very apparent, one is sure of finding the smallest of African creatures
of this family, the widely-distributed dassie, _Hyrax abyssinicus_.
Numerous wild boars inhabit the plains and must be exceedingly common on
the Shari according to Nachtigal’s narrative, though he does not mention
their species.[265] Where they are not hunted they appear to be far from
timid, at least if one can credit Barth’s account. The latter expresses
himself on this subject as follows: ‘A company of naked boys were
splashing and playing about in the water and seemed on the best of terms
with a number of wild boars; I have never seen these animals in such
quantities in the Sudan as in the neighbourhood of the Shari. Calves and
goats were feeding on the plain with wild boars in their midst.’[266] It
has not yet been definitely settled whether one of the bush-pigs
(_Potamochoerus_) is found in Bornu; it is nearly always confused even
in trustworthy reports with the formidable and strange-looking wart-hog;
_Phacochoerus africanus_, with its misformed head and terrible tushes,
which may even reach a foot in length. This animal is found far inside
the confines of the Sahara and is still common even in Aïr.[267]
Wherever fairly large rivers, or collections of water that outlast the
dry season, exist, the inevitable river-horse, _Hippopotamus amphibius_,
is never absent. Chudeau mentions the appearance of the river-horse even
in the swamps of the Manga country.[268] Gerhard Rohlfs and his
predecessors still report large herds—up to 100 head—of these pachyderms
on Lake Chad,[269] but on the other hand a contagious disease, of which
Nachtigal makes mention,[270] appears to have greatly thinned their
numbers, at least temporarily, and even now one commonly finds tushes
and other remains of these beasts on the shores of the lake. In the
Shari-Logone region on the contrary the hippopotamus has always been
equally common. Many places there ‘literally swarm’ with these
animals.[271] What holds good of the tameness of the wild boar when not
hunted holds good also under similar conditions of the harmless
hippo.[272]
Finally, the most interesting of the mammals of Bornu is a water-mammal,
for whose appearance, however, no definite proof appears to have been
presented as yet; this is the ‘ngabara’ or _Manatus Vogelii_,[273] which
was first named by Barth on the Shari and lately has again been
mentioned by Chevalier as occurring in Lake Chad;[274] and it can
scarcely be doubted that the existence of this animal, taking into
consideration also the remaining water-fauna of the lake, must have some
relation to the geological and hydrographical conditions of the Chad
countries at an earlier epoch.
The birds of Bornu, so variegated and interesting, are as manifold and
rich in species as the mammalia; not least are they interesting on
account of the alternations introduced by the temporary sojourn of birds
of passage. Not only the number of species but also the quantities of
individual birds is remarkable. In early spring, when the acacias begin
to blossom, the open ‘bush’ resembles in places a single great aviary,
which re-echoes with the singing and chirping of its inmates.[275] But
even during the most comfortless period of the dry weather one can
perceive everywhere in tree and bush strange birds, whose variegated
plumage stands out in most striking contrast to the dull yellowish-grey
of their surroundings. The little that is known about the ornithology of
Bornu allows one to perceive that, as in the case of the Mammalia, an
intermingling of fauna has been brought about. A richer collection of
material than is now forthcoming is necessary before a better account
can be given of the birds of Bornu.
How easily even common and characteristic species may be overlooked by a
non-expert traveller, even after staying a year in a country, is proved
by Barth’s assertion that the parrot is not found north of 8° North
Latitude—and therefore not in Bornu at all.[276] Yet at the present day
not less than four varieties of parrots live in Bornu, of whom the
lively emerald-green ring-necked parakeet, _Palaeornis
cubicularis_,[277] reaches as far as Lake Chad, and during the dry
weather nests in the sparse acacia trees, which are the sole vegetation
bordering the turbid water-courses of the ‘firki’ districts. In South
Bornu, where along the rivers the big forest-trees and the swampy
stretches of meadow-land form a pleasant park-like landscape, the
conditions are also favourable for the Senegal parrot, _Poeocephalus
senegalus_, which extends from Adamawa as far as here, and is remarkable
for its shrill screech as well as for its variegated plumage. It and the
ring-necked parakeet, both equally good on the wing, vie with the
monkeys, finches, and pigeons in plundering the cornfields and thus make
constant vigilance necessary on the part of the natives, who try to
scare the intruders off with various things for making a noise. Two
species of green parrots, or dwarf parrots, who are likewise found here,
with light-grey and red heads, and who are scarcely visible and
noiseless when at work, content themselves with ransacking the thick
crowns of the fig-trees for the diminutive fruit.[278]
The numerous family of the soft-billed birds is also represented in
surprising and beautiful varieties throughout Bornu; it is just among
them that many species new to Bornu will doubtless be discovered. Of the
cuckoos, Barth mentions the honey-guide, _Indicator spec._, which is
useful to the natives, and which is called ‘Schneter’ by the Shuwa
Arabs—probably onomatopoetically.[279] In the low thick thorn bushes,
which it scarcely ever quits, lives the brown lark-heeled cuckoo,
_Centropus senegalensis_, worthy of notice owing to its splendid ruby-
red eyes. In the crowns of those acacias which are especially much
overgrown with Loranthus and thickly intertwined with the fat tendrils
of the Cissus lives in little flocks the long-tailed _Colius macrurus_,
remarkable for the peculiar mouse-like manner which it shows. With
clumsy clapping of wings and jerky flight the rhinoceros-bird of these
regions, i.e. the ‘Tok’ or red-billed hornbill, _Buceros
erythrorhynchus_,[280] hurries from one group of trees to the next, and
on the ground amongst the high ‘bush’ grass, the odd-looking ground
hornbill, _Tmetocerus abyssinicus_[281] sets to work to poke about like
a stork.
Equally remarkable for their big beak and pleasing colouring, the
kingfisher and the halcyon also appear in Bornu. The commonest is the
black and white _Ceryle rudis_, a species which is also found in the
Mediterranean countries, and which one often sees hovering above a
stream, ere it plunges into the water to strike at a fish. A species
double as large is to be found here and there in the more secluded spots
of the water-courses. A relation also of the European kingfisher, only
much smaller and of a darker ultra-marine blue, often darts past like an
arrow, only visible for a second or two above the water, whilst the
shining cobalt-blue _Halcyon semicaeruleus_, or African white-headed
kingfisher, allows us to admire his splendid plumage at quite close
quarters.
Where the river during the dry weather has left the steep banks free of
water, those countless reedy hollows appear, close to each other, which
are the haunt of the beautiful bee-eater, who has established its
nesting-places here after the fashion of the sand-martin.[282] The most
beautiful and also the commonest is the _Merops nubicus_, or Nubian
kingfisher, painted purple-red and turquoise-blue, numbers of whose
noisy fledglings often gather thickly in the branches of the leafless
trees along the banks and are visible from afar owing to their red
plumage. The graceful flight of this beautiful bird cannot be fully
appreciated till it has been seen in company with the kites pursuing
like the swallows the swarms of locusts, chasing them through the
‘bush’-fires, yet without ever being singed by the flames.[283]
The beautiful blue long-tailed Abyssinian roller, _Coracias abyssinica_,
builds in hollow trees, and does not allow itself to be disturbed in the
least in its nesting arrangements by people resting for a while under
the tree it has selected. The three varieties of nightjar found in the
country, belonging chiefly to the southern districts, are distinguished
less by the colouring than by the peculiar shape of their feathers. When
the two most remarkable species, _Cosmetornis vexillarius_, or pennant-
winged nightjar, and _Macrodipteryx longipennis_, or standard-winged
nightjar, appear flitting about in the dusk, the peculiar extension of
the feathers of the wing gives one the impression that they do not
belong to the bird but are some undefined object trailing after it. The
swift, which is related to the nightjar but flies by day, has the same
rapid flight as its European cousin of the ‘Micropus’ species.
Woodpeckers also are to be found, especially in wooded country where the
trees are high; they are, however, rare and insignificant in comparison
with the European varieties.
The Bornu birds of prey show many very characteristic species. The tall
‘Borassus’ palms swarm with hawks, _Falco chiquera_,[284] who have
selected the thick fan-shaped crowns of this tree as their eyry.[285]
The various beautiful kinds of eagle are to be found in places, but only
sporadically; they are immediately noticeable owing to their colouring
or to some such peculiarity. Near water fringed with thick vegetation,
but especially in the ‘ambach’ thickets of Lake Chad, lives the black
crested eagle, _Spizaetus occipitalis_,[286] with powerful talons, which
at the approach of man withdraws in short flights further and further
into the sheltering thickets. The water-eagle on the contrary,
_Haliaëtus vocifer_, with black, white, and chestnut-brown markings,
displays like most of the fishing birds little timidity in the presence
of man. For hours at a time this bird sits poised on some leafless
branch overhanging the bank, watching from this look-out for its prey.
Round the granite ridges of Mandara and the adjacent isolated peaks
circles the useful Bataleur eagle, _Helotarsus ecaudatus_, which from a
great height is able to detect the poisonous snakes in spite of their
protective colouring, and which vies with the numerous varieties of kite
in activity of flight. The most peculiar of the kite species is the
swallow-tailed kite, _Nauclerus Riocouri_, with its deeply-forked tail.
It is principally to be met with hovering over cultivated land, and is
especially fond of perching on the long poles of the hydraulic
contrivances by means of which the Kanuri market-gardens are irrigated.
The commonest kite is the Egyptian kite, _Milvus aegyptiacus_, which is
widely distributed over North Africa, is omnipresent and ever-hungry,
and is to be met with wherever meat is slaughtered or set out for sale.
It takes up its fixed position near the carrion-vultures, surpasses even
the monkeys in unparalleled impudence, steals bits of meat literally
from off the trencher, gobbling it as it flies, yet does not disdain to
pursue the insects frightened by the ‘bush’ fires. The majority also of
the scavenger vultures frequent the same kind of haunts as the Egyptian
kites, i.e. the neighbourhood of human habitation. The scavenger-
vultures, _Neophron percnopterus_ and _Neophron pileatus_, are semi-
domesticated, and clear of refuse the streets, open spaces, and yards,
where they mingle with the poultry; they not only remove carrion but
also every kind of filth, and seeing that they often appear in hundreds,
perform a very useful office. The walls of the town and leafless trees
in the neighbourhood of the houses are where they chiefly congregate.
But even carrion lying outside in the ‘bush’ is discovered, at any rate
by the _Neophron pileatus_; often discernible only as a speck in the
sky, it mounts to a considerable height, from whence no fallen wild
animal escapes its sharp eyes. But the true vulture of the ‘bush’ is the
big _Gyps Rüppelii_, or aasvogel, which loves to hover about the big
‘Gawo’ acacia trees along the water-courses, where the watering-places
of the game assure it of the offal from the meals of the larger beasts
of prey. Of the owls, which are not very common, it is worth noticing
one species, which makes its nest flat on the ground among the tufts of
high ‘bush’ grass.
In Bornu, as elsewhere in Africa, there are a very large number of
different sorts of sparrows, represented by many varieties. They often
appear in large flocks, and then almost always do great damage to the
cornfields. The birds, which cheer the traveller with their song during
the rains, belong nearly all to this family.
The song-birds are confined within narrower limits, and there is little
to distinguish them in external appearance from their migratory
relatives, who make a winter sojourn in Bornu, and with whom they may
easily be confounded. Amongst the ‘Motacilla’ species which appear as
migrants is included a beautiful black and white wagtail, peculiar to
the Central Sudan.
The place of the European finches is taken in Bornu by the varied and
many coloured family of the weaver-birds and the bright-coloured
finches, the characteristic birds of Africa. They are ubiquitous even
far within the oases of the Southern Sahara,[287] and where grass-seed
or corn is plentiful, for this forms practically their exclusive food,
their skilfully plaited nests, shaped like a pear or a chemical retort,
are never missing, and many a tree, especially those of the villages, is
hung with them all over as if with fruit. Almost all species belong to
the worst class of pests of the cornfields, whose yield may be
considerably diminished by their formidable numbers. The measures of
defence adopted by the natives against unwelcome pillage are chiefly
directed against the countless swarms of these little pests. While
certain species appear only in pairs, the great majority of them are
found in colossal flocks. The big fig-trees near Ulugo are so crowded
with weaver-birds, that their droppings fall to earth from the trees
like continuous rain. The true weaver-birds are peculiar in that the
males during the dry weather wear the same homely sparrow-like plumage
as the hens, while very early in the spring they flaunt in gorgeous
feathers of crimson and gold. By far the most beautiful of the weaver-
birds is the orange weaver-bird, _Euplectes franciscanus_, or
_Pyromelana_, which builds in the high grass along the water-courses and
whose cock-birds during the mating season wear a velvety plumage of jet
black and brilliant scarlet, which makes the bird look like a little
roundabout, as indeed he is. Owing to their enormously long
cock’s-feather tails, the males belong to the Wida species. Although
they mostly prefer the ‘bush’, still they are also frequently to be
found in the neighbourhood of the towns; the _Vidua paradisea_, for
example, builds right among the ruins of the town of Kukawa. Many of
these finches, especially the little red or turquoise-blue Astrildae,
are so tame that one can entice them near enough to catch them by
scattering about a little food.
Equally gorgeous in plumage as the weaver-birds, but far surpassing them
in tuneful ability, are the glossy starlings of Bornu, all
distinguishable by their metallic blue or green feathers and their white
eyes. The biggest representative of this family, the long-tailed
_Lamprotornis aeneus_, is a never-failing phenomenon of the ‘bush’.
Everywhere, but especially in the plains, is to be found the ox-pecker,
_Buphaga africana_,[288] which frequents big game or herds of cattle,
and is a useful bird, for it rids the animals’ hides of all sorts of
vermin. An occasional though always rare attendant of the scavenger-
vulture is the black and white African crow, _Corvus scapulatus_, when
there is carrion about.
Connected both as regards place and time with the presence of insects is
the appearance of birds that live on them. In the thorn bushes of the
undergrowth, especially in the neighbourhood of the water-courses, the
golden-crowned shrike, _Laniarius barbarus_, attracts our attention not
only by its melodious note but also by its beautiful black, gold, and
blood-red colouring. In places, especially in damp localities, one sees
swallows; in the neighbourhood of rock formations where there are
springs the black-billed Paradise flycatcher, _Terpsiphone
melonogastra_, appears, resembling the cock’s-feather-tailed Wida
species, and also, if there are sufficient caterpillars, the _Oriolus
bicolor_,[289] resembling its European relative, the yellow thrush, both
in note and colouring, but surpassing it in beauty. In similar places is
to be heard the song of the bulbul, _Pycnonotus xanthopygus_, which
reminds one in many respects of the song-birds at home.
In every flowering bush are to be found the little sun-birds, wrongly
classified as _Kolibris_, or humming-birds, adorned with the most
gorgeous feathers of green, red, or blue, with a metallic shimmer. The
flowers of the acacia, the ‘capparis’, and the tamarind are especially
sought after by these charming birds. One of the most important
varieties is the metallic sun-bird, _Nectarinia metallica_. The acacias,
when in flower and frequented by buzzing insects, are also the resort of
another striking bird, the long-tailed steel-blue ‘Baumhopf’, with its
red curved beak. It regularly flies in advance of the caravan, perhaps
because this furnishes it with prey, and mocks men with its peculiar
laughter.
Everywhere in the woods and fields is to be heard the cooing and
laughter of the many varieties of doves and pigeons both large and
small.[290] The call of the turtle-dove, _Turtur risorius_, is one of
the most commonly heard bird-notes in the Central Sudan, especially at
the beginning of the rains. The _Treron calva_, the largest of the
varieties found in Bornu, with green and yellow plumage, differs from
other pigeons not only in colouring but also in its whole behaviour:
like the dwarf parrot, it searches the crowns of the fig-trees in true
parrot fashion for their tiny fruit. While the latter bird is
comparatively timid, the doves are often extraordinarily confiding; by
scattering a few breadcrumbs one can entice the little _Chalcopeleia
afra_ just like the Astrildae right into one’s tent.
Of the game birds, only two species[291] have at present been recognized
in Bornu, the double-spurred francolin, or ‘bush-fowl’, _Francolinus
bicalcaratus_, and the ubiquitous guinea-fowl, _Numida meleagris_. The
latter, which is widely distributed even in the Sahara, is to be found
everywhere except in the rugged mountainous country, but it is
especially fond of light sandy soil, where it can rake about. Perched in
the big acacia trees in the neighbourhood of the dunes, one may often
find in the evening large flocks of these birds, which are by no means
timid.[292]
In many districts of Bornu, especially the drier ones, is found the
greatest of African birds, the ostrich, _Strutio camelus_, often in the
vicinity of antelopes, whose company it is fond of seeking.[293] It
seems to appear in Bornu chiefly where the acacias predominate, and
after that is scarcely known where the ‘Terminalia’ district begins.
These birds are common also in Kanem, and Barth observed large flocks of
them in the sterile country round Kukawa.[294] At the present day the
ostrich is very often domesticated, especially in the larger towns, but
ostrich-farming has hitherto been so insignificant as to be quite
negligible.[295]
A country like Bornu, which exhibits vast stretches of pasture and
numerous shallow water-courses with flooded meadows along the banks,
offers all the conditions favourable for every kind of long-legged bird,
who, as a matter of fact, are found in great variety and number. The
sandy, heath-like flats around Lake Chad are inhabited by no less than
three species of bustard, of which the huge _Otis Denhami_[296] is a
stately bird similar to the European bustard.
Great is the number of species of plover and snipe (‘Tringa’), which
meet one at every step along the water-courses; many of their varieties
are found distributed as far afield as the Mediterranean. Thus the spur-
winged plover, _Hoplopterus spinosus_, well known in Egypt, is one of
the commonest birds seen along the water-courses that crawl through the
‘firki’ districts. On the other hand, the very characteristic white-
crowned plover, _Xiphidiopteris albiceps_, noticeable for its two yellow
patches in front of the eyes, prefers the sand-banks of the river, where
also it makes its breeding-ground, which it vigorously defends against
nest plunderers by means of the spurs which it, as well as the before-
mentioned species, carries at the bend of the wing. Wherever there are
crocodiles their faithful satellite, the crocodile-bird, is to be found.
Snipe, which, thanks to their protective colouring, are often
overlooked, are common, especially on Lake Chad, according to Denham;
this traveller speaks of them as being ‘as numerous as swarms of
bees’,[297] so that one may conceive from this statement some idea of
the great and constant abundance of bird life.
Besides the very rare white ibis, _Geronticus aethiopicus_, there is
also found in Bornu the much commoner black variety, _Geronticus
hagedashia_, a bird that by its dissonant, far-sounding cry, gives the
game seasonable warning of the approach of man.
The stork family in Bornu are distinguished by their beauty, and to some
extent by their size. Certainly the most beautiful of them is the
gorgeous, rosy-red glutton, the African wood ibis, whom we often find
perched in whole rows on the horizontal branches of the big trees along
the banks—where also it builds its eyry—in company with the black stork,
_Ciconia abdimii_.[298] In the reed-beds along the banks, the largest of
all the storks, the gorgeous ‘Jabiru’, _Mycteria senegalensis_,[299]
gets to work, and with its enormous bill is able to render innocuous to
itself large poisonous snakes, thus proving one of the most useful birds
in the country. In the neighbourhood of human habitations along the
rivers the marabou, _Leptoptilus crumenifer_, is found, and where it has
not yet been snared by Europeans for the sake of its feathers, is half-
domesticated; it lies in wait for offal of all sorts, watching the
movements of men, motionless for hours at a time, and only flapping its
wings so as to intercept as many as possible of the sun’s rays, which it
loves.
The more secluded and thickly-wooded spots on the river banks afford
good places for the big nests of the hammer-head, _Scopus umbretta_, and
here also we meet with the majority of the herons. Their largest
representative, the giant heron, _Ardea goliath_, is rare, but the small
snow-white _Ardea bubulcus_ is an invariable attendant on the herds of
cattle, whose intestinal worms form its chief food.
By far the most beautiful of all the long-legged birds living in Bornu
is indisputably the crowned crane, or ‘Doboli’, _Balearica
pavonina_,[300] which is widely distributed in tropical Africa. Flocks
of these birds often ransack the Kanuris’ fields after harvest,[301] and
where they have not been rendered mistrustful by European firearms, show
not the least timidity of mankind. The same holds good of these birds,
in so far as they have not been hunted, as Denham affirms to be the case
regarding the Arcadian confidence of the water-birds of Lake Chad, when
he says: ‘As I moved towards them, they only changed their places a
little to the right or left.’[302]
Apart from domestic ducks, to which belongs the beautiful blue Allen’s
gallinule, _Porphyrio Alleni_, the majority of the water-fowl are
composed of web-footed birds, which in many places, especially on the
open stretches of Lake Chad, absolutely cover the water. It is certainly
no exaggeration of Rohlfs to say that ‘there are water-fowl of all sorts
in such quantities as in no other place in the world’.[303]