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Show 934 MR. J. S. BUDGETT ON HIS [Nov. 28, Having returned to M'Carthy's Island on December 5, I devoted myself again to fishing and catching Polypterus. I found that all the specimens of Polypterus lapradii had already returned to the river from the swamps, where they come up to spawn in the wet season. However, large numbers of the young of Polypterus senegalus could still be caught by damming up the swamp-outlets. This is a favourite way of fishing with the natives. They make dams across the creeks at short intervals, and then leave them in connection with each other for some days. Then damming up the connections, they bale out the water from the lowest compartment, collect the fishes, and proceed to the next compartment. Very much more difficult is it to catch the Polgpteri in the river. Nets which were very successful with other river fishes, failed utterly with Polypterus. The seine-net and trammel were given up, and the native cast-net was used with better success. The results of weeks of patient work were not encouraging however, and I gradually realized that the time to catch Polypterus was during the rainy season, when it had betaken itself to the flooded lands. However, during these fishing days at Nianimaru, many interesting fishes were caught, and most of the common small Passerine birds were skinned. Moreover, this fishing was not without its dangers and excitement, as a look-out had ever to be kept for Hippopotami which swarmed in all the creeks. Moreover, frequently in the morning, when the trammel-net was examined, a Crocodile (Crocodilus cataphractus) or a Sawfish (Prisiis perotteti) had to be slain. Several specimens of the latter were thus caught up as far as M'Carthy's Island, some of them measuring 9 feet in length. Fly-fishing was tried w ithout success. The line and hook were used more by the natives than myself. The trammel was found to be the best kind of net to use for the Mormyridce, which were seldom caught in other ways. The Mormyrids apparently keep to the bottom of the river, and were seldom taken in the seine near shore. It was noticed that a very large proportion of the fishes caught in this river were brilliantly coloured red in the ventral posterior portion of the body. Of fishes I believe 40 species were obtained, including 2 Selachians, Protopterus annectens, Polypterus lapradii and P. senegalus, 8 species of Siluroids and 7 Mormyridre, and 18 others belonging to various groups. Most of the fish were tried as food, but there was only one that was really good eating : this was, I believe, a grey mullet and was taken far up the river. Often the creeks in which the cast-net was thrown were very narrow, and the canoe slid silently amongst the most luxuriant vegetation abounding with Bee-eaters and Flycatchers. Altogether representatives of 108 species of birds were shot, measured, and described; but skins were made only of the smaller birds, of which examples of 52 species were obtained, belonging to 23 families. With Dr. Gadow's assistance, most of these have been identified. Of the Upupidce, in addition to the gregarious frrisor already |