A publication of the East Africa Natural History Society, Box 44486, Nairobi, Kenya. Price 4 shillings NOTES FOR CONTRIBUTORS Members of the Society (and non-members) are asked to follow these simple instructions when writing articles or letters for submission to the Bulletin. The Bulletin is presented six times a year in a duplicated format: the paper size is 20.5x23 cm (10x8 inches), line drawings can be reproduced but the area should not be more than 17.5x23 cm. Lettering on figures should preferably be in ‘Letraset’, neatly done in Indian ink or left blank: if the last method is follov/ed, the lettering should be indicated on an overlaying sheet and should not be done on the figure. Figures should be prepared on good quality white writing paper and not on Bristol Board or other thick material. Whenever plants or animals are mentioned the scientific name should also be given but not in parenthesis. Trinomials should not be used unless there is good reason to do so. Author’s names of species are not required. Contributions may be typed (preferably) or written clearly and should be sent to: M. P. Clifton, Box 44486, Nairobi, Kenya. Receipt of contributions will be acknowledged. EANHS BULLET II'I JULY/ AUGUST 1977 COWTELITS A report on a visit to Kibwezi Forest • a a a a « a a 76 Lighting in Mammals , » . , » ^ e c « a 0 • a a a a a e a 79 Basic Ecology . . , , c . » . » « e • a a c = • a a 0 a a a 80 Lion Killing Cheetah .<,,00 0 0* 0 0 a e 0 a a a a a a 82 Life's not all Sunshine for the Lung Beetle » a a 0 a a a a 82 A note on the Croton Eaters around Uairobi • a a 9 e 0 a a 83 The Lay it Rained Eish » . , . e • « 0 a a a 0 a a a a a a 84 Lown at Liani - October 1976 000 e 0 a • a a a a 9 a 85 Hints on Collecting Road Kills 0 9* 0 a e » a 9 a a a a a 87 Record Section .<,,<.,00. e a e » e a a <■ a a a a a a 88 Library Uotice « . 0 0 « , , « 9 • 0 0 . a » a a • * a a 90 BookHotice . , „ « „ . , , , „ a 0 a - . , a 9 a a a e a a 91 Requent for Information 0 , . 0 9 0 9 9 a 0 » 0 a a a a a a 92 Society Notes » „ . <. . , <, « « » 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 a a a a a a 92 New Members , » » . » , » 0 » „ 9 0 0 » C 0 « 0 = a a a a 0 93 Runet ions , , , . c 0 . , c 0 9 0" 0 0 . e a a a a 94 A REPORT OH A 'VISIT TO KIBWEZI FOREST In mid June I w f ri ends from the Cave sho rt we ekend s tu dy 0 the plan t s we re j us t st 0 pped f lowe ring the es t ed in the inse ct s and frog s tog e the r ?/i ent to Kibv/esi Forest 5 Exploration Group of f the flora and fauna, past their bestj many v/eek before.. Though of the areuj I also co th a fresh-water crab. Kenya? with three Eas t • Af ric a f or a Due to the rains of them having I was mainly inter- llected a few fish The area is mostly made up of a dense scrub? of rather similar composition to that of the coral rag at the Coast. As we drove through 8,11 the v/indows of the vehicle v/ere tightly closed due to Tsetse Flies? Glossina palidipes ? one of the species which carry cattle diseases? but not sleeping sickness. These v/ere very common in the forest. The road in is over lava ridges? some of them very steep and rough v/hich jolt the car in all directions. On the far side of the forest towards the Chyulu Hills there is an extensive swamp v/ith deep holes in the lava which are full of water. The v/ater is rather hard and appeared to be stopping the decomposition of the tree branches which are in it; almost like the fossilized trees round the lecture hall at the National Museum., Around these holes are high reeds and other vegetation? most of it grov/ing on almost, pure lava. Some silt has collected in sm.all areas around these deep pools? allowing more robust trees such as the Yellovz-barked Acacia? Acacia- xanthophloea, and one or two large figs? Ficus sp, to grow to full size. Betv/een the main spring and the larger pools of v/ater is a flat sandy-soile-d area in which there are some almost circular shallow pools of water with an amazing 3,mount of vegetation? including Water lilies? Hymphaea sp ( a white species with tv/o blue flowers amongst themj and a species of Utr ic; ■ laria or Bladderwort , • In this locality the birds seen were a Squacco Heron? Arde ola rallojdes with a very buff back? and later a female Knob-billed Goose? Sarkidiornis melano t a amongst the Water Lilies? and a pair of Egyptian Geese? Alopochen aegyptiaca on another pool. On leaving this area to go to the spring a small flock of Kenya Crested Guineafowl? Gut ter a pucher ani were seen scurrying through the bush. It v/as decided to go back to this spit later to investigate its botanical side. Footprints in the mud at these pools showed movements of both Buffalo? Sync erus c af f er , and a single Hyaena during the past two v/eeks. Unfortunately? the vehicle v/e were in developed gearbox trouble so v/e had to give the shp-llov/ ponds a miss. 76 Our camp-site was near a fast-flowing stream of clear water from ?/hich the Kibwezi , water supply is taken « The area was ideal for insects of all kinds, as well as the aquatic animals associated with f as t-f lov/ing water. Strangely there were very few birds around the camp, only one Jacana, Actophilornis af ricana being seen on some still water near the s i t e c The Hational Museum has no records of any fish from these pools and swam.ps. Right next to the camp in some rocky water v/ith the rocks covered with algae were a number of small fish feeding on the algae. To nibble off a piece, the fish turned on their sides and, gripping a strand of algae in their mouths, Igerked upright, snapping it off close to the rock. Attempts to catch these fish were made and all failed until a net y/as placed at the bottom of the stream and the stones disturbed to make them come towards it. The net was then jerked up quickly v/hen the fish were above it, lour T/'ere caught in this manner, and proved to be of a genus not previously in the Museum collection. Pis c ognathus sp, , probably hindii , but due to a lack of other material, and these specimens being young ones, positive ident- ification will have to wait. Two species of frogs v/ere caught. One was the 'Tree Erog Hyperolius viridif lavus f erniquei , whitish with a brilliant red underside which was found on the reeds, and the other v/as Ptycha^dena superciliaris which Yias very common in all damp areas as well as a. large group in a field. Also in the river under the stones Y^ere a large number of freshv/ater Crabs, One v/as collected for further study, and v/hen it was placed in alchohol a number of tiny Crabs were found in the jar. Subsequent enqui- ries shov/ed that the female carries the young for some time under her specially adapted tail. Around the large pools the bird life included Pink-backed Pelican, Pelicanus ruf escens.. Darter, Anhinga ruf_a. Malachite Kingfisher, Ale edo crist ata , Jacana, Black Crake, Limno'c or ax f lavirostra and what appeared to be a Brov/n-hooded Kingfisher, Halcyon albiventris , Overhead a lone Crowned Hav/k- Eagle was calling as he slowly circled, and in the reeds v/ere large numbers of probable Greater Swami") 'warblers, Acrocephalus ruf escens nilot icus , One Marabou Stork, leptoptilos crumenif erus was put up from the edge of one of the deep pools on v/hich v/e launched a rubber boat and nearby, on some trees, were a group of Vultures I v/as later told by the leader of the party and. by our local guide that tv/o v/eeks previously there had been many more birds in the area. 77 Near the camp-site many Butterflies w^ere found 5 particul- arly on the damp patches of mud. One Mocker Swallowtail, Pap il io dardanus was seen to land on the protruding v/ater weed on one of the deep pools so that it could drink. Five other Swallowtails were seen; P, demodocus the Citrus Sv/allowt ail , P, ophidac ephalus the Emperor SY/allowtail (very rare in Kenya, otherv/ise only known from the Coast a,nd Meru), Papilio colona which is also coastal, P, nireus , the common Blue-banded Swallow- tail and _P. constant inus Constantine's Swallowtail which is also known from the Coast and, suprisingly enough, from the Kikuyu Escarpment, Many more Butterflies were seen, including the large Skipper Butterfly, Coeliades f o r e s t an , the Striped Police- man which v;as so common that you had to tread carefully at all the damp areas to avoid squashing them. Unlike the Butterflies, the Moths v/ere not very common and few came in to the lights. Three specim.ens of a tiny May- Ply were caught at the light. The most delightful sight was the many Humming-bird Hav^k-Moths, leuc o s tr ophus hi run do , a brown and grey m.oth with a white tail bar, hovering in front of the common pink Just it ia-like flov/er in the more wooded parts , Above the camp table, a shiny leaf on a tree attracted large numbers of Biopsid Plies, These are found in almost any damp area in Kenya., and look like small thin House Plies with their eyes on long stalks, \7e could find no apparent reason why a couple of hundred of them should gather on this one leaf in preference to the others on the tree. The congregation took place at dusk and the Plies could only be seen when silh- ouetted against the light, A random collection was made by placing part of the leaf in the killing jar. Preliminary investigation shows that most of them are males, A further case of communal gathering was seen; that of the Mother of Pearl Butterfly, Salamis parhas sus , when towards dusk (about 6,15 p.m, ) six were disturbed from below the same large leaf. It was noted that its near relative, _S. anac ardii , which was also common in the forest, seemed to roost singly. One of each of these Butterflies flew into light during the evening, but whether we disturbed them or they were actially flying around v/ill have to await further study, Pinally, on launching the dinghy we found that over the deep v/ater was a different type of U t r icular ia from that on the shallow pools, and it v/as mixed up v/ith Per at ophilum suhmer sum , a rare plant only previously knovra from Amboseli Lake, The Utricularia still awaits identification. In one of the smaller pools in which some trees had fallen were Terrapins which were about 25cm across the shells, M,P, Clifton, P,0, Box 40658, NAIROBI, 78 .FIGHTING IN MAMMALS One point taught to most animal behaviour students and stressed in books on the subject is the way animals settle disputes without causing each other physical damage. Fights to the death are supposed to be detremental to species survival and therefore fights become ritualized so that the victor can be determined without injury. It is interesting hov/ often one sees evidence contrary to this. 5 In the Serengetij Tanzania, v/ith its high populati Thomson's Gazelle, G a z e 1 1 a t horns on i , one often sees male ting. To film or photograph this is difficult as they s rarely too involved to miss the arrival of a vehicle, st fighting, and move off. Looking at them though, one oft males v/ith broken horns; some broken so short as to be u for fighting or threat. I have found a freshly dead one a wound in its side that could only reasonably have been by a horn. An autopsy showed the wound passed directly the heart, I have also seen a dead Grant's Gazelle, Gaz grant! , with a similar wound, though no autopsy was perf Male Grant's Gazelles can be seen with broken horns, but is more seldom than in Thomson's Gazelles, In addition on of s figh- e em op en sees seless v\?ith caused through ella ormed , this I have observed Impala, Aep7/~ceros melampus , Topi, Lamaliscus korr igum , and Eland Tauro tragus oryx with broken horns. The only potentially lethal fight I have witnessed was between two male Fringe-eared Oryx, Oyyx b e i s a c alio t is , The cause of the fight was unknown; there were no females in the area, I was attracted to it by the sound of the clashing of horns and rising dust. In contrast to most antelope fights which consist mainly of straight ahead horn clashing, pushing and shoving, the two Oryx would meet head on and then manoruvre until they wex“e standing at an acute angle to each other v/ith their heads still in contact. They would then try to sv/i,ng their heads a,nd horn their opponent in the neck. The fight had apparently been going on for some time as both animals were v/oun ded. Luring the few minutes we \vatched several more attempts were made, but no new wounds v/ere inflicted. The force of the thrusts, though short, must have been considerable as one Oryx had a freely- bleeding wound 4 - 5cm in diameter in the nearly 2,5cm thick skin of his neck. As we watched they broke off fighting, maybe due to our presence, and a high speed chase through thick bush ensued but v/e were unable to follow. A case of a. fight to the death outside the antelope family occured in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania where I found a dead adult male Black Puhino, Liceros bic ornis with a large wound behind his shoulder. Another male v/as seen in the 79 area with severe wounds in his shoulder and chesty though whether they were fatal is not known. Jerry Rilling 5 P,0, Box 284j ARUSHA, T an z an i a o BASIC ECOLOGY To return for two days to the classroom is to become envious of the modern schoolchild and at the same time sympa- thetic with his difficulties. V/hat fun they do have - at least some of them I This v/as brought home to us at a completely new kind of meeting of our Society, when two enthusiastic teachers of ecology set out to show us at the same time their idea of ecology and how they think it should be, and can be, taught. I. shall not attempt to describe the details, but shall try to give some idea of the kind of experience it was. The course was held in the junior biology laboratory at the Kenya High School, and a corner of the grounds near by. J!e were first given a copy of the 'Student’s Book’. This is the book tha'c many of us have seen advertised in the latest number of A^rj^^a (Begining Ecology by S. Moss & B, Theobald, Macmillan Education, 1976 . Prices v/ithin East Africa; Student’s Book Shs 5/“, Teacher’s Book Shs 12/50). The course described normally takes a whole term, but as mature students we v/ere taken through it at a gallop, and one at least was fairly worn out at the end. In the study area our teachers had marked out a transect one metre wide and 20m long, in the long grass. At one end of the transect there v/as a tree, and at the other a small drainage ditch. In this strip, three plots 1m square had been marked out, one under the tree, one at tie far end and one in the middle. We now saw v/hy the number had to be restricted to 18. That made three groLips of six. Each group took charge of the measurements and estimates of one of the metre squares, and in a party of six there is something for everyone to do. One can take measure- ments at ground level, one above the vegetation and one in the middle. One can C8.11 out readings and one can vYrite them down. Our teachers had picked out for us six dominant grasses, four herbacious plants, one shrub and of course there was the tree. But we were told not to bother with their names. We had to learn their characteristics, as we had later to estimate the propert- ion of each in our plots. Mr Moss and Mr Thoebald believe that names are not necessary at this stage, and the effort to learn them is a distraction. The plants were referred to as grass 80 (or herb) no. I5 no. 2 etc. It was the same with the inverteb- rate inhabitants. In such a small plot vertebrates could hardly be expected, but invertebrates were there in abundance, and again no names were used except for large groups, butterflies, ants etc. The student must observe not memorise, but it must be controlled and methodical observation. At each stage the pupil is encouraged to make guesses or 'hypotheses’ about what he would expect to find, and to test these 'hypotheses’ by observation. Between each session on the transect we returned to the laboratory, tabulated our results, and made d.iagrams with coloured pencils and discussed our findings. At least one member of the class was astonished by the difference revealed by really crude and simple means between areas so small, so close together and at first glance so similar. For crude and simple most of our instruments were, A matter that takes a high priority in the mind of any teacher is that of apparatus. Any demand for expensive equipment is likely to be coldly received. The most expensive piece of apparatus that we used was a thermometre, and of these each group had three. With these we made vvhat might be called the only accurate measu- rements, For the rest, small pieces of light-sensitive or mois- ture-sensitive paper, and even little flags tied v\rith thread to rulers produced results that made one feel that an inverte- brate inhabitant travelling from one end of the transect to the other would experience a 'change of air' such as one of us might feel on a visit to the Coast. Of course the whole inter- est in this kind of measurement or estimate is in the comparison. Each by itself is useless. Each six works as a team. They must agree among themselves in estimating for example, the height of the tree or when the paper has faded to the right colour. Thus the wilder guesses of the various members might be expected to cancel each other out. But by the end of the course the v/hole class, as the authors say in the introduction to the workbook, 'will have completed a piece of original biological research' , and v\^ill know more about scientific method than if they had learnt many pagesoutofatextbook. Mr Moss and Mr Thoebald, encouraged we hope by to this course, have offered to arrange another, and do so, members are advised to put their names down at But we must not accept such an offer lightly. The au describe it as 'a heavily structured course'. By whi mean that they have taken an immense amount of troubl the original programme and over adapting it to such a our Society was likely to produce. \7e owe them indee great many thanks. the response should they once . thors ch they e both over group as d a very ' Corvine 11a ' 81 LION KILLING GPiEETAH On l6th September 1976, tourists on a game drive in the Tarangire National Park, Tanzania with Park Ranger Benito Merere saw and followed a lone Cheetah, Ac in onyx ,1'^batus in the area near Lamprey’s Camp, The Cheetah was heading towards the river? when it reached the high bank it leapt and there was a cloud of dust. When the car arrived at the scene, the dust v/as settling and a male Lion, Pan the ra le o left to return to a female he Yias mating. She was about 30m avi^ay. The Cheetah was dead, presumably from deep puncture wounds, though no close examination was made. Later the same afternoon the Cheetah carcass was almost completely eaten by Vultures. Jerry Rilling, P,0. Box 284, ARUSHA, T an z an i a , LIEE S NOT ALL DUNG SUNSHINE BEETLE FOR THE Scarab Beetles feed on dung, and one of the largest of the Scarabs feeds on the dung of the Elephant, The Beetle in question, Heliocopris dilloni , is in fact the main Elephant-dung disposal system in Tsavo National Park, Kenya, and that \Yas what side-tracked ecologists T,J. Kingston and Malcolm Coe into the study of its highly evolved life cycle ( J ourn al of Z o o 1 o p; y , Vol 181 , p, 243 )o The main problem the Dung Beetle has to contend with is the climate, which is hot and dry except during the two rainy seasons which occur unreliably in March/April and November/ December, Breeding, v/hich is confined to these capricious rainy seasons, begins v/ith the female’s digging a deep tunnel under a heap of Elephant dung which she then proceeds to drag into a breeding chamber she has built at the end of the tunnel. This burrowing - up to 12 a series of vital adaptations t While the temperature at the gr 20 to a desiccating 55 C, lowe g / a comfortable moist 28 C, Having constructed her br proceeds to fashion the Elephan she deposits her eggs. Once th the female covers it up to make ball onto which she slaps extra 0 centime.tres - is the first of o environmental vicissitudes, ound surface may fluctuate from r than 50cm dovm it remains at eeding chamber, the female scarab t dung into cup shapes into which e egg is laid in the dung cup, an almost perfect spherical dollops of dung, leaving a 82 breathing space at one end The developing larvae are then left entombed underground (the soil at the end of the rainy season becoming rock-hard and quite impenetrable) for six months - or more if they are unlucky with their rainy seasons. During this 23-week sojourn, they eat their v/ay through their dung sarcophagus, rotating as they do so to preserve a spherical inner surface, and depositing plates of faeces which dry into an intricate ventilation system. The release of the adults comes v/ith the rain - it takes 100 centimetres of rain to soften the soil sufficiently for emergence - and for the building of the next batch of breeding chambers , Extracted from Scientist 31 March 1977 5 p- 774, Ed, A DOTE Oh GROT Oh EATERS AROUHD h AIR OBI Eor several years nov/ the Groton trees (mainly Groton megalocarpus ) have been completely defoliated by a blackish caterpillar with light lines down the sides vv^hich is of the ' looper ' t ype o Quite a number of people believe that this is the Army V/orm, Sped opt era e x e mp t a , but that only feeds on members of the Grass family, Graminae, The species which feeds on Groton is Amyna pun c turn , This has no common name that I know of, and is a small brov/n moth with triangular forewings which often have a white dot in the centre, Vfhen at rest the moth sits with the hind edge of its forewings touching over its body, so that the whole moth looks triangular. Coupled with this is a very odd occurance noted on the last 'Dudu Crawl' on 24th April i his year. Out on the black- cotton pans by Embakasi Station, several members of the party noticed that at about five minute intervals solitary Green- veined Charaxes Butterflies, Cliaraxe s c an d i 0 p o were flying past. At the time I \Ya.s at a loss to account for this as the butt erf 13^ is usually found in forest. The foodplant of the caterpillar of this species is Croton (four species being recorded by van Someren), I therefore think that these butter- flies V'^ere searching for Croton trees on which to lay their eggs. The devastation of Croton trees appears to stretch as far as Limuru and includes Muguga, Langata, Karen, Karura, Rgong and the Nairobi Rational Park, 83 Reference ; VoG-oL, van Somerenj J ournal of the Lepidopterist ' s Society Vol 28, 1974 p 315 - 331o MoP. Clifton, Entomologist , Box 40658, NAIROBIc THE DAY IT RAIHED PISH An unusual phenomenon has heen reported by people of Pokor Keben location in Baringo after a non-stop down pour« Area Chief Mr Kandagor was informed by elders that the rain had brought with it a lot of fisho Chief Kandagor v/as told that a hilly area was littered with fish. The startled Chief visited the location and collected a few fish which he deposited with the Eldarma Ravine District Officer, Mr A,K, Gitliinji, Mr Githinji also confirmed that the hilly area had no pond or rivers from which the red and black fish might have come. KNAc The above article, which appeared in the Daily Ration on Monday 9th May 1977 p, 5 was sent to the Editor by Mr A.P, Hield Box 40426 Rairobi who comments below ; Does any member have a theory as to how this might have occured, and what species of fish it v/as ? Having read Charles Port's ' Book of the D amn e d ' someone might have a less obvious theory ' The Day it Rained Pish - A Reply t o Mr A.P, N i e 1 d I have been unable to lay hands on a copy of the book ' Bo ok of the Damned ' , and have a feeling that I might have missed out on a more intriguing explanation than I can offer myself I The fish that immediately springs to mind are the coloured cyprinodonts (or 'kill fish') of the genus H o t h o b r an c h iu s , wh i c h are by way of being specialists in 'spontaneous generation'. They live in temporary pans and waterholes and the eggs, v/hich are buried in mud, v/ithstand long periods of complete dessic- ation in betv\^een rainy seasons, H o t h o b r an c h iu s species, however, occur only along the Coast, and the lowland plains (notably the Kano Plains) bordering Lake Victoria, and are so far compl- etely unknown from the Rift Valley drainage. 84 The answer probably lies in the well known habit of small Barbus of travelling up every small stream and rivulet during floods. This seems to be a sort of innate dispersal mechanism which results^ for instance^ in small Barbus occasionally dams and quarries inevitably, be a the turning up after prolonged heavy rain in new miles away from permanent v/ater. There must, large mortality of those v/hich are caught out when tne rain stops. The most likely candidate is probably Barbus gregorii G-ilnther which occurs in Lake Baringo , and the juveniles of which occur in the shallow waters of the lake and in large concentrations in small streams running off the Kamasia Range. One would not , hov/ever their fins are a fai dark dorsal counter 1 refuse to cc rtation of Lake Bari giant water spo^t i , d esc rib e the: 111 as red an d black 5 al th ough re ddi sh br ovra and they hav e the usu al ading of mo s t silv ery fish. ide r s er i ously the possibil ity 0 f t r an spo- 0 f i sh th rough the heavens by me ans of a Alex MacKay, Herpatologist , Box 40658, NAIROBI, DOv/N AT BIANI - OCTOBER 1976 On a visit to the Biani area on the Kenya coast, we were reading John V/illiam’s field G-u i d e t o the Birds of East and Central Africa, and noted that the Morning Warbler, Cichladusa ar quat a and the Red-necked falcon, f al c o chic quera , occur in the vacinity of Borassus Palms, Bor as sus aethiopium, amongst others, Y/ithin easy walking distance of where we were staying were four of these magnificent Palms, none nearer to each other than three hundred metres, Y/e decided to inspect them with their relationships in mind. To our delight no Morning \Yarblers were encountered any- v/here else but in the immediate vacinity of each Palm, One also had a pair of Red-necked falcons with three fully fledged young, seen on 15th to 1?th October, Two others had evidence of small raptor-type nests not in use. Local Africans assured us that Oiie of those was occupied in 1 975 by a bird of the falcon type, though the local V^adigo wo asked were not sure of the distinction between this bird and the Lizard Buzzard, Kaupif ale o monogrammlcus which was very abundant locally. The Red-billed Shrike, Prion ops r e t z i i is described by Mackworth-Praod and Grant as 'highly gregarious and even while nesting, three or four birds may be round the nest together. 85 though as yet there is no evidence that they share the duties as in Pri onop s ' . Just two hundred metres from the beach, v/e were fortunate to find a nest containing three immature birds being attended by a flock of five adultSo Having watched this nest at inter- vals for about two weeks, from 5th - 18th October, we could confirm that feeding duties at any rate are occasionally shared On two occasions, three birds fed in quick succession. Even more convincing was it when four birds delivered food rapidly, one after another. The flock as a whole was quite fearless and allowed very close approach. Our scaffolding v/as only four metres from the nest and no hide was used. The aerial acrobatics in pei'suit of prey, the careful preparation of the food, and the gentle- ness of its presentation Vi^ere fascinating to watch, as was the care with which almost every feacal sack ¥/as dealt v/ith (by injestion usually, but also by disposal at a distance), even to the retrieval, in mid-air, of a d-ropped sack. Their repert- oire of calls and bill snapping also helped to make it a very rewarding bird to observe. That the Spotted Ground Thrush, Tur dus f ischeri is not ’now extinct’ has happily been commented upon in this Bulletin recently, \7e were priviledged to see this bird at close quart- ers on no less than three occasions, on 10th, 11th and 13th October in the southernmost end of the Biani forest just \7est of the tourist road, and ¥/ithin 75m of the base of a tall tree occupied by the resident Crowned Hawk Eagle, Stephanoaetus coronatus. Here also on the 10th October, in the same binoc- ular field of view, was seen an /ifrican Pitta, Pitta angolensis The Red-tailed Ant Thrush, Heocossyphus ruf us is said to be ’rare and little-known’. Perhaps good fortune will allow someone to alter this, if it has not already been done. Three clear sightings on 10th October by ourselves in this same area certainly give it a high priority for our next holiday down at Biani o Br and Mrs G,C, Irvine, Chogoria Hospital, P„0, CHOGORIA, via Heru, Kenya , * The Red-billed Shrike was at one time in the genus Sigmodus but has now been changed to Pri on op s , Ed, 86 HINTS ON COLLECTINCr ROAD KILLS Many birds j large and sinallj become casualties in many v/ays 5 some are killed on the road bj?" speeding' motorists 5 others fly into .windows and a few, on a misty night, may be attracted to lighted windows and fly into them and are killed or maimed 0 Quail are frequently found in the City of Nairobi and most of the specimens of the colourful Pitta in the National Museum, Nairobi collection were birds found below well lit windows. Nightjars, Coursers and Thicknees which feed on the road are dazzled by car headlights and become Tictims. Gome of such specimens need not be wasted and if you have a chance (in the traffic) to stop and pick them up, more often than not the National Museum, Nairobi can make use of them. If crushed, of course, they are virtually useless but early morning casualties are often good enough to make into mounted exhibits or study skins. When not too good for this purpose, the skull and bones can be turned into skeletal material for the Department of Osteology, The bones and skull are of consid- erable importance in the study of phylogeny and ?/e have often been able to determine the food of Ov/ls by comparing the bones in the Owl pellets with the collection material, so few birds need t o • b e a s t e d , We are asked, ‘What should we do with birds or mammals found dead on the rocid or below lighted v/indows'? 1 0 The simplest method ?_3 to pick up the specimen and bring it along to bhe Bird Room at the back of the main part of the National Museum, 2, If you cannot bring in the specimen quickly then first note the colour of its iris and jot this down, then pop the specim^en into a polythene bag., express all the air as you roll the specimen j.nto it, seal and place in the coldest section of the fridge or deep freeze. In the cold section of the fridge birds will keep well for a coupl'^ of weeks, but in the deep freeze maybe for months, 3, Not everybody ho»s either alcliohol or methylated spirits in the house or a hypodermic syringe and needle, but if you have both items and are unable to get the specimen into the fridge quickly then the specimen night be saved if injected v/ith the o.lchohcl. Inject into the brain, crop, chest cavity and abdomen and be reasonably generous with the fluid. The alchohol v/ill act partly as a preservative and prevent rapid bac t er X B- 1 decay, 4, Skeletal material. If a.11 else fails the specimen can be used as skeleton material and can be simply sun dried. Tie a string to the neck, to each wing and each leg then hang the 87 specimen in a tree somev/here in the garden where it will be out of reach of cats and dogs, flies and their maggots will soon clear it as it slowly dries out. This can then be handed over to the Bird Room v/here it can be finally prepared as clean skeletal material, 5. Mammals are not quite so easy to deal with but again they can be placed in the deep freezej rolled in nev/spaper and in a polythene bag ¥/ell sealed and the air exhausted, 6, Y/ith a mammal 5 if there is any delay, then they should be treated like the bird with generous injections of alchohol However, if it is possible there is more chance of saving the specimen if the stomach and other organs can be removed, and this is a fairly simple operation. Make an incision from bet\¥een the legs right up to the chest then remove the intestines, spleen, liver, kidneys, lungs and heart. Apply a very liberal quantity of salt (coarse salt is preferred) which should be well distributed within the chest cavity and belly, A specimen so treated will last a couple of days but will last better if it can be placed in the fridge or deep freeze , 7. Most important ho¥/ever, is to have some data concerning the specimen and this should consist of a note giving the iris colour, place where found and the date together with the collectors name and address, 8, Many valuable specimens are to be obtained from amongst road casualties and this saves delinerate collection, finally may I mention that there are four Provincial Museums in Kenya, Meru, Kitale, Kisumu and fort Jesus at Momb- asa which v\fill all require specimens for public exhibit. Road casualties help to make these specimens available. Also the University, Education Department, Schools and even the Depart- ment of Wildlife Conservation and Management require specimens for teaching purposes, G,R, Cunningham van-Someren, Dept, of Ornithology, Box 40658, HAIROBI, RECORDS SECTIOI The following plants are nevi distribution records from the Rift Valley for A,D,Q, Agnew’s Upland Kenya W i 1 d flowers. Ror ippa crypt ant ha (7I, Rich,) Robyns & Boutique J, Hayes 144 Oct, 1976 Crucif erae 88 G-linus lotoides L. var denudatus Aizoaceaec Jo Hayes 160 Octo 1976 Phytolacca o c t an d r a Phyt olaccacaea.. J, Hayes 8 May 1976 Oyathula unc inulat a (Schrad. ) Schinz, Amar an thac e ae » Jo Hayes 10 May 1976 Geranium ar abi cum Porsk spp arabicum Geraniaceaco J « Hayes 220 May 1977 Ozali s corniculata Lo Oxalidaceaec Jo Hayes 167 Hovo 1976 Kost elet zkya beg~oniif olia (Ulbro ) Ulbro Malvaceae, J, Hayes 176 ’ Peco 1976 Abut ilon br aunii .Bak, fo Malvaceae o J, Hayes 6 Ma,y 1976 Notes Not recorded in U p 1 an d Kenya V/ i 1 d P 1 o V7 e r s Mi c r o g 1 o s s a pyrif olia (lamo ) Oo Ktze ( Conyza pyrif olia Lam, ) Compositae, J, Hayes 162 Nov, 1976 Conyza hypoleuca A, Rich, Compositae, J, Hayes 5 May 1976 Conyza tift~rens is Oliv, & Hiern Compositae, J, Hayes 199 April 1977 Helichrysum f oetidum (l,) Moench, Compositae, J, Hayes 194 April 1977 Aspilia mossambicensis (Oliv, ) Wild Compositae. J, Hayes 60 Aug. 1976 Co tula anthemoides L, Compositae, J, Hayes 218 May 1977 Cineraria grandif lora Vatke, Compositae, J, Hayes 177 Dec, 1976 Senecio vulgaris L, Compositae, J. Hayes 192 April 1977 Hyp ochoeris glabra 1, Compositae, J, Hayes 189 • April 1977 S Planum mauens e Bitter Solanaceae, J, Hayes 186 March 1977 Alectra sessilif lora (Vahl) Kuntze Scr ophulariac e ae , J, Hayes 143 Oct, 1976 Plectrant hu s sp G of UKWP Labiatae, J, Hayes 113 Sept. 1976 89 Eul ophia p aivae ana Or chidac e ae . (Eeichbo f . ) Suriimerho ssp. borealis Summerh, Jc Hayes 185 March 1977 LIBRARY NOTICE ’He for subscribers baits his hook And takes your cash - but where's the book ?' Wellj we still have plenty left in the Library unlike the gentleman of whom Charles Churchill v/as writing in the 18th Century; but it is a fact that a few have taken v/ings. \7e ask anyone v/ho has knowledge of the whereabouts of the follov/ing to inform the Librarian; AurivilliuSj Rhopalocera Aethiopica 1898 Cole 5 Leakey’s Luck In order to safeguard valuable and irreplaceable books we requent readers - as does any Library of similar nature - to leave handbags 5 briefcases and various carry-alls at the library reception desk« Inconvenient ? Sometimes 5 and we regret that this rule is necessary; but it is inconvenience versus erosion. The slow insidious erosion of the assets of our Library - books which have been collected over many^ many years and are a tribute to the energy, enthusiasm and generosity of Society members and Librarians, past and present. It is a valuable collection and one we can be proud of. We wish to keep it intact. We hope soon to add more room to the Library thus making books easier to get at and making more space for those who wish to study. In the meantime, the books have been re-arranged and are ready for the move. To those people v/ho complain that it is like going to a supermarket which has re-shelved its commodities ’I put out my hand for biscuits and found a pork chop’ we say, pie; She knows where it Finally, all bership cards when This will help the get the use of the ,se ask the Librar i 3,11 f 0 r the book you V/ an t , is and is there t 0 he Ip « member s an d asked pie as e 1 0 b ring- the i r mem- using the library and t ak ing out books 0 Librar y s t af f 5 an d en su re th at on ly me rribers Librar y , Jean Haye s , Hon, Librarian 90 BOOK NOTICE ' Check List of the Birds of the \7orld ’ By EoS, Crusorij Collins, London 1976, Price L3«95 further to ray note in the last issue of the Bulletin I have 5 through the kindness of hr C,',7, Benson of the Depart- ment of Zoology, Carabridge received a copy of this important Check List, The Volume is already ’dated’, \7hile it includes refer- ence to RoB, Paynes work on the Indigo Birds (1973)5 omits Payne and Risley's vvork on the Ardeiidae ( 1 976 ), Similarly the revision by Irwin and Clancey, 1974 and many other recent papers are omited. There are a number of errors on the spelling of generic names and to us, here in Kenya, some very odd common English names have been applied to our birds. Nevertheless the system folloY\rs Peter’s Check List with no or little difference, but here I would like to draw attentioii to Miss P, Allen's letter and Mr G,C, Backhurst's comments in the last tv/o Bulls tins, Gruson writes, 'for the convenience of the non-prof e s si oml user it was decided to list the sequence of species within genera alphabetically. There is at least some interlectual support for this somewhat unusual treatment, Moreau, (i960) in his review of the Ploceiidae concludes 'wiiat is this order of genera really \Yovth ? Being unable to indicate evolutionary radiation, a linear order cannot reflect any conception of the phylogeny of the group: it obscures the fact that the biological gaps betv/een the genera are an extremely unequal extent. In other v/ords, an attempt at a logical or phylogenetic order is hopelessly prejudiced, I prefer the alternative of an arbitary, alphab- etical order; and that is what will be offered in the summary’. These are brave words, almost revolutionary words. What concer- ned Moreau about the sequence of genera is at least equally valid about the sequence of species, Myre (l965 ), the pTestor of systematics, has written a rebuttal to Moreau’s despair. He presents cogent arguments for the necessity of placing species into natural groups and goes on to say that this does not permit the int erlecrually lazy solution of an alphabetical Guquence,,,, yet this brings it at once into immediate conflict with one of the functions of classification, ease of reference ', Gruson continues ’ since the vast majority of the users of this book will not be involved in, or perhaps even aware of the problems of taxonomy, the list is arranged to maximise the 'ease of reference ’ , G,Ho Cunningham van-Someren 91 REQUEST FOR INEORMATIOU Marabou Storks j Lep t opt ilos crumenif erus I should be raost grateful for any records of large flocks of Marabous (say over lOO) that have been seen anywhere in Eastern Africa (Sritrea to Botswana) ^ during the past few years. Approximate numbers , locality and v/hat they were doing, would be helpful. It would also be a great help to have dat a on approximate numbers through the ye ar anyvi^her e that this has been recorded. Anyone wh 0 has such re c ords is a ske d to s end them within the next few v/eeks to - Dr DoEo Pomeroy, Department of Zoology, Kenyatta University College, PoOo Box 43844j NAIROBI. SOCIETY NOTES Of f i c e Sincere apologies go to any member v^ho has been to the Society office in the last fev/ weeks and found it closed. Due to family circumstances the Secretary/Treasurer has been unable to be in attendance, and the Assistant Secretary/Treas- urer is away on home leave. It is hoped that the office will again be open on most days during July. In the absence of the Secretary, information about the Society, reprints etc. can be obtained through the Editor, Mr B/I.P. Clifton in the Entomology Department at the National Museum. _Ar_t i^clo s_ ^r the Bullet in This issue has used up all the material for the Bulletin. I am sure many of you have inter- esting observations which v/ould be of interest to our members, so do write in with any information you have on any subject of natural history. Common Families of^ Flowering Plants of Kenya guide to the families of Plants by Mr S. Moss is by the Society and should be available shortly, covers 31 pages and gives a beginer valuable inf to tell the difference between families. Please Se’tret ary/Treasur er'. Cost; around Shs. 5/-. library Members are requested to read the Library notice on '.'age 90 of this issue. Three nev/ books have arrived recently. Miss C. Moss has given up a copy of her ' Portraits in the \I i 1 d ’ V'Uiich will be reviewed in the next Bulletin. This illus tr at ed bein S r eprin ted The b 00 kle t rmat i on on h ow -p o O a c t the 1 \ 92 Also in the next Bulletin there will be a review of Dr Leuthold's ' African Ungulates , A Comparative Review of their Etholog;.v and Behavioral Ec olOiSiy ' which he has given to the Society, A copy of the three volume VYork on the Blower ing Plants of the Anglo Egyptian Sudan by Andrev/s has just been purchased by the Society and will be placed in the library shortly. Bun ct ions Mrs Campbell is always grateful for suggestions from you about the type of trips and lectures you would like to have, V/hy not offer to arrange a trip or lecture for her ? Please drop her a line 5 at the Society's address. NE\7 MEMBERS The following members have been elected; Lo c al Bull Members Mrs James C, Armstrong, P,0, Box 30598 9 NAIROBI Ms Ilia Bhatt, P,0, Box 10488, NAIROBI Mrs P, von Burkersroda, P,0, Box 30744? NAIROBI Pr Eugene G, Bozniak, c/o T,A,M,S,, P,0, Box 30447? NAIROBI Mr J,R, Powner, P,0, Box 32068, NAIROBI Mrs Alison Evans, P,0, Box 154? NYERI, Kenya Pr M.Bo Gillett, Ngora Hospital, P,0, Box 5? NGORA, Uganda Mr R,M, Glen, P,0, Box 40691, NAIROBI Ms J. Lane Hanan, P,0, Box 30367, NAIROBI Mr V/,I, Hutton, P,0, Box 30670, NAIROBI Mr Mv/angi Kangethe, P,0, Box 27, ATHI RIVER, Kenya Mr Patrick Mangan , P,0, Box 135, NAIVASHA, Kenya Mrs G, Phillips, c/o U,N,E,P,, P,0, Box 30552, NAIROBI Mr Steven 0, Rothe , Sawagongo High School, P. 0. TALA, Kenya Pr larry T. Schwab, P,0, Box 1366, NAKURU , Kenya Scott and Barbara Wallace, Institute for Pevelopment Studies, P,0, Box 30197, NAIROBI’ Local Junior Members Nikolaus von Bu.rkersroda , P,0, Box 30744, NAIROBI REMEMBER TO TELL YOUR ERIENPS THAT THEY CAN JOIN THE SOCIETY POR SHS, 35/- AS PROM 1st JULY 1977 ANP RECEIVE PUBLICATIONS PROM THAT PATE, p 93 SOCIETY PUNCTIOHS For July excursion please see the previous Bulletinc Monday 11th July 1977 at 5o'50 p«iTie at the National Museum Hall, Nairobi s Mr Role Haller, Agronomist at Bamburi Portland Cement Coo Ltd will give an illustrated lecture on 'Rehabilitation of a limestone Quarry ' . Monday 8th August 1977 at 5o0 PcLU. at the National Museum Hall, Nairobi: Mr BoS, Meadows of the Ministry of Water Development will give a lecture on ' V/at er Pollution ' . Sunday 14th August 1977 Field trip to 'Green Park' , ITaivasha, by kind invitation of the Manager. Birds, Botany, Insects, and general natural history subjects will be studied in the open bushlando Please meet at 10 a.m. sharp at the junction of the North Lake Road on the main Nairobi/Nakuru road betv/een ITaivasha and Gilgil towns. Bring a picnic lunch and be prepared for some walking. Saturday 27th August 1977 Afternoon Botany Walk in the Langata area of Nairobi. Leader, Mrs Fleur Ng'weno. Please meet in front of the National Museum at 3o00 p.m. Monday 12th September 1977 at 3°30 p.m. at the National Museum Hall: Hr J. Kahurananga of the E.A. Herbarium will give an illustrated lecture on ' The Ecology of large He rbi vor e s in the Siman j iro Plains , Northern T an z an i a ' . Weekend 1 7th/l 8th, September 1977 Botanical Field trip to 01 Donyo Orok , Namanga. Leader: Mr J.B. Gillett, Members should be prepared for camping v/itli full equipment. Plant collecting will take place on the actual mountain. Members wishing to take part in this camp should please fill in the enclosed slip and return it, with a stamped addressed envelope. 1 0 Mr s August A. L. 1977o Campbell, P, 0, Box 1 4469 , NAIROBI, before 30th Monday 1 0th October 1977 at 5 0 30 p.m. at the National Museum Hall, Nairobi; Dr Norman Myers will give an illustrated lecture on ' Spotted Cats' , Weekend 22nd/23rd October 1977 Week-end field trip by kind invitation of Mr and Mrs 'Webb, Nanyuki. Details later. 94 THE EAST AFRICA NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY Chairman: J. S. Karmali Vice Chairman: Dr J. Kokwaro Editor, jl E. Africa nat. Hist. Soc. Nat. A^us.: Mrs J. Hayes Secretary /Treasurer : Miss D. Angwin Librarian: Mrs J. Hayes Ass. Secretary /Treasurer : Mrs D. M. Collins Executive Committee (in addition to the above); Miss P. M. Allen, G. C. Backhurst (Ringing Organizer), Mrs A. L. Campbell, M. P. Clifton (Editor EANHS Bulletin), Dr J. Gerhart, Dr J. M. Mutinga, Dr D. J. Pearson, J. F. Reynolds. Co-opted Members: Mrs H. A. Britton (Nest Record Scheme Organizer), Dr A. W. Diamond, Dr A. Hill, J. Kahurananga, J. Maikweki, S. Muchiru, Mrs F. Ng’weno, D. A. Turner. Journal Editorial Sub Committee: Mrs J. Hayes, Miss D. Angwin, Mrs V. Balcomb, M. P. Clifton, Dr A. Hill, Dr D. J. Pearson, J. F. Reynolds. Ornithological Sub Committee: G. C. Backhurst, P. L. Britton, Mrs H. A. Britton, G. R. Cunningham-van Someren, Dr A. W. Diamond, A. D. Forbes-Watson, B. S. Meadows, Dr D. J. Pearson, J. F. Reynolds, D. K. Richards, D. A. Turner. Joint Library Sub Committee (Society representatives): Mrs J. Hayes, Dr J. O. Kokwaro. MEMBERSHIP This offers you free entry to the National Museum, Nairobi; free lectures, films, slide shows or dis- cussions every month in Nairobi; field trips and camps led by experienced guides; free use of the Joint Society-National Museum Library (postal borrowing is also possible); reciprocal arrangements with the Uganda Society’s Library in the Uganda Museum, Kampala; family participation: wives and children of members may attend most Society functions; one copy of the EANHS Bulletin every two months; a copy of each Journal published during your period of membership; the Society controls the ringing of birds in East Africa and welcomes new ringers and runs an active Nest Record Scheme; activities such as plant mapping and game counting are undertaken on a group basis. Membership rates are given at the foot of this page. JOURNAL The Society publishes The Journal of the East Africa Natural History Society and National Museum. Each issue consists usually of one paper, however, sometimes two or more short papers may be combined to form one number. The aim of this method of presentation is to ensure prompt publication of scientific information; a title page is issued at the end of each year so that the year’s papers may be bound together. Contributions, which should be typed in double spacing on one side of the paper, with wide margins, should be sent to the Secretary, Box 44486, Nairobi, Kenya. Authors receive twenty-five reprints of their article free, provided that these are ordered at the time the proofs are returned. E. A.N.H.S. BULLETJN This is a duplicated magazine issued six times a year, which exists for the rapid publication of short notes, articles, letters and reviews. Contributions, which may be written in clear handwriting or typed, should be sent to The Editor (EANHS Bulletin), Box 44486, Nairobi, Kenya. Line drawings will be considered if they add to the value of the article. Photographs cannot be published. SCOPUS The Ornithological Sub Committee publishes this quarterly bird magazine. Cost: EANHS members KShs. 50/- p.a., non-EANHS members KShs. 75/- p.a. All correspondence to D. A. Turner, Box 48019, Nairobi, Kenya. MEMBERSHIP SUBSCRIPTION RATES Life ..... Institutional (schools, libraries) Full One payment: Kshs. 750/- annual payment: Kshs. 50/- annual payment: Kshs. 50/- Junior (full-time student, no Journal supplied) . . annual payment: Kshs. 10/- Subscriptions are due 1st January. From 1st July you may join for Kshs. 35/- and receive publications from that date. Application forms for membership are obtainable from the Secretary, Box 44486, Nairobi. SMrTHSONIAN INSTITUTION LIBRARIES 3 9088 0 230 2790