am quite surethat if onecouldspenda yearcollecting,
notonlyskinsbutnotesof nests,eggs,andhabitsofforestbirds,
a great deal of new and extremelyinterestinginformation
wouldbeobtained,as I believeverylittle is at presentknown
aboutthis mostfascinatingbranchof Ornithology.
A NOTE ON ANTHROPOMETRY
By NORMANLEYS, M.B., B.Ch.
Anthropometryis the least interestingbranchof anthro-
pology. It has no roomfor the exerciseof imaginationand
no humaninterest. On the otherhand, thereis little room
for fancy or prejudice,and one's facts, unlessindeedone
cooksthem,arefinalandindisputable.
In anthropometrymeasurementsof the human body
are made with the purposeof determiningrace. Races,
of course,are popularly determinedby other means. We
tell a man'srace by his language;his clothes,his religion.
Unfortunately,investigationshowsthat thesetestsareunre·
liable. Probably, for instance,only a minority of those
who now speakEnglish are of the English race. Not only
in Irelandand Scotland,but in FrenchCanada,DutchSouth
Africa, Asiatic India, CosmopolitanAmerica,our la.nguage


Birds in Uganda Forests

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Birds in Uganda Forests

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