Book 2: (July 18, 1909 to October 31, 1909)
July • August • September
• October
Diaries List
DATE: 7/18/1909 (Sunday)
LOCALITY: Coming up the Congo.
Stopped overnight at Lukolela, where we arrived at noon, so
we had all afternoon to go ashore. Below Lukolela this morning,
in one place we saw some six or seven hippopotami in shallow water
on a sand bar, sitting so that just the tops of their heads stuck
out of water. We also saw many monkeys, mostly pure black ones
(Cercocebus), but a few black and white, in some very high trees
just above the BMS Mission at Lukolela. One Haliaetus vocifer
seen today. I went on shore about three o'clock. Mr. Van de Kerchove
(Substitute) had just sent back a female red monkey (Colobus)
he had shot. In the forest along the telegraph line to the north
of the post we came upon a band of these same red monkeys, but
I only succeeded in killing one very young one with my shot-gun,
tho they were not very shy, and stayed around even after I had
fired a number of shots. Later in the afternoon, near the same
place, I saw some 6 or 7 plantain-eaters (Corythacola cristata
gigantea), with a tuft of feathers on the crown, and yellow on
the basal half of the tail feathers. When flying the crest is
inclined backwards, but it stands up straight as soon as the bird
alights. these birds made a loud cuckoo-like noise, "cow-cow-cow..."
I wounded one, but it fell in the bush, and must have run off
immediately. There were also 6 or 8 hornbills there, and one of
them I succeeded in shooting. It was a male, with testes enlarged.
Its stomach contained fruit, a very large dragon-fly, and a large
ant-like insect. At Post 34 yesterday afternoon, we saw 5 or 6
of these same hornbills. As I was coming back to the steamer,
soon after sunset, I saw a goat-sucker (Macrodipteryx vexillarius)
flying around high over the forest. It had some of the wing-feathers
greatly elongated, giving it a curious, most un-bird-like appearance
in the twilight. I think it had white spots on the wings like
the nighthawk, in America. (See Illustration)
DATE: 7/19/1909 (Monday)
LOCALITY: Left Lukolela early this morning and stopped late in
the afternoon at Irebu. We touched at one wood-station about noon,
but did not have time to go shooting.
This morning I saw a jacana (Metopidius africanus?) fly up out
of some grass in a swamp. It was brown on the back, with blackish
wing tips, and some white around the neck. I remember seeing the
same bird on an island in Stanley Pool on July 12, but I was not
sure at the time that it was a jacana. We saw one snake-bird today,
one Haliaetus vocifer, several black and white kingfishers, some
hornbills, and three geese. At Irebu I took a little stroll around
the town, seeing 5 fruit pigeons (Vinago) and a number of other
birds that have been common all the way up the river. These fruit
pigeons are found at Leopoldville, tho we saw none, but I found
a single feather on the ground. They are known as "pigeon
vert". Ario Guyon came aboard, with soldiers for Bumba. Also
an Italian Captain
DATE: 7/20/1909 (Tuesday)
LOCALITY: We landed this afternoon at Inkingi (=Ikengo?), a wood
station a little below Bolengi, and tied up for the night.
Today I saw two Haliaetus vocifer, two or three snake-birds,
two white herons (Cosmerodius albus), and a flock of some 30 skimmers,
on a sand bar. I shot two long-tailed weavers, a flycatcher, a
dove, and one of the same goat-suckers (M. vexillarius) that Isaw
at Lukolela.
Book 2: Page 2
Unfortunately it was so close by that the shot carried away its
whole tail. I saw a paradise flycatcher, with black head, brown
back, and two elongated white tail feathers, but could not get
a shot at it. (Terpsiphone viridis).
DATE: 7/21/1909 (Wednesday)
LOCALITY: We stopped at Coquilhatville about noon today.
There I shot a very large resplendent starling, and s sun-bird,
and saw a crow with a white band on its breast and the back of
its neck. Later in the day we touched at a wood-post, where I
saw a green fruit-pigeon, but shot nothing. On the river, from
the steamer, we saw two skimmers today. In the early evening we
tied up along the shore, but the forest was so dense, that at
this time of day, it was too dark to hunt. At Coquilhatville Mr.
Lang bought two large lung-fish from a native. As we were passing
a swampy part of the shore today, I saw a jacana, walking on some
dead grass. It was the same kind I saw on the 19th, with a white
neck and brown back
DATE: 7/22/1909 (Thursday)
LOCALITY: Stopped at a wood station today for a very short time.
No birds were collected. 3 or 4 Haliaetus vocifer, 4 black and
white vultures, and 4 anhingas were seen today. One of the anhingas
was very prettily marked, with a white line running down the side
of the neck, a light brown patch on the breast, and the feathers
on the back streaked with whitish. Most of those we see are probably
immature, for they have the neck merely grayish brown, and the
rest of the plumage black. (See Illustration)
I saw a dove flying across the river today, rich light brown,
with a gray head (Calopelia brehmeri). We stopped for the night
at Malele, a small native village. Just before reaching there,
we saw a flock of large red-breasted bee-eaters flying about over
the river and dipping in the water like swallows. At Malele there
was a flock of 150 or 200 sitting in the top of a dead tree, and
we shot 8 of them. We have seen these bee-eaters almost every
day since we passed Yumbi. In the top of a large tree on the shore
today we saw 5 black monkeys (Cercocebus), with tufts of hair
on the tops of their heads. they were of various sizes, and, I
suppose, of various ages. Mr. Lang said he had seen one of the
same sort in Lukolela, and that they have grayish beards. At malele
I saw one of the metallic blue swallows (H. nigrita) that I saw
at Kinshasa on the 12th. A day or two ago I saw 2 flying about
over the river.
DATE: 7/23/1909 (Friday)
Today I saw a large kingfisher (Ceryle; Ceryle maxima gigantea?)
with a slate blue back, speckled with white, a narrow white collar
and chestnut belly. It was, I think, larger than our kingfisher
at home (Ceryle alcyon), but reminded me of it very much. One
skimmer (R. flavirostris?), one or two anhingas, and eight black
and white vultures were seen today. We stopped for the night at
Nouvelle Anvers.
Book 2: Page 3
DATE: 7/24/1909 (Saturday)
LOCALITY: This morning we spent an hour on shore at Nouvelle Anvers,
shooting.
I killed a coucal (Centropus), the first I have seen. We shot
several kinds of weavers, and two finches that I think must be
related to the house sparrow. In the evening we reached Mobeka,
where we spent the night.
DATE: 7/25/1909 (Sunday)
LOCALITY: This morning we spent some time shooting in Mobeka.
Mr. Lang got a large frog, that was croaking in a small mud-hole.
We spent the night at Ekaturaka, a large native town on the left
bank of the river. Here I caught a large brownish green tree(?)-frog
(Rana albolabris), in the woods behind the village. It was hopping
on the ground, and when I came along jumped up onto a bush, and
then down on the ground, where it sat perfectly still.
DATE: 7/26 to 31
LOCALITY: Lie - Lisala - Bumba - Barumbu - Basoko
On the 26th we stopped a little below Lie, on the 27th we reached
Lisala, but spent the night further up the river, on the 28th
we reached Bumba, and spent the night and part of the next morning
there. On the 29th we tied up for the night along the shore, in
the woods, the evening of the 30th we spent at a large native
village. On the 31st we stopped at Barumbu, and Basoko, and tied
up for the night along the wooded shore. During this time we saw
a number of crocodiles, two or three almost everyday, sometimes
swimming in the water, with just the top of the head exposed,
sometimes sunning themselves on a log or a sandbank, with mouths
wide open. The natives along this part of the river are great
fishermen and we saw a great many fish, both fresh and smoked,
but could preserve only a few small specimens because we had none
of our tanks out. The natives have many fish traps in little coves
along shore, and at the mouths of streams emptying into the river.
Almost every evening we heard toads singing -not like they do
at home, but with a prolonged croak, repeated over and over- and
at one place we caught a number of them under a wood-pile. At
Barumbu, on the 31st, there were many toad-tadpoles along the
shore, and some young toads hopping around on the land. At Lisala
two medium-sized antelopes were brought aboard. They had been
skinned -with the exception of the head- but Mr. Lang secured
the skulls and the skin of their heads. At Bumba two live antelopes
were given to the ship, so the entire skin of both and their skulls
and limb-bones, were preserved. In the night of the 31st, as we
lay along shore, a hippo floated don-stream past us, coming to
the surface occasionally to expel his breath with a loud snort.
At these times, the top of his head, with his little ears sticking
straight up, could be seen in the moonlight. Birds are not particularly
abundant along this part of the river, and we found it easier
to collect around villages than in the dense forest, where they
are not only rather scarce, but very hard to pursue thru the dense
vegetation, where innumerable vines, of incredible strength, are
always in one's way. No snake-birds, or pelicans were seen at
this time (July 26-31). Herons and storks were not rare, and there
is a small heron here very like our little green heron at home,
but of a grayer color all over, tho it has the same yellow feet.
On several occasions recently, I have seen (yes) the "Hammerhead"
(Scopus) flying over the river, especially in the evening. Several
times, too, ibises (Hagedashia h. guincensis) of a dark brownish
color would fly out of the trees along the shore uttering a loud
complaining cry. (See Oct. 6-10, 1909). Black and white vultures
are rather common, often being seen in groups of four to eight,
walking around on the sand bars. Near Lie I shot a brown
Book 2: Page 4
vulture, evidently an immature example of the same species,
for the brown individuals often accompany the black and white
ones, and have the same size, proportions, and manner of flight.
It was a great surprise, in the one I shot, to find the gizzard
full of palm-nut pulp, certainly a strange meal for a bird of
prey. There are three birds which we have seen practically all
the way up from Stanley Pool, but which I have not yet mentioned
in my notes. One of them is a lapwing (Xiphidopterus albiceps),
with a great deal of white on it, and apparently with yellowish
wattles on the throat. The other two are plover-like birds, one
with a pearl gray back (Glareola {Galachrysia} cinerea, collected
at Zambi in June 1915) on the wing-quills, dark lines about the
head, and some pretty, buff coloration around the nape, while
the other (Glareola, see Aug. 24, 1909) is a dark gray bird (Galachrysia
nuchalis), with a white rump and a whitish line on the side of
the head. These birds are both about the size of killdeers, with
shorter tails, however; and are seen flying around the river and
alighting on the sandbars, where flocks of a hundred or more are
sometimes observed. On the 27th I saw another jacana fly up out
of the grass in a swampy part of the shore. It had a light grayish
bill and frontal shield, a feature which I had not been able to
see on the others, tho they were undoubtedly of the same species.
One day near Lisala we saw a flock of more than forty skimmers
sitting on a sandbar. The large pigeon (Streptopelia semitorquata)
with a black crescent on the back of the neck, is quite common
up here, but the little brown dove like those shot in Leopoldville
(Turture afra), Inkingi, etc, appears to be becomingly so. At
Lie I shot a beautiful fruit pigeon, with a red frontal shield
that reminds one of a gallinule, and a pretty, blue iris. On one
occasion I saw a plantain-eater (C. gigantea) from the steamer,
as it flew among the trees on shore. No more cuckoos or coucals
have been noticed. Gray parrots are still common, and often seen
from the steamer. At Barumbu two rollers, very much like the one
shot at Maluku -if not the same- were seen. On this part of the
river there are five kinds of kingfishers. Two of these are very
small blue and brown species, with red bills and feet. One of
them, Conthornis cristata (see no. 164), was nesting at Bumba,
in a little burrow, some 2 feet long, dug at the side of a ditch.
Then there is a larger blue and gray Halcyon, with the upper mandible
red. It is fairly common, and four specimens have already been
collected. Besides these species, of which we have examples, there
are two others, which we see from the steamer. One of these is
the black and white Ceryle, so common down the river, but less
abundant up here. Lastly there is the large blue gray kingfisher
(Ceryle maxima), with the belly chestnut, first observed on the
23rd. It is probably the least common of all, and thus far we
have seen only about half a dozen of them. The large red-breasted
bee-eater (Nos. 98 to 105) continues to be seen flying overhead,
tho not in large numbers. None of the yellow-breasted bee-eaters,
that were so numerous at Kwamouth have been seen for some time.
Hornbills, of 2 or 3 species, are seen flying across the river,
and at Bumba Mr. Lang shot a small one. The flight of these hornbills
is not at all swift, but gives one the impression of extreme lightness,
and this idea is strengthened when one is skinned, so numerous
are the air sacs, especially in the wings, They fly in a somewhat
undulating fashion, first beating the wings several times, and
rising a little, then following this with a descending swoop.
[See drawing]. Before alighting they often sail for a considerable
distance. Several times, in the evening, we have seen large birds
that many have been owls, but as yet I have seen none with any
degree of certainty. Curiously enough, no woodpeckers, nor anything
that looked like one, have been observed. No goat-suckers have
been seen since we left Inking, nor any colies for a long time.
Black and white wagtails are pretty common, and at Basoko a young
one, with the tail fully grown, was sitting on a boat on the river
bank. Not many swallows have been noticed recently, tho at Ekaturaka
I saw a few of the short-tailed ones with the breast, as well
as the back, metallic blue. At Bumba two swallows were shot, one
a male, and the other a female. The latter was gathering mud for
a nest. They were of a kind not previously noticed, with black
head, back and wings, brown rump, throat, and belly, and deeply
forked tail. Quite a few flocks of resplendent starlings (like
no. 95) have been noticed lately. In the evening of July 28, as
we lay at Bumba, a noise was heard from an island out in the river
that sounded almost like a waterfall. From its resemblance to
the noise produced by a flock of blackbirds at home, I guessed
it might be a flock of starlings at their roost (probably wrong).
Early the next morning the same sound was audible, and while I
was on shore at Bumba, a few minutes later, an immense flock of
these
Book 2: Page 5
same iridescent starlings came flying from the river. After this
the noise ceased. (I am not sure they were the starlings, possibly
Hypsignathus). Two sun-birds have been collected here, one rather
large, with a purple and red breast, and square tail, at Dobo,
July 28th; and a smaller one, with the two middle rectrices greatly
elongated, at Barumbu (Nectarina congensis), on the 31st Mr. Lang
saw one of the latter at Bumba. Weaver-birds have been especially
numerous. At almost all the villages large black-headed ones are
nesting in the palms, as well as other trees, often with two or
more other species. A beautiful orange and black weaver was collected
at Dobo, and another seen at Bumba. At Bumba the long-tailed black
and white one (Vidua macroura), was very common, and a pair was
watched in the act of copulation. The brown female sat on a tall
stalk of grass while the male hovered in the air besideher, with
his wings beating jerkily, and his long tail hanging straight
downward. Suddenly he dashed at his mate, and they fluttered down
into the grass together. At most of the villages we have visited
since we reached Nouvelle Anvers, we have seen a finch with gray
head and brown wings (like nos. 109 and 110), that keeps near
the houses, often feeding on the ground -in fact not only acting,
but also chirping, just like a house sparrow, to which it must
be closely related (Passer griseus).
July • August • September
• October
Diaries List
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