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Design Thinking

Design Thinking is a set of strategic and creative processes and

principles used in the planning and creation of products and solutions
to human-centered design problems.
With design and innovation being two key driving principles, this
series focuses on, but not limited to, the following areas and topics:
User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) Design
Psychology of Design
Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)
Ergonomic Design
Product Development and Management
Virtual and Mixed Reality (VR/XR)
User-Centered Built Environments and Smart Homes
Accessibility, Sustainability and Environmental Design
Learning and Instructional Design
Strategy and best practices
This series publishes books aimed at designers, developers,
storytellers and problem-solvers in industry to help them understand
current developments and best practices at the cutting edge of
creativity, to invent new paradigms and solutions, and challenge
Creatives to push boundaries to design bigger and better than before.
More information about this series at
https://link.springer.com/bookseries/15933.
Mathias Funk and Yu Zhang

Coding Art
A Guide to Unlocking Your Creativity with the
Processing Language and p5.js in Four Simple
Steps
2nd ed.
Mathias Funk
Eindhoven, The Netherlands

Yu Zhang
Eindhoven, The Netherlands

ISSN 2945-7793 e-ISSN 2945-7807

Design Thinking
ISBN 978-1-4842-9779-7 e-ISBN 978-1-4842-9780-3
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-9780-3

© Mathias Funk and Yu Zhang 2021, 2024

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively
licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is
concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of
illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in
any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and
retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or
dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks,

service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the
absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the
relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general
use.

The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the
advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate
at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the
editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the
material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have
been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional
claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This Apress imprint is published by the registered company APress

Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
The registered company address is: 1 New York Plaza, New York, NY
10004, U.S.A.
Any source code or other supplementary material referenced by the
author in this book is available to readers on the Github repository:
https://github.com/Apress/Coding-Art. For more detailed information,
please visit https://www.apress.com/gp/services/source-code.
Acknowledgments
We started this book in October 2018 and went through the process of
writing for several months, ending with an intensive summer writing
retreat at Tenjinyama Art Studio in Sapporo. We are grateful for the
hospitality and kindness of Mami Odai and her team, and we will
always remember these weeks on the hill with the wind rushing
through the dark trees.
From October 2019, we sent out the manuscript to the reviewers,
and we would like to acknowledge their hard work and sincerely thank
them for great feedback and suggestions, warm-hearted
encouragement, and praise: Loe Feijs (Eindhoven University of
Technology), Jia Han (Sony Shanghai Creative Center), Garyfalia Pitsaki
(3quarters.design), Bart Hengeveld (Eindhoven University of
Technology), Joep Elderman (BMD Studio), Ansgar Silies (independent
artist), and Rung-Huei Liang (National Taiwan University of Science and
Technology). Without you, the book would not have been as clear and
rich. We also thank the great team at Apress, Natalie and Jessica, and
especially Bin Yu for his excellent technical review. We express our
gratitude to Tatsuo Sugimoto, our translator for the Japanese edition of
Coding Art. Finally, we deeply appreciate the support from friends and
family for this project.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1:​Introduction
1.​1.​Coding Art
1.​2.​Motivation
1.​2.​1.​How to Talk with a “Machine”
1.​2.​2.​Practice a Practice
1.​2.​3.​Do It and Own It
1.​3.​How to Read This Book
1.​3.​1.​Calling All Creatives
1.​3.​2.​Four Steps, One Example, One Zoom
1.​3.​3.​Getting Ready
Chapter 2:​Idea to Visuals
2.​1.​Visual Elements
2.​1.​1.​Shapes
2.​1.​2.​Shaping Up in Processing
2.​1.​3.​Colors, Transparency, and Filters
2.​1.​4.​Working with Form and Texture
2.​2.​Canvas Secrets
2.​2.​1.​Scaling Visual Elements
2.​2.​2.​Resetting or Restoring the Canvas
2.​2.​3.​Rotation and Translation
2.​3.​Animation:​From Frames to Motion
2.​3.​1.​Animation Basics
2.​3.​2.​Simple Movement
2.​3.​3.​Rhythm in Motion
2.​4.​Interaction as Input for Animation
 2.​4.​1.​Combining Mouse Presses and Movement
2.​5.​Summary
Chapter 3:​Composition and Structure
3.​1.​Data and Code Structure
3.​1.​1.​Creating Many Things
3.​1.​2.​Controlling Many Things
3.​2.​Visual Structure
3.​2.​1.​Composition and Alignment
3.​2.​2.​Composing with Layers
3.​2.​3.​Controlling Layers
3.​3.​Summary
Chapter 4:​Refinement and Depth
4.​1.​Randomness and Noise
4.​1.​1.​Working with Randomness
4.​1.​2.​Controlling Randomness
4.​1.​3.​Selecting and Making Choices with Randomness
4.​1.​4.​Working with Noise
4.​2.​MemoryDot
4.​2.​1.​Smoothing
4.​2.​2.​Smoothly Working with Many Things
4.​3.​Using Computed Values
4.​3.​1.​Computing Values with Functions
4.​3.​2.​The Space Between Two Values:​Interpolation
4.​3.​3.​Interpolation with Functions
4.​4.​Interactivity
4.​4.​1.​Mouse Interaction
 4.​4.​2.​Keyboard Interaction
4.​4.​3.​Other Input
4.​5.​Summary
Chapter 5:​Completion and Production
5.​1.​Making Things Big for Print
5.​1.​1.​High-Resolution Rendering
5.​1.​2.​Migrating to Scalable Version
5.​1.​3.​Rendering Snapshots of Dynamic Work
5.​2.​A Backstage for Control
5.​2.​1.​Tweak Mode in Processing
5.​2.​2.​Centralizing Control with Variables
5.​2.​3.​“Backstaging” with the Keyboard
5.​3.​More Stable and Less Risky Code
5.​3.​1.​The Right Things in the Right Place
5.​3.​2.​Avoiding Resource Bloat
5.​3.​3.​Code Structure
5.​3.​4.​Don’t Reinvent the Wheel
5.​4.​Testing Before Deployment
5.​4.​1.​Depending on Dependencies
5.​4.​2.​Anticipating Differences
5.​4.​3.​Preparing for Unattended Operation
5.​5.​Summary
Chapter 6:​Taking a Larger Project Through All Four Steps
6.​1.​Context, Inspiration, and Starting Point
6.​2.​Concept and Artwork
6.​3.​Step 1:​Idea to Visuals
 6.​4.​Step 2:​Composition and Structure
6.​4.​1.​Composition:​The Fog
6.​4.​2.​Composition:​Creating the Mountains
6.​4.​3.​Structure:​Creating the Particles
6.​5.​Step 3:​Refinement and Depth
6.​5.​1.​Refinement:​Reshaping the Particles
6.​5.​2.​Depth:​Adding Interaction
6.​6.​Step 4:​Completion and Production
6.​6.​1.​Completion:​Installation in Space
6.​6.​2.​Production in Print
6.​7.​Summary
Chapter 7:​Flow Fields and Particle Storms with p5.​js
7.​1.​Getting Started with p5.​js
7.​1.​1.​Structure of p5.​js Sketches
7.​1.​2.​From Processing to p5.​js
7.​1.​3.​Fine-Tuning the Presentation
7.​1.​4.​How to Spot Errors?​
7.​1.​5.​Making Your Work Publically Accessible
7.​2.​Generative Art on the Web
7.​2.​1.​Flow Fields
7.​2.​2.​From Flow Field to Particle Flow
7.​2.​3.​From Particle Flow to Dotted Particle Traces
7.​2.​4.​Giving Particle Traces Different Colors and Shapes
7.​2.​5.​Painting Particle Traces As a Whole
Chapter 8:​Making Sense of Touch and Sensors with p5.​js
 8.​1.​Preparing for Mobile Browsers, Accidental Interaction, and
Device Orientation
8.​1.​1.​Preventing Accidental Interactions
8.​1.​2.​Device Orientation
8.​1.​3.​Grid-Based Example Case
8.​2.​Touch and Multi-touch
8.​2.​1.​Working with Multiple Touches
8.​2.​2.​Multi-touch Interaction
8.​3.​Working with Device Sensors
8.​3.​1.​Activating Sensors
8.​3.​2.​Working with Device Rotation
8.​3.​3.​Working with Device Acceleration
Chapter 9:​Dealing with Problems
9.​1.​Helping Yourself
9.​1.​1.​Error Messages or Nothing Happens
9.​1.​2.​Working with Copy–Paste
9.​1.​3.​Reference Documentation
9.​1.​4.​Searching for Symptoms
9.​2.​Getting Help from Others
9.​2.​1.​Finding Help
9.​2.​2.​Asking the Right Questions Right
9.​2.​3.​Minimal Working Example
9.​3.​Working with Experts
9.​3.​1.​How Can Experts Help You?​
9.​3.​2.​How to Manage a Project with Experts?​
Chapter 10:​Learning Path
 10.​1.​Going Deeper
10.​1.​1.​Challenges to Pick
10.​1.​2.​Building Your Own Toolset
10.​1.​3.​Sharing Your Toolset with Others
10.​2.​Different Technologies
10.​2.​1.​Enhancing Processing and p5.​js
10.​2.​2.​Assessing Feasibility
10.​2.​3.​Moving Away from Processing and p5.​js
Chapter 11:​Creative Processes
11.​1.​Two Types of Ideation
11.​1.​1.​Concept-Based Ideation
11.​1.​2.​Material-Based Ideation
11.​2.​Using Abstraction Layers
11.​2.​1.​First Loop:​Behavior to Output
11.​2.​2.​Second Loop:​Adding Data
11.​2.​3.​Third Loop:​Adding Input and Interaction
11.​2.​4.​Fourth Loop:​Adding a Backstage
11.​2.​5.​Creative Processes with Layers
Conclusion
Epilogue
References
Index
About the Authors
Mathias Funk
is Associate Professor in the Future
Everyday group in the Department of
Industrial Design at the Eindhoven
University of Technology (TU/e). He has
a background in Computer Science and a
PhD in Electrical Engineering (from
Eindhoven University of Technology).
His research interests include data
design methodologies, data-enabled
design, systems for musical expression,
and design tools for data and AI. In the
past he has researched at ATR (Japan),
RWTH Aachen, Philips Consumer
Lifestyle and Philips Experience Design, Intel labs (Santa Clara),
National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, and National
Taiwan University. He is also the co-founder of UXsuite, a high-tech
spin-off from Eindhoven University of Technology. He has years of
experience in software architecture and design, building design tools,
and web technologies. As a teacher, he teaches various courses in the
Industrial Design curriculum about designing with data and
visualization approaches, systems design, and technologies for
connected products and systems. He is regularly invited to hold
international workshops, and as an active musician for years, he is very
interested in the intersection of music, art, and design in particular.

Yu Zhang
An artist by training, Yu Zhang finished her PhD in 2017 on the theory
and artistic practice of interactive technologies for public, large-scale
installations. She approaches visual art with mixed reality installations
and projections, sensor-based interactives, and computational arts. She
roots her artistic intent in the symbolism of Asian traditions and
transforms the artistic unpacking of drama and cultural signifiers into
experiences of interactivity and
connectivity that ultimately bridge
artistic expression and audience
experience. She uses systems design
toolkit to realize a complex multifaceted
experience playing with the
spatiotemporal context of the audience’s
interaction with the installations when
digital and physical converge. Starting
from interactivity, she constructs layers
of different connections between artist,
artwork, audience, and the environment
to express how far such connectivity can
impact and reshape the structure and relations of objects, space, and
time within a dynamic audience experience. Apart from her artistic
research and practice, Yu’s teaching experiences cover over 10 years
and a broad space including traditional classrooms and design-led
project-based learning activities.
About the Technical Reviewer
Dr. Bin Yu
is currently an Assistant Professor in
Digital Innovation at Nyenrode Business
University. He worked in Philips Design
from 2019 to 2022. Bin received his PhD
in Industrial Design (2018) from TU/e
and M.S. in Biomedical Engineering
(2012) from Northeastern University,
Shenyang, China. Dr. Bin Yu had rich
experience, from both academia and
industry, in digital product design, user
interface design, healthcare design, and
data visualization. He has published
more than 40 papers in top journals and
conferences. Besides, his work has been
invited to several design exhibitions, like Dutch Design Week, Milan
Design Week, New York Design Week, and Dubai Design Week.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to APress Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2024
M. Funk, Y. Zhang, Coding Art, Design Thinking
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-9780-3_1

1. Introduction
Mathias Funk1 and Yu Zhang1
(1) Eindhoven, The Netherlands

The art world is interwoven with technology and actually quite

innovative and playful. From cave paintings to the use of perspective,
novel colors, and lighting, to printing techniques and direct inclusion of
machines and code, there are examples of how art broke ground and
changed its shape forever. Already before the beginning of the twenty-
first century, artists used code and programmed machines to generate
art or even be part of it.
There are so many examples of technology in art. It is also
interesting to see the path of how it has grown in the past 70 years.
Famous examples are, for instance, of earlier pioneers in computer art
like Georg Nees, Michael Noll, Vera Molnár, and Frieder Nake who
brought the use of pseudo-randomness and algorithm about fractals
and recursion in code drawing. The more recent generation of artists
like Casey Reas, who is well known for developing the Processing
software, extend artistic ideas through the programming language.
Some artists like Jared Tarbell introduce real data into art creation and
connect the complexity with the data availability. It is remarkable that
for most of their works, computer artists open the source code to the
public, so we can learn from them.
In this book, we want to make the point that the use of modern
technology and machines in creative work does not contradict “creative
expression.” Instead, if used well, technology can help creatives take
steps in new directions, think of new ideas, and ultimately discover
their ideal form of expression.
 Why data and information in art? The use of data can connect
artworks to the human body, signals from outer space, or contemporary
societal issues, important events happening all over the world. With
data streams, creative works can become “alive.” As they represent data
in visual or auditory forms, they comment on what is happening in the
world; they provide an alternative frame to news and noteworthy. They
can react and even create their own data as a response.
Why is interaction interesting for creatives? Interaction in an
artwork opens a channel for communication with individual viewers or
an entire audience. Interaction can make a work more immersive and
let viewers engage in new ways with the artist’s ideas. Some might
want to engage with art emotionally; some others prefer a more
rational approach. The creative is in charge of defining and also limiting
interactivity – from fully open access to careful limitations that
preserve the overall aesthetics and message of the work. Interaction
can help create multifaceted artworks that show different views on the
world, or even allow for exploration of unknown territory.
Using computation and code can help a creative express ideas
independent of medium and channel – the work is foremost conceptual
and can be rendered in any form susceptible to the viewer. So, when we
express an artistic concept in the form of code or machine instructions,
we can direct the machine to produce its output in a number of ways:
print a rendered image on a postcard or t-shirt, project an animation
onto a building, or make an expressive interaction accessible from a
single screen or for a global audience on the Internet. By disconnecting
from physical matter, we create ephemeral art that might even change
hands and be changed by others.
Ultimately, technology transforms what it is applied to. We show
you how to do this with creativity.

1.1 Coding Art

What is “coding art” all about? The title is intentionally ambiguous,
ranging in meaning from how to code art to coding as creative
expression. Probably the message that resonates most with you is
somewhere in the middle.
 Tips We are curious what you think during or after reading and
working with this book. Please let us know on our website.1

In this book, “coding” simply means an action that translates meaning

from one language into another, for example, from a natural language
into a computer language. This translation, as any translation, implies a
change in who can and will interpret what we express in the new
language. It also implies thinking about how this interpretation might
work out toward a result. For natural languages, we empathize with
other people, how they think and act. For machines, we need something
called “computational thinking” [3, 6, 21].
Learning how to code is quite similar to learning how to speak
another language. Some people might follow a more theoretical
approach and learn vocabulary and grammar before attempting to
speak and converse. Some others start with a conversation and
gradually understand the structure of the language behind it.
Depending on the circumstances, any approach might work well.
For teaching how to code in a computer or programming language,
both approaches have been used in the past. There are very theoretical
ways to approach coding. They often come with a steep learning curve
and the full richness of what the language creators intend you to know
about it. And there are also ways to playfully get used to simple
examples that teach the basics before moving to more complicated
examples. In the context of creative work, we strongly feel that the
second approach, starting with the “conversation,” works far better.
However, we have seen in practice that the playful approach often hits a
limitation: how to make the step from toy examples to something that is
useful and also complex and intricate. This is hard and the reason why
we write this book.

1.2 Motivation
Every profession, every vocation, is about doing something difficult
with high quality, often using specific approaches or techniques. This
works for engineers, researchers, marketing, and doing business. For
creatives, the “difficult thing” is the invention of meaning and purpose
out of a large set of options, constraints, and relations. It is a very
human thing to create, which means we apply both our intuition and
our training and knowledge to a challenge. Creatives apply various
technologies in a creative process, and coding is a part of that. In this
book, the use of coding in creative work is based on the situation that
we try to construct meaning through understanding the logic and
structure of coding. We use coding as a creative tool rather than being
hardcore programmers or mere end users.

1.2.1 How to Talk with a “Machine”

Confronted with the particular but different characteristics of art,
design, and technology, we have seen creatives struggle with questions
about “how to start,” “how to continue,” and “how to end” while
working with code and coding practice. Like writing a book or essay, it
is difficult to code an idea in an individual context and condition, so that
a machine can produce something meaningful for us. Unlike writing,
the machine will respond swiftly to anything we feed it. It will never
complain about too much work and always accurately reflect what we
write in coded language. And when we get things wrong, make a
mistake, which happens more often than we are comfortable with, then
this is on us. The machine is a “stupid” thing, dull and rational.
Whatever creativity emerges is ours only. This book is essentially about
how to let the machine express and amplify our human creativity by
using precise instructions (“code”) and input (“data”).
For many creatives, the use of code in their projects brings new
challenges, beyond successfully completing a project. For example, an
unforeseen challenge is to let the work operate reliably for hours, days,
and weeks. With traditional “static” material, creative output eventually
turns into a stable form that rests in itself. Paper, photo, clay, concrete,
metal, video, or audio documentary are stable. There are established
ways to keep them safe and maintain their quality. If you want, you can
study this conservation craft as a university subject even.
Things are different for art or design based on code. Code always
needs a machine to run on, an environment to perform its function.
This essentially counteracts technological progress: there is always a
newer machine, a more modern operating system, a more powerful way
to program something. Any of these get in and code written for earlier
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
moment he saw an animal of that species, though he showed no
symptoms of preparing for any defence. Bruce never heard that he
had any voice. During the day he was inclined to sleep, but became
restless and exceedingly unquiet as night came on.
Bruce describes his Fennec as about ten inches long; the tail, five
inches and a quarter, near an inch of it on the tip, black; from the
point of the fore-shoulder to that of the fore-toe, two inches and
seven-eighths; from the occiput to the point of the nose, two inches
and a half. The ears were erect, and three inches and three-eighths
long, with a plait or fold at the bottom on the outside; the interior
borders of the ears were thickly covered with soft white hair, but the
middle part was bare, and of a pink or rose colour; the breadth of the
ears was one inch and one eighth, and the interior cavity very large.
The pupil of the eye was large and black; the iris, deep blue. It had
thick and strong whiskers; the nose was sharp at the tip, black and
polished. The upper jaw was projecting; the number of cutting teeth
in each jaw, six, those in the under jaw the smallest; canine teeth,
two in each jaw, long, large, and exceedingly pointed; the number of
molar teeth, four on each side, above and below. The legs were
small; feet very broad, with four toes, armed with crooked, black, and
sharp claws on each; those on the fore-feet more crooked and sharp
than those behind. The colour of the body was dirty white, bordering
on cream-colour; the hair on the belly rather whiter, softer and longer
than on the rest of the body. His look was sly and wily. Bruce adds
that the Fennec builds his nest on trees, and does not burrow in the
earth.
Illiger, in his generic description of Megalotis, states the number of
molar teeth on each side of the upper jaw to be six, but gives no
account of those in the lower; nor does it appear on what authority
he describes the teeth at all, or where he inspected his type. In other
respects, his description agrees pretty closely with that given by
Bruce.
Sparman[82] took the Fennec to be of the species he has called
Zerda, a little animal found in the sands of Cambeda, near the Cape
of Good Hope; and Pennant and Gmelin have called Bruce’s animal,
after Sparman, Canis cerdo; Brander considered it as a species of
fox; Blumenbach rather as belonging to the Viverræ. Illiger quotes
Lacépède as having made a distinct genus of it, Fennecus[83], and
has himself placed it as one, under the name of Megalotis, in the
order Falculata, in the same family with, and immediately preceding
the genera Canis and Hyena.
M. Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, assuming Bruce’s account to be
imperfect and inaccurate, supposes that the Fennec is neither more
nor less than a Galago; but M. Desmarest differs from him in opinion,
and places it in a situation analogous to that assigned it by Illiger, at
the end of the Digitigrades, in the order Carnassiers. Cuvier merely
takes the following short notice of this animal in a note, “Le Fennec
de Bruce que Gmelin a nommé Canis cerdo, et Illiger Megalotis, est
trop peu connu pour pouvoir être classé. C’est un petit animal
d’Afrique, dont les oreilles égalent presque le corps en grandeur, et
qui grimpe aux arbres, mais on n’en a descrit ni les dents ni les
doigts.” (Reg. Anim. I. 151. note). This eminent zoologist appears
from the above to hold our countryman’s veracity, or at least his
accuracy of observation, and fidelity of description, in the same low
estimation as M. Geoffroy Saint Hilaire; or he would hardly have
talked of the ears of the Fennec being nearly as large as its body[84],
or have asserted that neither the teeth nor toes have been
described. But the illustrious foreigners of whom we have, in no
offensive tone we hope, just spoken, are not the only persons who
have hesitated to place implicit confidence in all that Bruce has given
to the world: his own countrymen have shown at least an equal
disposition to set him down as a dealer in the marvellous. Time,
however, and better experience, are gradually doing the Abyssinian
traveller that justice which his cotemporaries were but too ready to
deny him.
M. Desmarest considers all the characters which Bruce has given
of the Fennec as correct, “not conceiving it possible, that he could
have assumed the far too severe tone he adopted in speaking of
Sparman and Brander, if he had not been perfectly sure of his facts.”
Mr. Griffith has given the figures of two animals, both, as he
conceives, belonging to this genus; one of them came from the Cape
of Good Hope, and is now in the Museum at Paris; it is named by
Cuvier Canis megalotis, and is described by Desmarest in his
Mammalogie, (Ency. Meth. Supp. p. 538): Major Smith has called it
Megalotis Lalandii, to distinguish it from Bruce’s Fennec. The other
animal is from the interior of Nubia, and is preserved in the Museum
at Frankfort. Both the figures are from the accurate and spirited
pencil of Major Hamilton Smith. The first animal is as large as the
common fox, and decidedly different from Bruce’s Fennec; the
second, Major Smith considers to be Bruce’s animal.
In the fifth volume of the Bulletin des Sciences, sect. 2. p. 262., is
an extract from a memoir of M. Leuckart, (Isis, 2 Cahier, 1825), on
the Canis cerdo, or Zerda of naturalists, in which it is stated that M.
M. Temminck and Leuckart saw the animal in the Frankfort Museum,
which had been previously drawn by Major Smith, and recognized it
for the true Zerda; and the former gentleman, in the prospectus of
his Monographies de Mammalogie, announced it as belonging to the
genus Canis, and not to that of Galago. M. Leuckart coincides in
opinion with M. Temminck, and conceives that the genus Megalotis,
or Fennecus, must be suppressed, “the animal very obviously
belonging to the genus Canis, and even to the subgenus Vulpes.” He
adds, “that it most resembles the C. corsac; the number of teeth and
their form are precisely the same as those of the fox, which it also
greatly resembles in its feet, number of toes, and form of tail. The
principal difference between the fox and the Zerda consists in the
great length of the ears of the latter and its very small size.”
The singular controversy, not even yet decided, that has arisen
respecting this little animal, has induced us to preface our
description of the individual before us, by this sketch of its history.

6—6 1—1
Fennecus. Dentium formula.—Dentes primores 6—6, laniarii 1—1
6—6
, molares 7—7?

F. supra rufescenti-albus, subtus pallidior; maculâ suboculari rufâ;

caudæ maculâ sub-basali nigrescenti-brunneâ, apice nigro.
 Dimensions. Inches.
Length of the head from the extremity of the nose to the
occiput, 3⅜
Breadth between the eyes, 0⅞
Length of ears, 3⅛
Breadth of do. at the widest part, 2
Breadth of the cranium between the ears, 1⅝
Length from the occiput to the insertion of the tail, 9½
Tail, 6
[85]Height
before, from the ground to the top of the back,
above the shoulder, 6⅝
[85]Heightbehind, to the top of the back above the loins, 7½
Breadth of the extremity of the nose, 0⁵⁄₁₆
Length of the middle claws of the fore feet, 0⁷⁄₁₆
Exterior do. do. 0½
Middle and exterior claws of the hind feet, 0½
The general colour is white, slightly inclining to straw-yellow;
above, from the occiput to the insertion of the tail it is light rufous
brown, delicately pencilled with fine black lines, from thinly scattered
hairs tipped with black; the exterior of the thighs is lighter rufous
brown; the chin, throat, belly, and interior of the thighs and legs are
white, or cream colour. The nose is pointed, and black at the
extremity; above, it is covered with very short, whitish hair inclining to
rufous, with a small irregular rufous spot on each side beneath the
eyes; the whiskers are black, rather short and scanty; the back of the
head is pale rufous brown. The ears are very large, erect, and
pointed, and covered externally with short, pale, rufous-brown hair;
internally, they are thickly fringed on the margins with long greyish-
white hairs, especially in front; the rest of the ears, internally, is bare;
externally, they are folded or plaited at the base. The tail is very full,
cylindrical, of a rufous-brown colour, and pencilled with fine black
lines like the back; its colour is rather deeper above than on the
under part, and there is a small dark brown spot, at about an inch
below its insertion on the upper side; the ends of the hairs at the
extremity of the tail are black, forming a black tip about three
quarters of an inch long. The anterior feet are pentadactylous, the
posterior tetradactylous, and both are covered to the claws with
moderately long whitish hairs, slightly inclining to straw-yellow; the
claws are of a yellowish-white, or light horn-colour, moderately
hooked, very much compressed, and very sharp; those on the hinder
toes are most compressed, longest, and least arched. The fur is very
soft and fine; that on the back, from the forehead to the insertion of
the tail, as well as that on the upper part of the shoulder before, and
nearly the whole of the hinder thigh, is formed of tri-coloured hairs,
the base of which is of a dark lead colour, the middle white, and the
extremity light rufous brown.
The teeth of our animal are much worn, apparently by age; the
incisors in the upper jaw are nearly even, the second pair rather
broader than the rest; of those in the lower jaw, the outer pair are
considerably the largest.
The imperfect state of the teeth, and the difficulty of examining
them accurately without having the skull detached, forbids us to be
confident as to the number of grinders in either jaw. From the most
careful inspection, however, that we could make in the actual state of
the specimen, we are inclined to believe that the system of dentition
closely, if not exactly, resembles that of the dog. In the present state
of uncertainty, whilst opinions of the highest authority are so
discordant as to the genus to which this animal should be referred,
we do not feel ourselves at liberty to disturb the arrangement
adopted by Lacépède, Illiger, and Desmarest, but leave the ultimate
decision of the question to future naturalists, who may possess more
unequivocal data for its solution. One thing, indeed, is pretty obvious,
namely, that if Major Denham’s animal be not the identical species
described by Bruce, it certainly belongs to the same genus; for as it
does not appear that Bruce himself ever possessed a detached skull
of the Fennec, it is very easy to imagine that he could not accurately
ascertain the number of molar teeth in the head of a living animal of
such vivacity and quickness, and which was so impatient of being
handled, that he could not obtain a correct measurement of its ears,
or even count the number of paps on its belly. With such an animal it
is not unlikely, moreover, that the two last tubercular grinders should
escape the notice of any one attempting to examine the mouth under
circumstances so disadvantageous, those teeth being in some
measure concealed by the large projecting carnivorous tooth
immediately before them. That it cannot be a Galago, as M. Geoffroy
Saint Hilaire imagines, is sufficiently evident; and M. Desmarest has
given no less than six distinct, and, we think, conclusive reasons
against that opinion, through which, however, we must not follow him
at present. The subject has already grown under our hands to a far
greater bulk than we intended, and we conclude it by taking leave to
question the validity of M. Geoffroy Saint Hilaire’s argument
respecting the general veracity of Mr. Bruce, and consequently to
enter our protest against his Fennec being classed with the
Quadrumana.
We retain, provisionally, the generic name of Fennecus, first
proposed by Lacépède, and the specific one of Cerdo, adopted by
Gmelin; but should the animal ultimately prove to be a different
species from Canis cerdo, M. Desmarest’s specific appellation of
Brucii may with propriety be assigned to it.

Genus. Ryzæna. Ill.

Species 2.—Ryzæna tetradactyla.

Viverra tetradactyla. Gmel. I. 85.

Suricate. Buff. xiii. t. 8.
This animal was found on the banks of the rivers in the
neighbourhood of Lake Tchad.

Tribus. Plantigrades. Cuv.

Genus. Gulo. Storr.

Species 3.—Gulo capensis.

 Gulo Capensis. Desm. Mamm. p. 176.
Viverra mellivora. Gmel. I. 91.
Ratel. Sparman.
Ratel weesel. Penn. Quad. II. 66.
The natives, from whom Major Denham had all the following
particulars, informed him, that during the rutting season the Ratel is
very fierce, not hesitating to attack a man. Each male has two or
three females, whom he scarcely suffers to be a moment out of his
sight; if either of them escape his jealous vigilance, and leave him for
a short time, she is sure to receive severe chastisement at her
return. This animal is very easily killed; a single blow on the nose,
which seems peculiarly sensible of the slightest injury, instantly
despatches him.

Ordo. Quadrumanes. Cuv.

Genus. Cercopithecus. Briss.

Species 4.—Cercopithecus ruber.

Cercopithecus ruber. Geoff. Ann. du Mus. xix. 96.

Simia rubra. Gmel. I. 34.
Le Patas. Buff. xiv. pl. 25 and 26.
Red Monkey. Penn. Quad. I. 208.

Ordo. Ruminans. Cuv.

Genus. Camelopardalis. Gmel.

Species 5.—Camelopardalis Giraffa.

Camelopardalis Giraffa. Gmel. I. 181.

Cervus Camelopardalis. Linn. I. 92.
Giraffe. Buff. XIII. p. 1.
Camelopard. Penn. Quad. I. 65.
 The Giraffes were found on the south-eastern side of Lake Tchad,
generally in parties of from two to five or six. They are tolerably
numerous, but not very common. The motion of these animals is not
elegant; their pace is a short canter, in which they seem to drag their
hind legs after them, in an awkward fashion: their speed, however, is
such as to keep a horse at a pretty smart gallop. The skin brought
home by Major Denham is that of a young animal, not above a year
and a half or two years old; the colours are very much lighter than on
the skin of an adult animal. In its wild state, the Giraffe carries its
head remarkably erect; a character which, Major Denham remarks,
is not faithfully preserved in any figure he has seen of this animal.

Genus. Antilope. Pall.

Species 6.—Antilope Senegalensis.

Antilope Senegalensis. Desm. Mamm. p. 457.

Le Koba. Buff. xii. pl. 32. f. 2.
Senegal Antelope. Penn. Quad. I. 103.
Only the head and horns of this animal were brought home by
Major Denham; it was found on the plains of central Africa. The
natives call this species Korrigum.

Species 7—Antilope bezoartica.

Antilope gazella. Gmel. I. 190.

Capra bezoartica. Linn. I. 96.
Algazelle. Buff. xii. pl. 33. f. 1, 2.
Algazel Antelope. Penn. Quad. I. 77.
Linnæus’s description of Capra bezoartica speaks of the horns as
being “entirely annulated;” but Brisson, to whom Linnæus refers,
says they are annulated nearly to the end. In our specimens, a
considerable extent from the apex is without the rings. This
difference may probably arise from age. In other respects, the horns
before us perfectly answer the description of those of Linnæus’s
Capra bezoartica. M. Gmelin seems to have made some confusion
between the Capra Gazella and C. bezoartica of Linnæus. He has
changed the specific name of Gazella into that of oryx, and he has
made Linnæus’s bezoartica the Gazella of himself.
Only two horns of this species, and those apparently not fellows,
were sent home. This animal was found on the south side of the
River Shary, in central Africa.

Species 8.—Antilope cervicapra.

Antilope cervicapra. Pall.

Capra cervicapra. Linn. I. 96.
Antilope. Buff. xii. pl. 35 and 36.
Common Antelope. Penn. Quad. I. 89.
We have only the horns of this animal. Its African name is El
Buger Abiad, or the White Cow.

Genus. Bos. Linn.

Species 9.—Bos taurus.

Bos taurus. Linn. t. I. 98.

Major Denham brought home a pair of horns of enormous size,
belonging evidently, from their form, texture, and mode of insertion,
to a variety of the common Ox, of which he states that two kinds
exist in central Africa, one with a hump before, and very small horns;
the other altogether of a larger size, also with a hump, and immense
horns.
The circumference of one of the horns before us, at the largest
part near the base, is twenty-three inches and a quarter; its length,
following the line of curvature, three feet, six inches and a half. It has
two curves; and weighs six pounds and seven ounces. Internally it is
extremely cellular, or rather cavernous.
 Species 10.—Bos bubalis.

Bos bubalis. Linn. I. 99.

Le Buffle. Buff. xi. pl. 25.
Buffalo. Penn. Quad. I. 28.
We possess the head, with the horns. The name by which the
native Africans call this animal is Zamouse.

Ordo. Pachydermes. Cuv.

Genus. Rhinoceros. Linn.

Species 11.—Rhinoceros bicornis.

Rhinoceros bicornis. Gmel. I. 57.

Rhinoceros unicornis. var. β. bicornis. Linn. I. 104.
Rhinoceros Africanus. Cuv.
Rhinoceros d’Afrique. Buff. Supp. vi. pl. 6.
Two-horned Rhinoceros. Penn. Quad. i. 150. pl. 29.
Here again we have the horns only. The local name of this animal
is Gargatan.

Ordo. Rongeurs. Cuv.

Genus. Sciurus. Linn.

Species 12.—Sciurus Dschinschicus.

Sciurus Dschinschicus. Gmel. I. 151.

Sciurus albovittatus. Desm. Mamm. p. 338.
Our species agrees exactly with M. Desmarest’s account of his S.
albovittatus, except that the tail is rather more decidedly distich than
that of the individual he describes; but the dried state of the skin
before us prevents our ascertaining its form very minutely. M.
Desmarest refers to pl. 89 of Sonnerat’s Voyage, vol. ii. for a figure
of his Ecurieul de Gingi, which he quotes as a variety of this species;
on looking into Sonnerat, we do not find any figure at all of this
animal referred to by that author. Plate 89 is a figure of the Maquis à
Bourres.

Genus. Hystrix. Linn.

Species 13.—Hystrix cristata.

Hystrix cristata. Linn. I. 74.

Porc-épic. Buff. xii. pl. 51.
Crested Porcupine. Penn. Quad.

Classis. Aves. Auct.

Ordo. Raptores. Ill.
Fam. Vulturidæ. Vigors. in Linn. Trans.
Genus. Vultur. Auct.

Species 1.—Vultur fulvus.

Vultur fulvus. Briss. I. 462, sp. 7.

Gyps vulgaris. Sav. Ois. d’Egypte.
Le Percnoptere. Pl. Enl. 426.
Vautour Griffon. Temm. Manuel d’Orn. p. 5.
Alpine Vulture. Var. B. Lath. Gen. Hist. I. p. 17.
This species was observed by Major Denham in the
neighbourhood of all the large towns through which he passed. It
was attracted by the offal, and refuse of every description, which the
inhabitants were accustomed to throw out for its use. For the
services which these birds thus performed, they met with protection
in return from the natives, who did not permit them to be destroyed.
 Fam. Falconidæ. Leach.
Subfam. Accipitrina. V. in Linn. Trans.
Genus. Astur. Auct.

Species 2.—Astur musicus.

Falco musicus. Daud. Orn. II. 116, sp. lxxxviii.

Le Faucon chanteur. Le Vaill. Ois. d’Afr. I. 117, pl. 27.
Chanting Falcon. Lath. Gen. Hist. I. p. 178.
This beautiful Hawk was met with occasionally in most parts of
central Africa, but not in any abundance. It was the only species of
the family which the officers of the expedition were enabled to
preserve and bring home.

Ordo. Insessores. V. in Linn. Trans.

Tribus. Fissirostres. Cuv.
Fam. Todidæ. V. in Linn. Trans.
Genus. Eurystomus. Vieill.

Species 3.—Eurystomus Madagascariensis.

Coracias Madagascariensis. Gmel. I. 379.

Le Rolle de Madagascar. Pl. Enl. 501.
Madagascar Roller. Lath. Gen. Hist. III. p. 79.

Fam. Halcyonidæ. V. in Linn. Trans.

Genus. Halcyon. Swains.

Species 4.—Halcyon erythrogaster.

 Alcedo erythrogaster. Temm.
Alcedo Senegalensis, var. γ. Lath. Ind. Orn. 249.
Martin Pecheur du Senegal. Pl. Enl. 356, fig. inf.
The birds of this species were met with in abundance in those
situations near rivers which form the usual resort of the species of
this family. They were more particularly observed in the tamarind
trees.

Tribus. Conirostres. Cuv

Fam. Corvidæ. Leach.
Genus. Coracias. Linn.

Species 5.—Coracias Senegalensis.

Coracias Senegalensis. Gmel. I. 379.

Rollier du Senegal. Pl. Enl. 326.
Swallow-tailed Indian Roller. Edw. t. 327.
Senegal Roller. Lath. Gen. Hist. III. p. 75.
These splendid Rollers were very abundant in the thick
underwoods throughout central Africa.

Tribus. Scansores. Auct.

Fam. Psittacidæ. Leach.
Genus. Psittacus. Auct.

Species 6.—Psittacus erythacus.

Psittacus erythacus. Linn. i. 144.

Perroquet cendrée de Guinée. Pl. Enl. 311.
Ash-coloured Parrot. Alb. i. t. 12.
Several specimens of this species were brought over alive to this
country, which are now honoured with a place in His Majesty’s
collection.

Genus. Palæornis. V. in Zool. Journ.

Species 7—Palæornis torquatus.

Palæornis torquatus. V. in Zool. Journ. vol. II. p. 50.

Psittaca torquata. Briss. IV. 323.
La perruche à collier. Pl. Enl. 551.
Perruche à collier rose. Le Vaill. Hist. des Perr. pl. 22, 23.
This species, whose chief habitat is said to be in India, which is
the main resort of the group to which it belongs, appears to have a
very wide geographical distribution. It has been found on the coast of
Senegal, as well as by the officers of the present expedition in
central Africa. The specimen before us is very much mutilated, but
enough of the bird remains to enable us to identify the species.

Ordo. Rasores. Ill.

Fam. Tetraonidæ. Leach.
Genus. Pterocles. Temm.

Species 8.—Pterocles exustus.

Pterocles exustus. Temm. Pl. Col. ♂ 354. ♀ 360.

These birds were found in great numbers in the neighbourhood of
Bornou. They frequented the low sand hills which were scantily
covered with shrubs. Like most of the family, they were found to be
excellent eating.

Genus. Francolinus. Steph.

Species 9.—Francolinus Clappertoni.

 Franc. supra brunneus fulvo-variegatus; subtus fulvo-albidus,
maculis longitudinalibus brunneis aspersus; strigâ superciliari
subocularique, gulâ, genisque albis, his brunneo-lineatis.
Pileus brunneus, ad frontem nigrescens. Striga nigra interrupta
extendit a rictu ad genas. Genarum plumæ, anteriores lineis
gracilibus, posteriores maculis ovalibus brunneis in medio notatæ.
Colli, pectoris, abdominisque plumæ in medio brunneæ marginibus
fulvo-albidis, rhachibus pallidis. Dorsi superioris, scapularium,
tectricumque plumæ pallido-fulvo marginatæ partimque fasciatæ.
Dorsi inferioris uropygiique plumæ pallidè brunneæ in medio fusco-
brunneo leviter notatæ. Remiges exteriores pogonio externo ad
basin fulvo-fasciato, pogonio interno ad basin brunneo, versus
apicem rufo-fulvo; interiores utrinque fulvo-fasciatæ. Ptila inferiora in
medio brunnea, fulvo ad margines notata. Pteromata inferiora in
medio fusca, marginibus fulvis. Femorum plumæ fulvæ in medio
brunneæ. Rectrices brunneæ fasciis plurimis fulvis undulatæ.
Rostrum superné nigrum, infra ad basin rubro tinctum. Pedes, ad
frontem nigri, poné rubescentes: tarsis bicalcaratis, calcare superiore
obtuso, inferiore acuto. Longitudo corporis, 14 unc.; alæ a carpo ad
remigem 5tam, 7⅕; caudæ, 3⅘; rostri, 1¹⁄₂₈; tarsi, 2³⁄₁₀.
This species of Francolin, which appears to us to be hitherto
undescribed, was met with in tolerable abundance. It frequented
sand hills, covered with low shrubs; and was very difficult to be
procured in consequence of the great speed with which it ran. We
have named the species after Captain Clapperton, R. N. the intrepid
and intelligent companion of Major Denham.

Fam. Struthionidæ. V. in Linn. Trans.

Genus. Struthio. Auct.

Species 10.—Struthio camelus.

 Struthio camelus. Linn. I. 265.
L’Autruche. Pl. Enl. 457. ♀
The Black Ostrich. Brown’s Illust. of Zool. pl. 16.
Major Denham succeeded in bringing alive to this country four of
these noble birds, which are at present in His Majesty’s menagerie at
Windsor.

Genus. Otis. Linn.

Species 11.—Otis Denhami.

O. fusco-brunneo et pallido-fulvo undulatim punctulata, capite
brunnescenti-nigro, superciliis genis gulâque albidis, collo rufo,
pectore cinereo; pteromatibus remigibus rectricibusque nigris, istis
albo-maculatis, his albo-fasciatis; corpore subtus rufescenti-albo.
Capitis pileus parsque superior nuchæ brunnescenti-nigri.
Regionis auricularis plumæ elongatæ, decompositæ, cinerascenti-
albæ. Colli inferioris plumæ frontales elongatæ. Dorsi, uropygii,
scapularium, ptilorumque plumæ fusco-brunneæ, pallido-fusco
undulatim punctulatæ. Pteromata nigra maculis albis grandibus
irregulariter notata. Tectrices inferiores albæ ad marginem alarum
fusco-variegatæ. Rectrices nigræ; duæ exteriores pogonio interno
fasciis duabus albis, externo tribus, notatæ; cæteræ tribus fasciis
ejusdem coloris utrinque notatæ, fasciâ sub-apicali nigro sparsâ:
duæ mediæ ad apicem fusco-brunneæ, pallido-fusco undulatim
punctulatæ. Irides flavæ. Rostrum corneum. Pedes nigri. Longitudo
corporis, 3 ped. 9 unc.; caudæ, 1 pes, 4 unc.; rostri, ad frontem, 3¾
unc., ad rictum, 4½ unc.; tarsi, 7 unc.; digiti medii, ungue incluso, 2¾
unc.; exterioris, 1⁷⁄₀ unc.

African Bustard? Lath. Gen. Hist. Vol. VIII. p. 361.

We have hitherto seen no description that exactly accords with
the bird before us. The African Bustard described by Dr. Latham, in
the second edition of his “Synopsis,” lately published under the title
of “A General History of Birds,” appears to be the most allied to it.
But the head of that bird is described as being bare; and such a
marked difference prevents us from referring our bird to that species,
with which it generally agrees in other points, without some note of
doubt. Our specimen is unfortunately very defective: in the quill
feathers, and fore parts of the neck, more particularly. These latter
are described by Major Denham as singularly beautiful, being
elongated and swelling out into a kind of ruff. We are happy to have
the opportunity of distinguishing this bird by the name of the
enterprising traveller to whose zeal we are indebted for the species
itself, and many other valuable acquisitions to science.
This species was met with, in the rainy season, near the larger
towns, but not in any great abundance. It frequented moist places,
where the herbage was pure and fresh. In such places it was taken
in snares by the natives, who used it for food. It was almost
invariably met with singly, Major Denham never having observed a
pair together more than once. It is singular, also, that it was always
found in company with Gazelles whenever a Bustard was observed,
it was certain that the Gazelles were not far distant. Major Denham
describes the eye of this bird as large and brilliant. In like manner as
is recorded of the Gazelle, with which this bird seems to have so
close a sympathy, the Arabs are accustomed to compare the eyes of
their most beautiful women to those of the Oubara[86].

Ordo. Grallatores. Ill.

Fam. Gruidæ. V. in Linn. Trans.
Genus. Balearica. Briss.

Species 12. Balearica pavonina.

 Ardea pavonina. Linn. I. 233.
Balearica. Briss. v. 511.
Oiseau royal. ♀ Id. Ib. pl. 41.
L’oiseau royal. ♂ Pl. Enl. 265.
Crowned African Crane. Edw. t. 192.
Crowned Heron. Lath. Gen. Hist. IX. p. 26.
These birds were found in the neighbourhood of the smaller lakes.
They were generally observed in flocks of six or eight. A single pair
was sometimes met with, but a single bird scarcely ever.

Genus. Platalea. Linn.

Species 13.—Platalea leucorodia.

Platalea leucorodia. Linn. I. 231.

La Spatule. Pl. Enl. 405.
Spatule blanche. Temm. Manuel d’Orn. p. 595.
White Spoonbill. Penn. Brit. Zool. App. t. 9.
These birds were found in the smaller lakes, and in grounds which
were overflowed. They were met with in tolerable plenty.

Fam. Ardeidæ. Leach.

Genus. Ardea. Auct.

Species 14.—Ardea Coromandelensis.

Ardea Coromandelensis. Steph, in Sharts Gen. Zool. XI. p. 577.

Ardea russata. Temm. Manuel d’Orn. p. 506.
Ardea affinis? Horsf. Linn. Trans. Vol. XIII. p. 189.
Ardea comata. var. β. Lath. Ind. Orn. 687.
Crabier de la côté de Coromandel. Pl. Enl. 910.
 This bird was shot in the neighbourhood of Alph, a town situated
in the middle of a swamp, described at page 233 of these travels.
They were seen in some abundance in that neighbourhood, and
were noticed by Major Denham as remarkable for their beauty and
gracefulness.

Species 15.—Ardea melanocephala.

Ard. cinerea; capite cristato, colli parte posteriore lateribusque,
regione interhumerali, remigibus, rectricibusque nigris, gulâ collique
parte anteriore albis.
Colli inferioris plumæ elongatæ cinerascentes. Dorsi pars anterior
inter humeros nigra, posterior saturatè cinerea. Ptila pallidè cinerea.
Tectrices inferiores albæ. Rostrum nigrum, mandibulâ inferiore
flavescente, apicem versus nigro marginatâ. Pedes nigri. Longitudo
corporis, 2 ped. 9 unc.; alæ, 15 unc.; rostri, 4; tarsi, 6.
We feel much hesitation in characterizing the bird before us as a
distinct species. In a family like the present, where there is so much
variation both in age and sex in the same species, it is almost
impossible to decide upon the identity or distinction of species,
unless by actual observation of the birds themselves in their native
haunts, and in their different ages and states of plumage. On the
whole, however, it is perhaps the most eligible plan to keep those
species separate which show evident marks of distinction; leaving it
to more accurate observation to ascertain whether they may be
identical with described species, and differing merely by age, sex, or
the variations of plumage according to the different seasons of the
year.
The bird before us might, at first sight, be supposed to be the
common Ardea cinerea, Linn. But that bird, as far as we have
observed, never possesses the entirely black head which
distinguishes the specimen before us; nor has it the black on the
hind part of the neck, nor on the back between the shoulders. The
younger bird of our common species has those parts cinereous
which are black in the adult: and the crest and lower feathers of the
neck are never so much elongated as in the old bird. The strength of
the black markings in Major Denham’s species, moreover, and the
developement of the crest, neck, and scapular feathers, prevent us
from concluding it to be an immature bird. If we allow it to be adult, it
is decidedly distinct from the adult of A. cinerea. We know no other
allied species to which we might consider it referable.
These birds were found in great abundance in all the lakes and
marshes throughout the route of our travellers. They were met with
in company with numberless other species of the family, specimens
of which our officers were prevented from preserving, or bringing
home, in consequence of the difficulties attending the expedition, to
which we have before alluded.

Genus. Scopus. Briss.

Species 16.—Scopus umbretta.

Scopus umbretta. Gmel. I. 618.

L’Ombrette du Senegal. Pl. Enl. 796.
The Umbre. Brown’s Illust. of Zool. pl. 35.
Tufted Umbre. Lath. Gen. Hist. Vol. IX. p. 23.
Major Denham informs us, that this bird was very rarely seen. The
few he observed were met with in the Mimosa trees.

Genus. Ibis. Lacep.

Species 17—Ibis Æthiopicus.

Tantalus Æthiopicus. Lath. Ind. Orn. 706.

Ibis religiosa. Cuv. Regne Anim. I. 483.
Abou Hannez. Bruce’s Trav. Append. pl. p. 172.
This bird, which is of exceeding interest as being one of the two
species of Ibis which were the objects of sacred worship among the
Egyptians, was met with by Major Denham on the west borders of