ewards. As we were paddling
along, we caught sight of Stanley's canoe entering a creek out of the
lake.

"Oh, see, see!" cried Bella, "what thousands of animals! I never saw so
many collected together."

Such indeed was the case. On the point nearest the lake some twenty or
more huge buffaloes were standing drinking at the stream. Further on a
whole herd of quaggas had come down, while through the woods could be
seen the graceful horns of a troop of koodoos and other deer, though it
was difficult to distinguish them among the trees. But we were more
immediately interested with the numerous birds we were passing. It
would be difficult to describe them all; but David, who was a good
ornithologist, told us their names. Amongst them was one which seemed
to run about on the surface employed in catching insects. It had long
thin legs, and extremely long toes, which enabled it to stand on the
floating lotus leaves and other aquatic plants invisible to our eyes. A
lotus leaf, not six inches in diameter, was sufficient to support its
spread-out toes, just as snow-shoes enable a heavy man to get over the
soft snow. It was the _Parra Africana_. Then there were numbers of the
pretty little wader, which looked exactly as if it was standing on
stilts, from the length of its legs, while its bill appeared to be bent
upwards, instead of downwards, as Leo declared it ought to be. David
called it an _avocet_. "See," said David, "the use of its bill!" It
was wading in a shallow; and the form of its beak enabled it to dig up
insects out of the soft sand far more easily than if it had been
straight. We saw vast numbers of the large black goose walking about
slowly and feeding. It had a strong black spur on the shoulder, with
which it can defend its young. David told us that it forms its nests in
ant-hills, and, of course, eats up the inhabitants. Among the several
varieties of geese was the Egyptian or _Chenalopex Aegyptiaca_. It flew
along over the surface, but appeared unable to rise. It would have been
impossible to count the ducks which sat on the banks. Stanley fired
among them, and almost filled his canoe with a few shots, as he
afterwards told us. He had killed in one shot nearly twenty ducks and a
couple of geese. But they were only some of the smaller birds. Further
up were spoonbills with nearly white plumage; a tribe of stately
flamingoes, such as I have before described; numbers of the
_demoiselle_--an e