Chapter XII: Feathers, and the Places They Frequent

From time to time I am asked a great many questions regarding the Sahara, and nothing has pleased me more than to find that an astonishing number of people are interested in Nature, and want to know something of the wild life in the country of my travels. Invariably the first questions put by my interrogators are: _“What lives in the Great Desert?”_ and _“However do creatures exist in such a land?”_

Queries of the kind bring home realisation of how firmly is planted the popular conception that the whole of the Sahara is desert, and how difficult it becomes, once a belief is firmly planted, to convey, by a broad sweep of the hand, or pen, the complete aspect of any land by proxy. In general, it can be said that awe of the Great Desert is the main feature that has taken hold in the mind’s-eye of the public up to the present time, while the manifold changes of locality, that are common to the completed character of any country, are, as secluded havens, almost entirely overlooked. The romance of the Sahara has, as it were, swept us off our balance, and the picture is out of perspective, in the rush of workaday lives that permit of little time for deep contemplation of subjects other than those that are of immediate concern.

On the other hand, when work of exploration is undertaken in a foreign land, it is the traveller’s first purpose to seek into every nook and corner, far from the beaten track; and, where the land is richest in vegetation, water, and seclusion, he expects to find the rarest prizes.

In country like the Sahara the collector is sure of his ground. The blank ranges of sand hold nothing, or next to nothing; and the desert is vast. Wherefore he ranges far and seeks for sheltered places that give of some fertility; aware that, in a land where the struggle for existence is intense, the creatures of the wild will have sought out the havens before him.

It may be of interest to describe a few of the places where birds are found.

The caravan has been travelling for a few days over absolute desert. I have observed nothing except a single house-fly, noticeable, in exaggerated relief, simply because of the utter absence of other life. Ending this tract of desert, there are pebbly edges with scattered tufts of grass; farther back, a series of slight hollows with a few bushes; and, farther on still, a clump of acacias that screen the old uninhabited well that the caravan is heading for to refill sagging waterskins.

Approaching this welcome change of country, an Arab Bustard takes to flight and clears right away; alert and very shy.

Along the stony margin the most likely birds are larks, and, as it is deep desert beyond, I am not surprised to see, matching the sand in paleness, a single large Curve-billed Desert Lark, and two or three Buff Saharan Larks.

Farther on, among the low shrubs and grass, I disturb a family of Brown Bush Babblers: birds about the size of a thrush that fly very low, and in the formation of a covey of partridges. They emit a fussy, piping call while in flight, but do not go far before they pitch into cover again.

In the clump of acacias beside the well I find a pair of Rufous Warblers and a Yellow Sunbird.

In the evening a few visitors come to the well to drink, having flown, perhaps, long distances from outlying feeding grounds. There are only three varieties: the Red-eyed Grey Dove, which I have come to call “the dove of the sand wastes,” because they are so often present in drear places, and a few tiny Red Waxbills and Grey Serin Finches.

When there is not water spilled at the mouth of the well, the birds have learned, in their need to drink, to descend the dark funnel to the water-level; and it is not uncommon to find some unfortunate ones floating on the surface that have fallen in and been drowned.

In country of this type birds live on the pickings of the sand or of withered leaf-blade; tiny grass seeds and seeds of plant blooms, grasshoppers, crickets, ants, spiders, flies, and all minute insects that gather about the hearts of plant life in a hot climate. Through the day they hide as best they can from the intense heat, huddled in little places of shade with open, panting beaks; and in the evenings and mornings feed when the sting of the sun is less formidable.

A couple of Dorcas gazelle are sighted at sundown, and one is shot; and before the caravan departs next day, there is a Desert Raven at the remains of offal not claimed by my followers.

That, with a few variations, is the sum total of bird life seen over a number of weeks of travel in drear country. Seldom, indeed, are they plentiful; and, should one chance upon flocks in a very attractive quarter, they are likely to be of only one or two species. Hence, collecting in the Sahara is a painstaking business, entailing long trying journeys of nomadic character, from one place of promise to another, much fruitless searching, and many disappointments. But enthusiasm is the life of the collector. So that rebuffs and blank days seldom evoke despair.

In country of _Tassili_, which is wilderness of another type, the best places for birds are where the land is very rugged and cut up by chasms that run below the surface of the ground. There is often some shrub, weed-plants, and rough grass tufts in the gullies, which furnish some food for bird life, but the spot the collector particularly prizes is where a rare pool of permanent water lies in a rocky cleft.

Such a place is Tamengouit, two days north-west of the end of the Aïr Mountains. The approaches are very rough and full of rugged rifts. The country is bleak beyond description, and of black rock; with the frowning hills of Takaraft and Abarakam in the background.

It is difficult to find passage for the camels, over rough country of this nature, and we descended at a snail’s-pace toward a sand waste in the distance; while camel-men reconnoitred in front to find a clear course unblocked by sudden chasm. After considerable loss of time, owing to set-backs that necessitated awkward detours, the caravan reached its destination, and camped.

Water was about a quarter of a mile away at the head of a sandy inlet. A bird of good omen swung slowly in the air over it: the White Vulture, that is known to the nomads as _Kargi Mulet_. Tuareg folklore teaches that: “If a traveller is in country that he is not familiar with and sees _Kargi Mulet_ planing slowly to and fro in the sky, it is sure news that water, or people, or game will be found beneath where it flies. Wherefore, if anyone is lost, the sight of this bird is an omen of succour near at hand.”

To find permanent open water is very surprising in such surroundings, consequently the conditions under which it exists are of the utmost interest. A few such rock-pools and ancient wells, for the most part separated about five, six, or seven days’ march, afford the only means of obtaining water in the uttermost interior of the Sahara.

Tamengouit is on latitude 20°. A chasm, that carries heavy weight of water during rare storms, leads from the distant hills out to the level sand. Just above the mouth it narrows to a long, deep gulch with high walls that completely shut out the sun. It is so narrow that it can be leapt across overhead. Down in the bottom, all along its length, lie deep black waters, inaccessible, because of the cliff walls, except at the mouth and at the top end.

One or two specimens, shot while flying overhead, pitched into the chasm and could not be gathered. There is no seepage through the rocks, and the secret of the water’s permanent existence is surely in the fact that the all-absorbing sun cannot reach it. Gloomy and cool, the chasm interior is as a thick-walled tank that no influence of the elements can penetrate.

Remarkable in itself, this rock basin is equally remarkable on account of bird life. In camp on the first night I heard Sandgrouse calling at dusk, and in the night; and knew they were flighting out of the clear sky, from unknown feeding grounds, to slake their thirst in the still chasm. Their presence was certain assurance of water known to the wild, and I turned to sleep expectant of a busy day on the morrow.

And I was not disappointed. Early morning found me at the pool, where a few Coronated Sandgrouse and Barred Sandgrouse still remained from the flocks of overnight. Otherwise all was yet quiet, but I could foresee change whenever the morning feeding time was over, for there were plenty of feathers and toe-prints at the water’s edge, to tell that numerous birds were in the habit of drinking there.

I spent the time searching for Nightjars among the rocky flats beyond the chasm. Those nocturnal birds are very difficult to find, because of their perfect protective colouring among the rocks where they hide during the day, and their habit of remaining still until almost trodden upon. My search proved fruitless, and I returned to the water.

About 9 a.m., roughly, four hours after dawn, some groups of small birds, directing one another by fussy chatterings, arrived at the pool to drink, obviously very thirsty and excited because my presence was disturbing and unusual. The greatest number were Trumpeter Bullfinches, next in quantity, Grey Serin Finches, a few Striolated Buntings, and one or two little dark Saharan martins that gracefully flitted up and down the pool feeding on insects, and dipping to drink occasionally.

Concerning the latter, all Martins, Swifts, and Swallows are termed “_Afurtitta_” by the Tuaregs, and in their quaint folklore they are “Birds of Allah that live always in the sky with God. It is for all eyes to see that they are so entirely independent of the earth that they never descend to the ground for the food of life, and when they would drink they merely swoop to touch the surface of the water.”

About ten o’clock a few Blue Rock Pigeons shot swiftly from the sky to whirl into the chasm and perch on the shady cliff ledges. I knew of their presence in some regions of Aïr in small scattered numbers, so that at first I was not altogether surprised. But when these were followed by flock after flock, until _hundreds_ had arrived, I was astonished, for I had never before witnessed a like occurrence; nor have I since. Up till noon pigeons continued to arrive, swift-winged and desperately eager to drink; whence they came I knew not, but I judged that the late birds, at least, had come from a tremendous distance.

Pondering over the strange occurrence, which was a very extraordinary one in the Sahara, I came to the conclusion that this water, because of its permanent state, was probably long known to these fleet-flying birds; and that the news of its existence has been passed on, as birds have a way of doing, until most of the pigeons of the region knew of Tamengouit as a place of water that could be relied on in the darkest periods of drought.

One other species was seen during the morning: a Peregrine Falcon. His sudden appearance struck terror into the hearts of the pigeons, who dived to their cliff ledges, to crouch wild-eyed under the protection of the chasm, while the raider swung wide, waiting for the victim he would choose to kill. Well they knew him as the master bird of flight, possessed of speed that none might elude in a race through the air. But for once he was baulked, for he feared my presence. Moreover, it was too hot for him to remain overlong at a distance in the sky. Hence, after a time, he turned definitely east and sped away to some shady ledge in ravine or mountain to await the cool of evening.

Tamengouit was but a halt by the wayside, and next day it recovered its wonted solitude as the caravan trailed slowly away.

Out in the dreariest desert there is one strange bird that the traveller may see; not commonly, but only rarely when a camel dies. On such occasions one may watch the clear blue sky, where it reaches its uttermost height, and, in time, discern the tiniest speck, at a tremendous distance, poised there for a seeming indefinite period. By and by, in like inexplicable manner, other specks foregather from unseen source beyond the sight of men. And there they may remain for hours, perhaps coming a little nearer; but on the morning following one awakes to find huge Griffon Vultures sitting ghoul-like round the carcase, waiting the time that it shall be torn asunder while one, perched on the head, endeavours to start an opening round the soft parts of the eye.

Of different character to such wilderness places of bird life are the oases of the Sahara, where a few species which I term sedentary birds are to be found; and migrants, on their way across Africa.

Date palms, garden cultivation, and open irrigation ditches, are the chief attractions to bird life in such places; but, since these are in close proximity to dwellings and the disturbance of mankind, only a few species settle permanently in these localities. Birds that are fairly sure to be seen in oases are: Desert Ravens, on the look out to pillage scraps, Black Wheatears, living on the ants and flies that molest habitations, Yellow Sparrows, frequenting the palms, and Striolated Buntings that are prone to be very tame and sparrow-like about the dusty hut-doors.

The unexpected in oases is very often some migrant, if the season be March-April in the spring, or October-November in the autumn. At these times birds flight on their long, instinct-prompted voyage, across Africa, and, should one be out on the desert, strange calls may be heard overhead at night from flocks that wing their way through the sky. Some of these migrants lose their way, or lose their strength, and falter, for crossing the Great Desert is akin to crossing the sea. I have known Swallows and Wagtails and Shrikes to come flying in toward my caravan, when it was the only object in an immensity of space, and seek a resting-place on the loads of the camels. On one occasion I caught a Yellow Wagtail by putting out a hand from my seat in the saddle to seize it as a cricketer clutches a ball. It was in great distress, and I tipped my water-bottle until the bird could see the water at the mouth. Immediately it drank hungrily, though clasped in my hand. I carried it thereafter until an oasis was reached, when I set it free.

In cruel, ungiving desert the traveller, at times, comes across the pitiful skeletons of birds that have perished from thirst and want on ill-fated pilgrimage. And mortal mind pauses in sympathy with the wild in the appalling poverty of such a lingering death; for all who know the desert are aware of the grim price that is paid by any living creature unfortunate enough to become involved in the folds of a land that expresses neither mercy nor hate, yet slowly kills with terrifying intent.

On the other hand, distressed migrants sometimes find succour in landing at oases. And the numbers of wayfarers that drift into such harbours in this way are astonishing because they are so out of place in their temporary sandy surroundings. For instance, I have shot our Common Snipe in the Sahara, and collected Tern, Stilt, Sandpiper, Shoveller, Pintail, Teal, Heron, and others that have nothing whatever in common with the country.

It would be irksome to go into all the details that surround the bird life of the Sahara, but a few further notes on the Tuareg folklore that relates to certain species may be of interest before concluding. In each case I give the native name of the Tuaregs.

The Black Wheatear is known to the nomad as _Seni Seni_. “It is the bird that brings news of strangers; particularly news of robbers. If anyone strange is approaching, _Seni Seni_ flies at once into a prominent position and perches perfectly still, attentively watching. Whenever the little bird becomes satisfied that the figures are strangers it commences to bob its head rapidly up and down; and so one may take warning. If they are not strangers assuredly the bird will hop down to pick about the ground and take no further notice.”

Another bird, according to their folklore, warns the nomad of the presence of snakes. This is _Tagishit Aschiel_, the Lesser Rufous Warbler, which spends most of its time about the kind of tangled undergrowth that snakes are given to frequent.

“Whenever _Tagishit Aschiel_ detects a snake he will cry out vigorously and constantly, so that from our hut doors we may hear him, and run out and find the vile reptile; which we are glad to kill, for we fear them about our encampments.”

Yet another bird of warning is: _Agishit n’Ugur_: the large Yellow Barbet, which is: “The Jackal Bird; because whenever it sees a Jackal it gives out a loud rilling call, and makes a great to-do until the enemy of our flocks is driven away.”

_Ashara_, the Rufous-breasted Starling, is: “The bird of omen of death, because when it is heard in the evening or at night making a noise resembling the tearing of robes for a shroud, it is likely that on the morrow we shall hear that one of our people has died.”

_Zunkusharat_, the great Curve-billed Desert Lark: “An evil bird of which all nomads teach their children to beware, because of its alluring habit of flying only a short distance before resettling. Unwary boys think they can catch it easily and are thus led away into the desert without watching where they go; until they are lost.”

_Ebakorian-Mallam_ is a name sometimes applied to the Buff Saharan Lark, the latter part of the name being Hausa, meaning scholar or teacher or priest. “For it is a saintly bird that is always at peace, and robs no one. It is content with the seeds by the wayside, and disturbs neither cultivation nor place of dwelling.”

_Bi-Allah_. The tiny Red Senegal Waxbill, is “The bird of perpetual content. All day it picks about the doorstep and roosts in the lintel; and all our people know it as emblematic of peace and unconcern, and so have termed it ‘the tiny priest of God.’”

_Tedabear Takleet_, the Palm Dove, is smaller than the Grey Dove, and, when both happen to be feeding or drinking together, the larger dove domineers the smaller. _Takleet_ means slave, and therefore, in Tuareg folklore, “the Palm Dove is the slave of the Grey Dove.”

_Tilel_, the Guinea Fowl, has a curious legend concerning it which has arisen because of the blood-red wattles on the head. “See, he is marked by the blow where man hit him, because he would not show people place of water. And ever since that time he has been a dazed fool bird, so that anyone is able to catch him in the trees.”

The outcome of prolonged research in the Sahara during 1919 and 1920, and again in 1922 and 1923, was that altogether 134 different species and subspecies of birds were collected for Lord Rothschild from the Sahara, and seventy-three additional varieties from the Western Sudan.

The Sahara specimens comprised the following birds[19]:

1. Guinea Fowl.
2. Common Quail (M).
3. Coot (M).
4. Large and small Long-tailed Senegal Sandgrouse.
5. Coronated Sandgrouse.
6. Lichtenstein’s Barred Sandgrouse.
7. Nubian Bustard.
8. Arab Bustard.
9. Tern (M).
10. Stilt (M).
11. Wood Sandpiper (M).
12. Common Sandpiper (M).
13. Ruff and Reeve (M).
14. Snipe (M).
15. Stone Curlew.
16. Green Sandpiper (M).
17. Spurwing Plover.
18. Cream-coloured Cursor.
19. Palm Dove.
20. Red-eyed Grey Dove.
21. Turtle Dove.
22. Cape Dove.
23. Blue Rock Pigeon.
24. Shoveller (M).
25. Pintail (M).
26. Common Teal (M).
27. Garganey Teal (M).
28. Tree Duck (M).
29. Great Billed Goose (M).
30. Egyptian Goose (M).
31. Night Heron (M).
32. Purple Heron (M).
33. Bittern.
34. Black and White Stork.
35. Glossy Ibis.
36. Carrion Vulture.
37. White Vulture.
38. Griffon Vulture.
39. White-breasted Eagle.
40. Egyptian Kite.
41. Pallid Hen Harrier (M).
42. Singing Hawk.
43. Peregrine Falcon.
44. Kestrel.
45. Barn Owl
46. African Long-eared Owl.
47. Eagle Owl.
48. Scops Owl (M).
49. Long-eared Grey Owl.
50. Asben Little Owl (B).
51. Black and White Crested Cuckoo.
52. Golden Cuckoo.
53. Red-billed Hornbill.
54. Greater Saharan Woodpecker.
55. Lesser Saharan Woodpecker.
56. African Roller.
57. African Hoopoe.
58. European Hoopoe (M).
59. Wood Hoopoe (B).
60. Black-capped Blue Bee Eater.
61. Green Bee-Eater.
62. Blue Naped Crested Coly.
63. Goldcrest Barbet.
64. Yellow-breasted Barbet.
65. Red-headed Barbet (B).
66. Golden Nightjar (B).
67. European Nightjar (M).
68. Brown Nightjar and Pennant Winged Nightjar.
69. White-rumped Swift.
70. European Swift (M).
71. Pallid Swift.
72. Red-rumped African Swallow.
73. European Swallow (N).
74. Saharan Rock Martin (B).
75. Redstart (M).
76. Common Wheatear (M).
77. Desert Wheatear.
78. Black Wheatear.
79. Saharan Rock Chat (B).
80. Whinchat (M).
81. Rock Thrush (M).
82. Black Thicket Babbler.
83. Brown Bush Babbler (B).
84. Rufous Warbler.
85. Reiser’s Pallid Warbler.
86. Icterine Warbler (M).
87. Chestnut-breasted Grey Warbler.
88. Common Whitethroat (M).
89. Orphean Warbler (M).
90. Chiff-chaff (M).
91. Willow Wren (M).
92. Crowned Grass Warbler.
93. Alexander’s Scrub Warbler.
94. Short-tailed Buff-breasted Warbler.
95. Yellow-breasted Sunbird.
96. Dark Green Sunbird (B).
97. Sudanese Penduline Tit.
98. Puff-backed Flycatcher.
99. Spotted Flycatcher (M).
100. Pied Flycatcher (M).
101. Collared Flycatcher (M).
102. Grey Shrike.
103. Red-headed Shrike (M).
104. Small Chestnut Striped Shrike.
105. Yellow Wagtail (M).
106. White Wagtail (M).
107. Asben Brown Pipit (B).
108. European Tawny Pipit (M).
109. European Tree Pipit (M).
110. Red-throated Pipit (M).
111. Great Curve-billed Desert Lark.
112. Mirafra Short-toed Lark.
113. Buff Saharan Lark (B one group).
114. Crested Lark.
115. Bar-tailed Desert Lark.
116. Small Thick-billed Lark.
117. Eastern Short-toed Lark(M).
118. Chestnut Black-breasted Lark.
119. Grey Black-breasted Lark.
120. Striolated Bunting.
121. Desert Sparrow.
122. Chestnut-backed Yellow Sparrow.
123. Grey Serin Finch.
124. Trumpeter Bullfinch.
125. Pencil-crowned Weaver (B).
126. Lesser Yellow Weaver.
127. Greater Yellow Weaver.
128. Singing Finch.
129. Senegal Waxbill.
130. Rufous-breasted Starling.
131. Wing-spotted Glossy Starling.
132. Pied Crow.
133. Desert Raven.
134. Short-tailed Raven.

The following are the additional seventy-three species and subspecies that were found in the Western Sudan on the southern margins of the Sahara between latitudes 12° and 16°:

135. Ostrich.
136. Rock Partridge.
137. Francolin (two species).
138. Barred Sandgrouse.
139. Pigmy Golden Quail.
140. Senegal Bustard.
141. Wattled Plover.
142. Cream-coloured Cursor.
143. Blue-spotted Ground Dove.
144. Greater Grey Dove.
145. Dark-eyed Grey Dove.
146. Blue-spotted Pigeon.
147. Green Pigeon.
148. Cattle Egret.
149. Large Grey Heron.
150. Sacred Ibis.
151. Snake Eagle.
152. Swallow-tailed Hawk.
153. Red-winged Hawk.
154. Sparrow Hawk.
155. Banded Gymmogene.
156. Red-headed Falcon.
157. Pigmy Falcon.
158. Lanner Falcon.
159. Senegal Little-eared Owl.
160. Little Owl
161. Lark-heeled Cuckoo.
162. Great Spotted Cuckoo.
163. Black-billed Hornbill.
164. Large Grey Plantain Eater.
165. Small Green Parrot.
166. Spotted-capped Woodpecker.
167. Square-tailed African Roller.
168. Little Short-tailed Roller.
169. Grey Kingfisher (B).
170. Black and Scarlet Barbet.
171. Greater Wood Hoopoe.
172. Long-tailed Nightjar.
173. Palm Swift.
174. African Swallow.
175. Red-browed Swallow.
176. Black and White Wheatear (M).
177. Sudanese Rock-Chat (B).
178. Brown Bush Babbler (B).
179. Common Reed Warbler (M).
180. Bonelli’s Warbler (M).
181. Long-tailed Scrub Warbler.
182. Little Scrub Warbler.
183. Golden-thighed Warbler.
184. Striped Grass Warbler.
185. Senegal Sunbird.
186. White Eye.
187. Paradise Flycatcher.
188. Red-winged Bush Shrike.
189. Crimson Shrike.
190. Black and White Crested Shrike (B).
191. Long-tailed Shrike.
192. Painted Yellow-breasted Bunting.
193. Greater Bush Sparrow.
194. Lesser Bush Sparrow (B).
195. Yellow Serin Finch.
196. Large Black Weaver.
197. Whydah Finch.
198. Little Black Weaver.
199. Red Bishop.
200. Banded Amadevat.
201. Melba Finch.
202. Grey Scarlet-marked Waxbill.
203. Bengalee Waxbill.
204. Long-tailed Glossy Starling.
205. Purple Starling.
206. Tick Bird.
207. Little Long-tailed Crow.

CHAPTER XIII

MAMMALS OF THE SAHARA