Through Western Madagascar in Quest of the Golden Bean

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1914 Excerpt: ... bird hatakaty, from its peculiar cry, and a very handsome creature it is. Its feet, colouring, and plumage resemble the British grouse more than those of any other species of sand-grouse I have seen (although they belong to a totally different family). Yet there is a distinct leaning towards the partridge family in the bird's shape and size, as its scientific name (Pterocles personatus) implies. There is a conspicuously broad band of black below the eyes on either side of the head; otherwise, the general trend of colouring inclines towards a sandy yellow. The male is slightly smaller than the female, and has brighter markings, especially about the head. As the flock came directly above us, some seventy feet high, I brought down five birds with a right and left of No. 6 shot with surprising ease, and it was more agreeable still to find the birds stone-dead upon the ground. The flight continued for nearly three-quarters of an hour, during which period we bagged forty-two birds, re-loading as fast as we could until our gun-barrels became too hot to hold with comfort. My friend was overjoyed at the result, for his vocation permitted him few opportunities of obtaining such a welcome variation as wildfowl from his daily ration of Menabe rice and unpalatable ox-flesh. We could have added many more victims to our list, but I insisted upon the thirsty survivors being allowed to drink their fill of the green liquid at our feet and depart for their mountain homes without further molestation. The sharp cackle of the returning coveys had barely died away into the strange silence of the desert, when a species of purple pigeon (Funingus madagascariensis) began to arrive, and these birds, in common with their fellows, the pretty swallow-shaped painted doves (T...