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THE
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Pees: OF AFRICA
COMPRISING ALL THE SPECIES WHICH OCCUR
IN THE
HTHIOPIAN REGION.
BY
G. E. SHELLEY, FZS, F.RGS., &.
(LATE GRENADIER GUARDS),
AUTHOR OF ‘‘A HANDBOOK TO THE BIRDS OF EGYPT,”
**4 MONOGRAPH OF THE SUN-BIRDS,’’ ETC.
LONDON :
PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR BY
R. H. PORTER, 7, PRINCES STREET, CAVENDISH SQUARE, W.
1905.
Ke 19 2bar
National Muses:
B9¢g,20%
fest
S Bid
CONTENTS.
PAGE | 382. Urobrachya zanzibarica PAGE
List oF Puates se 000 eopeaviis (Pl. xxx.) 64
305. Linurgus concolor 1 | 383. = pheenicea... sss) GO
Family II. Proceiwa 2} 384. a“ trayersii ... eae On
Subfamily I. Vipuinz 4 | 385. 3 mechowi ... cay 208
Genus I. Hypocurra See si 5 | 386. B bocagei_... fae lO
356. Hypochera chalybeata Be 6 | Genus V. PyroMELANA Be score thl)
357. % ultramarina 8 | 387. Pyromelana capensis ... son
358. x, funerea 10 | 388. approximans ... 79
359. + nigerrima... Sco el! 389. A xanthomelas ... 76
360. rf amauropteryx ... 12 | 390. f phoenicomera ... 78
Genus II. Vipua me a 29 le) |) sak Be; aurea... me ete
361. Vidua hypocherina ... Bop AE AGERE Fe afra ae Ace tell)
362. ,, serena ... ae soe 1) BBB ie ladoensis... Sosy Oe
Bho.) | orev ia «s. ahs so) Oe GREE 55 taha Soc wee» OF
364. ,, fischeri ... AAG Son eB BS a stricta... 580
365. ,, paradisea oe ee 20) <3965 wt diademata St 85
Genus III. Coniuspasser ... sen eR Wee 3 nigriventris mee et)
366. Coliuspasser progne ... ees.) || 898: 5 franciscana ao he
367. - delamerei ee ove (a0: Pr orix = Bs 0)
368. aa laticaudus eos! 400: ae sundeyalli eae 98
369. > ardens ... oo 40) 401 3 wertheri ... Pe LOL
370. is concolor ... vow 44) 402; . friederichseni ... 102
371. r eques... sso GY || OB Ms ansorgel ... coo, lO
372. - albonotatus pee 46) 404. 5 gierowi ... noe, KOS
373. 55 asymmetrurus ... 49 | 405. 5 flammiceps .. 104
374. x macrourus ... 49 |Genus VI. ANomanospPiza ... = 108
375. i macrocercus ... 52 | 406. Anomalospiza imberbis
376. 3 soror (Pl. xxix.) 53 (Pl xxx1.)= 208
377. 9$ psammocromius 53 | Genus VII. QuELEa ... a zee LO
378. *5 hartlaubi... ... 04 | 407. Quelea quelea ... st Sie ella
379. - jacksoni .., .. 65 | 408. ,, sthiopica _ 3. Wid
Genus IV. Uropracuya ... .. 09 | 409. ,, erythrops ner Soc, SASL
380. Urobrachya axillaris ... .. 60] 410. ,, cardinalis oe eis LD
381. >» » var. affinis 60 | Subfamily II. Esrrimpinm ... ... 120
Genus I. AmapINA
411. Amadina fasciata
412, a marginalis
413. 10 erythrocephala
Genus II. Paiweratrrus
414. Philetairus socius
415. 3 arnaudi
416. Ne dorsalis
417. 55 emini
418. 3; cabanisi
Genus III. Nigrrva .
419. Nigrita fusconota
420. ,, uropygialis
2 bicolor...
Lo beceieeeene Sh
AB ees canicapilla
424, diabolica
425. 5; emiliz ...
420. 5, schistacea
427, luteifrons
Genus IV. PADDA
428. Padda oryzivora
Genus V. Urotoncua
429. Uroloncha caniceps
430. Pr cantans
Genus VI. Orryaosprza :
ran Ortygospiza polyzona...
432, 5p atricollis ...
Genus VII. SprrmustEs
433. Spermestes fringilloides
434, Pa bicolor
435. ie poensis
436. Ae nigriceps ... an
437. + minor ...
438. e cucullatus
439, 5 scutatus ...
440. Fs nana
Genus VIIT. Nesocuaris
441. Nesocharis shelleyi
Genus IV. Cutoresrrinpa ..,
442. Chlorestrilda ansorgei..
443. 6 capistrats,
Genus X. Urmeinraus
444, Ureginthus granatinus
CONTENTS
PAGE
122
123
125
126
129
130
132
445. Ureginthus ianthinogaster
446,
ne angolensis
447, x cyanocephalus
448, ve bengalus ...
Genus XI. Esrrinpa...
449. Kstrilda astride.
450. i », Cavendishi
451. + », damarensis
452, 5 », Sancte-helenz...
453. op -lautavoye =
454, » occidentalis
455. a F sousee
456. » Yubriventris
457. » cinerea
458. », rufibarba
459. » Yhodopyga (PI. sai
460. » subflava wee
461. » Clarkei..
462. a melpoda,
463. » paludicola
464. », Yroseicrissa
465. », poliopareia
466. », Ochrogaster
467. », cerulescens
468. yy perreini F
469. - ,, thomensis ...
470. as » poliogastra ...
471. ee » Incana
472. », higricollis
473. » vinacea
474, Spe Lavage
475. 3) Kandtil...
476. » nonnula
477. » elizee
478. », atricapilla
479, » erythronota
480. », delamerei
481. charmosyna
Genus XII. Coccopyeia
482. Coccopygia dufresnei
483.
5p bocagei (PI. xxxiii. i)
484, 5 quartinea
485. 5 kilimensis
Genus , III. Hyparcos
rs
486. Hypargos margaritatus
490.
”
”
”
niveiguttatus
dybrowskii...
nitidulus
harterti
Genus XIV. LaGonostIcTa ... :
491. Lagonosticta cinereovinacea ...
492.
503.
Genus XY. PYTELIA...
”
melanogastra
polionota
rhodopareia
(Pl. xxxiv.)
congica ... se
jamesoni
rubricata
landane ...
senegala...
brunneiceps
rendalli ...
rufopicta
rhodopsis
CONTENTS
PAGE
240
240
242
242
244
245
246
247
249
250
251
252
254
255
256
258
260
262
264
264
504. Pytelia
513.
phcenicoptera...
“ emini
lineata...
hypogrammica
afra 2
citerior... :
» jessei ...
melba ...
ay Libilial
», soudanensis
Genus XVI. Cryprospiza
514. Cryptospiza salvadorii
515 5 reichenowi
516. rf australis ... a
517. - jacksoni (Pl. xxxv.)
518. 5 shelleyi ...
Genus XVII. PYRENESTES ...
519. Pyrenestes sanguineus
520. i coccineus ...
O21, 3 ostrinus
022. 5 minor
Ss
LIST OF PLATES—VOL. IV., PART I.
Plate XXIX., fig.
5 fig.
Plate XXX., _ fig.
fig.
Plate XXXI.
Plate XXXII, fig.
7 fig.
ii fig.
Plate XX XIII, fig.
As fig.
Plate XXXIV., fig.
5 fig.
Plate XXXYV., fig.
5 fig.
* fig.
So oe
WN pr bP wre
Pyromelana ladoensis )
Coliuspasser soror )
Urobrachya zanzibarica
e affinis, Cab.
Anomalospiza rendalli (Tristr.
Estrilda rhodopyga
J vinacea, ¢
”)? ” 2
Coccopygia bocagei, 3, 2
Lagonosticta cinereovinacea
Pytelia citerior
Pyrenestes minor
Cryptospiza jacksoni
)
|
3 rhodopareia
|
3; shelleyi
PAGE
280
LINURGUS CONCOLOR 1
Linurgus concolor.
Amblyospiza concolor, Bocage, Jorn. Lisb. 1888, pp. 229, 232 St.
Thomas Isl. ; Sharpe, Cat. B.M. xiii. p. 670 (1890); Shelley, B. Afr.
I. No. 458 (1896).
Neospiza concolor, Salvad. Acc. R. Se. Torino, 1903, p. 26; Bocage, Jorn.
Lisb. 1904, p. 80 St. Thomas Isl.; Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 278
(1904).
Adult. Very similar in colouring to L. rufibrunneus, but a much larger
bird. Entire plumage rufous brown, with ill-defined blackish centres to
the feathers of the forehead, crown, hind neck and mantle; wings and tail,
with the exception of the edges of the feathers, darker brown; under surface
of the quills silvery brown, slightly paler on the inner margins; under
wing-coverts rufous brown like the entire under parts. ‘‘Iris pale brown;
bill dusky brown, with the under mandible whitish; feet brown.’ Total
length 8 inches, culmen 0:90, wing 4°2, tail 1-9, tarsus 1:0. ¢g, 9.90. Rio
Quija (F. Newton).
The Great Brown Short-tailed Finch is confined to the
Island of St. Thomas.
The species was discovered by Mr. F. Newton, who informs
us that it is known to the natives of the island as the
**Enjolo.” On the east coast he procured two specimens at
the Rio Quija, which runs through the large forest at Ango-
lares, and he observed it on the west coast at St. Miguel.
I overlooked the affinities of this bird when I published my
third volume of the “ Birds of Africa,” presuming that it had
been rightly assigned to the genus Amblyospiza, where it
remained until Count Salvadori pointed out that it is a true
Finch, and proposed to make it the type of a new genus
Neospiza (Acc. R. Sc. Torino, 1903, p. 26).
This species appears to me not to be generically distinct
from Linurgus rufibrunneus, Gray, and Pheospiza thomensis,
Bocage, both of which I have referred to the genus Linurgus,
Reichenbach.
It comes into my key (B. Afr. III., p. 172): “a. Plumage
nearly uniform tawny brown, darker above than below.”
Add. a}. Larger, wing over 4 inches. concolor. b'. Wing under
3°5 inches, rufibrunneus and thomensis.
[October, 1904. zh
Section IN. FRINGILLAS (continued.)*
Family II. PLOCHIDA.
Bill strong and Finch-like, with the culmen extending back in a wedge
between the sides of the frontal feathers; edges of the mandibles smooth,
excepting in Pyrenestes. Nasal aperture rounded and impinged upon by
the frontal feathers. Wings of ten primaries, the first a bastard-primary.
Tail of twelve feathers, variable in form, and sometimes differ in the sexes
according to the season. Tarsi and toes moderately strong, and the claws
curved and sharply pointed.
The name of Weaver-bird has been given to the members of this family
on account of their peculiar habit of weaving together the materials with
which they construct their solid and often beautiful nests. When on reeds
or in trees they are often suspended in colonies, and the entrance passage
is frequently formed like a sleeve, varying from a few inches in length
up to about five feet. Others will construct in company a single substantial
roof for the protection of a whole colony.
The family is confined to the tropical portion of the Old
World. Some 250 species (more than two-thirds) inhabit the
Ethiopian region, and only about ten of these range beyond
its boundary.
The members of this family may be readily distinguished
from all the other Ethiopian Finches, not only by the well-
marked first primary being shorter than all the others, but
also by the bare culmen extending back so as to divide the
feathers of the forehead into two portions.
With regard to the English names, I have endeavoured to
make them useful by restricting certain ones to well-marked
divisions.
* Vol. IIL., p. 140.
2.
PLOCEIDA 3
The Viduinz include the Combasous (Hypochera), Whydahs
(Vidua, Coliuspasser and Urobrachya), Bishop-birds (Pyromelana
and Anomalospiza), and the Dioches (Quelea).
The Estrildine include the Ribbon Waxbills (Amadina),
Social Waxbills (Philetairus), Negro Finches (Nigrita), Silver-
bills (Uroloncha), Mannikins (Ortygospiza, Spermestes and Neso-
charis), Cordon-blues (Ureginthus), Waxbills (Hstrilda, Cocco-
pygia and Chlorestrilda), Twin-spots (Hypargus), Fire-finches
(Lagonosticta), Pytelias (Pytelia), Crimson-wings (Cryptospiza),
and the Notch-billed Waxbills (Pyrenestes).
The Ploceine include the Blue-billed Weavers (Spermo-
spiza), Grosbeak- Weavers (Amblyospiza), White-headed Weavers
(Dinemellia), Buftalo- Weavers (Tewtor), Sparrow Weavers
(Plocepasser), Anaplectes (Anaplectes), Malimbes (Malimbus),
Black Weavers (Melanopteryx), Dark-backed Weavers (Syco-
brotus), Black-winged Weavers (Heterhyphantes), Spectacled
Weavers (Hyphanturgus), Slender-billed Weavers (Sitagra),
Masked Weavers (Hyphantornis, Pachyphantes and Othyphantes),
Golden Weavers (Xanthophilus), and the Fodies (Foudia).
KEY TO THE SUBFAMILIES.
a. Bastard-primary very small, narrow and finely
pointed, not reaching beyond the end of the
primary coverts.
at. Mantle striped in some stages of plumage ;
hind claw longer and more slender ;
generally with some of the inner feathers
of the wing lanceolate; tail-feathers often
obtusely pointed. The plumage of the
males after the autumn moult usually
resembles that of the females; but after
the spring moult generally differs entirely Viduine.
4 VIDUINE
61. Mantle never striped; hind claw shorter
and stouter; none of the inner feathers of
the wing lanceolate; tail-feathers never
obtusely pointed. Plumage very similar
in both sexes at all times of the year . . Estrildine.
b. Bastard-primary larger, broader and not
sharply pointed; tail always square or
rounded “=r od Neer ee a) ee eee ace eEwoceniie:
Subfamily I. VIDUINA.
Bill stout, shorter than the head and varying in colour according to the
season. Wing with a bastard-primary which is very small, narrow and
sharply pointed. Young birds, females, and adult males after the autumn
moult have the tail square or rounded, and the plumage very Lark-like in
colouring ; the males for the breeding season (Quelea excepted) assume a
totally different and more beautiful plumage, and often the shape and size
of the tail greatly alter. The species mostly breed on or near the ground
in marshy places, and construct an oval, domed nest of grass.
The fifty-three known species of this subfamily are all
confined to Tropical and South Africa.
This subfamily is particularly subject to a law of Nature,
very little understood, by which its members are liable to vary
somewhat in colouring. For instance: to this law is due the
variation in the colour of the bill in members of the genus
Hypochera ; the presence or absence of black feathers on the
chin in Vidua serena ; the scarlet or pale yellow colouring of
the collar in Coliuspasser ardens ; the variable amount of
yellow on the flanks of Pyromelana ladoensis; the black on
the head and throat of Quelea quelea and Q. exthiopica, this
disappearing entirely in some specimens, when they assume the
plumage described as Q. russi.
These variations probably depend to some extent upon the
constitution of the individual bird being affected by the change
in the flora and insect fauna of the large area over which they
are distributed.
HYPOCHERA 5
KEY TO THE GENERA.
a. Adult male and female totally dissimilar in
their breeding plumage.
a1. In full plumaged males: back never mot-
tled; head, neck and breast not mostly
yellow. Bill less stout.
a?. No frill on the neck ; no bright red nor
yellow on the plumage.
. Tail entirely square; plumage black
with acoloured gloss . . . Hypochera.
6%. Four centre tail-feathers eeeemely
long in full plumaged males. Vidua.
62. A frill round the neck, and (with the
exception of C. concolor) some bright
red or yellow in the plumage.
c’. Tail longer than the wing and
graduated . . . . . « Coliuspasser.
d’, Tail shorter than the wing:
at, Tail distinctly rounded; full
plumaged males with the head,
neck, body and tail black; the
lesser a red, orange or
yellow ... Urobrachya.
b+. Tail nearly rasta “red o or mallow
not confined to the wings. Pyromelana.
b1. Back always mottled with blackish centres
to the feathers; head, neck and breast
mostly bright yellow in full eee
males; bill stouter . . Anomalospiza.
b. Adult male and female poutowtnt sation in
plumage at all seasons; back always striped Quelea.
Genus I HYPOCHERA.
Bill white or reddish, short, as broad as deep at the nostrils, the tip
pointed ; culmen curved, somewhat swollen and rounded. Nostrils basal,
the apertures round and almost entirely hidden by the frontal plumes.
Primaries: 1 very small, not longer than the culmen; 2, 3, 4 and 5
longest and nearly equal ; Shee quill falling short of tip of wing by
the length of the tarsus. Tail square, the inner pair of feathers slightly
the shortest (the latter character distinguishing it from all the other genera
6 HYPOCHERA CHALYBEATA
of this subfamily). Tarsi and feet reddish, moderate in size; claws fairly
long and curved.
Type.
Hypochera, Bp. Consp. i. p. 450 (1850) . . H. anh
The genus is confined to Tropical and South Africa, and
comprises five closely-allied forms. Of these, two inhabit
Northern Tropical Africa and may be readily distinguished
from the more southern forms by the blacker colouring of the
quills and tail, and of the under surface of the wings. The
longitude of Grand Basam (8° 30’ W. long.) forms apparently
the boundary between the ranges of H. chalybeata and H.
ultramarina.
The ranges of the three more southern forms are extremely
badly defined.
KEY TO THE SPECIES.
a. Wings and tail dark sepia brown; less white
on under surface of the wings.
a+. Gloss on head and body more blue, dis-
tinctly shaded with green . . chalybeata. 7
b1. Gloss on head and yas: more file ae
no green shade. . . ultramarina. — /-
b. Wings and tail paler nes: more ae on
the under surface of the wings.
ct. Gloss on head and body more violet, with
no greenish blue shade.
a, Gloss slightly brighter and more violet . funerea. p. to,
b?. Gloss slightly duller and blacker . . . migerrima. /
d+. Gloss on head and body of a more
greenish blue shade . . . . . . . . amauropteryx. |’
Hypochera chalybeata.
Fringilla chalybeata, P. L. S. Mill. S. N. Suppl. p. 166 (1776).
Hypochera chalybeata, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 213 (1904).
Fringilla nitens, Gm. 8S. N. ii. p. 909 (1788).
Hypochera nea, Hartl. J. f. O. 1854, p. 115 Senegambia; Sharpe,
Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 308 (1890); Butler, Foreign Finches in Captivity,
p. 274, pl. 47 (1894); Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 305 (1896).
Le Comba-Sou, Vieill. Ois. Chant. p. 44, pl. 21 (1805).
HYPOCHERA CHALYBEATA 7
Male in breeding plumage. Black strongly glossed with greenish blue ;
outer half of the median and greater coverts, quills and tail sepia brown
with some imperfect narrow buff edges to the primaries and centre tail-
feathers ; inner lining of the wing sepia brown with broad brownish buff
inner edges to the quills; axillaries and about half of the under wing-coverts
white ; flanks with a few somewhat hidden white feathers. ‘Iris brown;
bill and legs reddish” (Hartlaub). Total length 4-4 inches, culmen 0-39,
wing 2°45, tail 1:5, tarsus 0°55. Dakah (Laglaize).
Adult female. Upper parts brown, mottled with dark centres to the
feathers of the upper back, scapulars and lesser wing-coverts; remainder
of the wings and the tail dark brown, with very narrow pale edges to the
feathers; under wing-coverts white, shading into pale brown at the bend
of the wing; centre of crown brownish buff with the sides blackish brown ;
sides of head buff, shading into brown on the ear-coverts, the upper part
of which is darker and forms an ill-defined band; under parts light brown
fading into white on the centre of the breast, abdomen and under tail-coverts
“Tris brown, bill horny white, tarsi and feet rosy pink” (Butler). Wing 2°35.
Senegambia.
Adult male in winter. Very similar in plumage to the female.
The Green Combasou ranges from Senegal to Grand
Basam.
From Senegambia came the type of H. xnea which is in
the Bremen Museum, and in the British Museum there are
seven other specimens from that country, including one from
Dakar on Cape Verde and one from Sedhiu near Casamanse.
Mr. J. S. Budgett, while at the Gambia, found the species
common near Quinela. On Bulama, one of the islands of
the Bissagos group (11° 30’ N. lat.) Sig. Fea procured two
full plumaged specimens in July and three in half moult in
June and October.
According to Mr. A. G. Butler, these birds often retain the
breeding plumage for years in confinement; one of his did not
change it for five years, and then at the time when the others
were assuming the black plumage. They lay, he observes,
three to five eggs, obtusely pointed and pure white.
The most eastern range recorded for the species is Grand
Basam, where Arséne procured an immature specimen.
8 HYPOCHERA ULTRAMARINA
Hypochera ultramarina.
Fringilla ultramarina, Gm. 8. N. ii. p. 927 (1788) Abyssinia.
Hypochera ultramarina, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 309 (1890) ; Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 306 (1896) ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 218 (1904).
Differs from H. chalybeata only in the gloss on the plumage of the males
being violet shaded blue, with no green.
The Ultramarine Combasou ranges from the Gold Coast to
the Niger and eastward over Northern Tropical Africa to as
far north at 23° N. lat.
Hartlaub refers a specimen in the Bremen Museum from
the Gold Coast to this form, which can hardly be regarded as
more than a subspecies of H. chalybeata. In Togoland it
has been obtained by Mr. Biittner at Bismarckburg and by
Lieut. Thierry at Mangu. In the British Museum there are
specimens from Abeokuta and from Rabba on the Niger.
Dr. Hartert refers the specimen he procured at Loko to
H. ultramarina, and one obtained by Wilson at Yelwa, in the
Borgu province of Central Nigeria, he makes the type of a new
species, H. wilsoni. In Hquatorial Africa specimens have
been collected by Emin at Lado and Rimo ; the former
Dr. Hartert refers to H. ultramarina and the latter to
H. xnea. Mr. Oscar Neumann refers a specimen shot in
Uganda in May to H. purpurascens, and one from Kavirondo,
killed in February, to H. ultramarina. To this latter form
Dr. Bowdler Sharpe refers all Fischer's specimens, and those
obtained by Mr. Jackson at Kikumbuliu in December, and at
Njemps in July, which had the bill whitish horn colour and
the legs pink, and remarks that they agree with the series
in the British Museum from Abyssinia and the White Nile.
In Somaliland the genus has been met with by M. Revoil.
In Southern Abyssinia Lord Lovat shot a full plumaged male
at the Kassim River, January 18, 1899, and according to his
notes the bill and legs were pale coral. Quite black examples
HYPOCHERA ULTRAMARINA 9
of this bird were rare, only one or two being seen among large
flocks. Mr. Pease obtained a male in full plumage at Adis
Ababa, January 15. It had the bill pinkish white and the legs
orange red. In Shoa Dr. Ragazzi procured a male at Farré,
July 30, and two females at the Hawash River, August 7. The
male was of a glossy blue-black, with the bill pale flesh colour ;
the females had the bill red and the feet pale flesh colour.
Mr. A. L. Butler has kindly sent me from Khartoum two
males, both of which were breeding; one, shot April 16, is
in the complete glossy blue black plumage ; the other, on
November 8, is in the brown livery, with the exception of two
glossy black feathers, freshly assumed, and it shows no other
sign of moulting. ‘ These birds,” he writes, ‘‘ were sometimes
very tame, but less so than Lagonosticta brunneiceps, with which
they are frequently associated. They were abundant along the
White Nile from Khartoum to Kawa from August to March,
when they were in their full plumage. This leaves them only
four months to go through two complete moults, Do they
change after assuming the blue plumage once? I certainly saw
only brown birds at Gedaref in May, 1901, but both of those
I shot were hens.”
Ihave already mentioned the fact that cage-birds have been
known to retain the glossy black plumage for as many as five
consecutive years, so we may presume they do the same in the
wild state. There is another interesting point in Mr. Butler’s
observations : “ The young birds are apparently fit to breed
before they have assumed the black plumage for the first time.”
According to Heuglin, they are resident and abundant in
Nubia, frequenting the native villages in company with
Lagonosticta brunneiceps. They are lively little birds, which
enter the houses in search of food and water. The males moult
into their bright breeding plumage towards the commencement
of the rainy season. They prefer to frequent the clay huts
10 HYPOCHERA FUNEREA
of the Nubians to the straw-thatched houses of the Soudanese
and usually more than one pair live about the same farm-
building. The song is not remarkable and the call-note is a
very sharp harsh chirp. The nest, according to Brehm, is built
indifferently on trees or in the roofs of houses or holes in walls,
and much resembles that of our House-Sparrow, and is con-
structed of straw, rags, cotton, feathers and so on, lined with
hair and shreds. Occasionally they will take possession of a
deserted Swallow’s nest or a hole in a tree.
The eggs are three to five in a clutch, of a bluish white
colour, and measure 0°6 x 0:44,
Hypochera funerea.
Fringilla funerea, De Tarrag. Rev. Zool. 1847, p. 180 Natal.
Hypochera funerea, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii, p. 810 (1890); Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 309 (1896) ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 215 (1904).
Hypochera funerea purpurascens (non Reichen.) Neum. J. f. O. 1900,
p. 285 Uganda.
Hypochera wilsoni, Hartert Nov. Zool. 1901, pp. 342, 348, Velwa.
Similar to H. ultramarina, but differing in the quills and tail being of a
paler brown and in haying more white on the under surface of the wing; no
greenish blue gloss on the plumage.
The Mourning Combasou ranges from the Niger through
Central Africa to Natal.
In the British Museum there is a Specimen procured by Mr,
Robin at Abeokuta, which has been referred to this form, but
as it was along time in spirits, this determination may not
be correct, so I prefer to regard the type of H. wilsoni from
Yelwa in Central Nigeria as coming from the most northern
known range for this species. The genus Hypochera has not
been recorded from Western Africa between the N iger and the
Congo, nor to the south of Damaraland. The present species
is, however, generally distributed over Central Africa to as
far south as Natal and Zululand, Specimens having been
HYPOCHERA NIGERRIMA 11
collected at Bukoba (Stuhlmann), Kampala (Neumann),
Mamboio (Kirk), Karema (Bohm), Magnua (Fiilleborn), and at
many places in Nyasaland ; the type came from Natal, and the
Messrs. Woodwards obtained specimens at Eschowe in Zulu-
land.
From Nyasaland there is a good series in the British
Museum obtained at Zomba, Lake Shirwa, Dedza, Fort Lister,
Namiwawa and Malosa, in full plumage in April, July, Sep-
tember and December, and according to Mr. Alfred Sharpe
the bird is known to the natives as the ‘‘ Mlimba.”
Hypochera nigerrima.
Hypochera nigerrima, Sharpe, P. Z. S. 1871, p. 133 Galungo-alto ; id.
Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 811 (1890); Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 310 (1896) ;
Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 216 (1904).
Hypochera funerea nigerrima, Stark, Faun. 8. Afr. B. i. p. 154 (1900).
Hypochera purpurascens, Reichen. J. f. O. 1883, p. 221 Usegua, Lindt ;
Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 308 (1896).
Similar to H. funerea, but distinguished by the gloss on the full plumaged
males being duller and blacker.
The Black Combasou ranges from the Congo into the Lake
Ngami district and eastward to Lindi and the Usegua country.
This form has been procured at Kassongo (Bohndorff),
Galungo-alto (Hamilton), Kahata (Anchieta), Nukana, to the
north of Lake Ngami (Fleck), Mauser, on the Zambesi
(Alexander), Zomba and Fort Lister (Whyte), Undis (Fiille-
born), Lindi and Usegua (Fischer).
On the Zambesi as well as in Nyasaland and the Usegua
country both this form and H. funerea have been obtained, and
the ranges of both are comprised in that of H. amauwropterya,
which detracts somewhat from the specific value of the shade
of the gloss on the plumage, by which character only can they
be distinguished.
12 HYPOCHERA AMAUROPTERYX
Hypochera amauropteryx.
Hypochera amauropteryx, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 309 (1890) ; Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 311 (1896); Reichen. Vég. Afr, iii. p. 215.
Hypochera funerea amauropteryx, Stark, Faun. 8. Afr. B. i. p. 154
(1900).
Hypochera ultramarina orientalis, Reichen. Vég. D. O. Afr. p. 188 (1894)
Pare, Arusha, Nguruman, Karema, Kageyi, Bukoba.
Similar to H. funerea and H. nigerrima, but distinguished by the gloss on
the full plumaged males being of a greenish blue shade.
The Brown-winged Combasou ranges from the Congo
southward through Ondonga into the Transvaal and over
central and eastern South Tropical Africa.
On the western side of the continent it has been obtained
at Kossango (Bohndorff), Malandji in Angola (Schitt), Gambos
and Humpata (Kellen), Ondonga (Andersson).
The most southern range yet recorded for this form is the
Transvaal, where the type was obtained by Mr. Barratt at
Rustenburg, and from the same place a similar bird was pro-
cured on January 5 by Mr. W. Lucas, who notes: “Bill dark
pink, tarsi and feet yellowish.” Layard mentions the bill as
being red, and according to Stark all the South African forms
have the bill white and the feet red.
Besides the specimens already noticed, I have examined
one procured by Gueinzius at Mosambique, one of Bradshaw’s
from north of the Limpopo, two of Sir John Kirk’s from Tete,
and one from South Angoniland close to Nyasa Lake. Dr.
Reichenow gives the names of thirteen localities where it has
been procured in German Hast Africa, also Kikumbuliu and
Njemps (Jackson) and Kikuyu (Doherty) in our British
Protectorate.
In the Uniamwesi country Speke found them common in
the villages, feeding like Sparrows. At Kitui in Ukamba,
according to Hildebrandt, their native name is ‘“ Tchorelli.”
VIDUA 13
Genus II. VIDUA.
In the males only, a great change takes place by the spring moult, the
four centre tail-feathers becoming very much elongated, while the brown
mottled colouring is replaced by a more becoming unspotted plumage. Bill
often red, rather stout and shorter than the head; culmen curved; nasal
aperture rounded and covered by the frontal feathers. Primaries: 3, 4 and
5 the longest, 2 about equal to 6. Tail shorter than the wing and nearly
square, excepting in males in breeding plumage. Tarsi and feet fairly
slender, with the claws rather long and curved. The nestlings are uniform
brown.
Type.
Vidua, Cuy. Legons Anat. Comp. i. Tabl. 2 (1800) . V. serena.
Videstrelda, Lafresn. Rey. et Mag. Zool. 1850, p. 325 ? V. regia.
Steganura, Reichenb. Syst. Av. pl. 76, fig. 3 (1850) . V. paradisea.
Viduella, Reichenb. Singv. p. 59 (1863) . . . . . Vz. swperciliosa.
Tetrenura, Reichenb. t.c.p.61 . . . .. . . Vi regia.
Linura, Reichen. Orn. Centralbl. 1882, p. 91. . . V.z fischeri.
The five known species of this genus are confined to Tropi-
eal and South Africa. It is unnecessary to break up such a
well-marked genus into four, which can be done solely upon
the form of the elongated tail-feathers assumed by the males
for the courting season.
IT call the members of this genus Whydahs, they being as
well known by that name as by that of Widows, and the
former name has priority, having been used by Latham in
1783. Whydah is the name of a town on the coast of West
Africa in 2° H. long.
KEY TO THE SPECIES.
a. Four centre tail-feathers very much elongated Malesin breeding plumage.
a+, Bill red; elongated tail-feathers narrow.
a?, Elongated tail-feathers black.
a. Hlongated tail-feathers of moderate
breadth throughout their length.
a*, Entireplumageglossy greenish black hypocherina.
b+. Underparts white . . . . . . serena.
14 VIDUA HYPOCHERINA
b§. Hlongated tail-feathers very narrow ;
under parts buff. . . SP ee egies
b2. Hlongated tail-feathers buff igye fischeri. - 22
b+, Bill black; elongated tail-feathers ee
broad. . . : . paradisea, &. 25
b. Four centre tail- feathers a elweatede . . Males in winter, females
and young birds.
ct. Some black on sides of head; sides of
crown black.
c?. Centre of crown nearly white ; bill dusky
horn colour ; larger, wing about 3 inches paradisea. |» 2 —
d*. Centre of crown pale rufous; bill red ;
smaller, wing about 2°5.
c®. More white on under parts . . . . hypocherina.
d®, Less white on under parts . . . . serena.
d1, No black on sides of head.
e?. Upper parts strongly mottled . . . . Adults.
e%. Sides of crown mottled with brown . regia.
f3. Crown rufous shaded brown, streaked
on the hinder half with black . . . fischerv.
f2. Upper parts uniform brown or irregularly
MOtbled) Weyer yen) ne NeemOUngNOpaliepectes.
Vidua hypocherina.
Vidua hypocherina, J. H. Verr. Rev. et Mag. Zool. 1856, p. 260, pl. 16
Paris Mus.; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 208 (1890); Shelley, B.
Afr. I. No, 313 (1896); Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 216 (1904).
Vidua splendens, Reichen. Orn. Centralbl. 1879, p. 180; id. J. f. 0.1879,
p- 326 Kibaradja; Forbes, P. Z. S. 1880, p. 457, pl. 47, figs. 1, 3.
Male in breeding plumage. Head, neck, body and scapulars glossy
blue black, slightly shaded with green towards the upper tail-coverts; tail
with the four elongated feathers black glossed with green, and the remain-
ing feathers dark brown, with white edges, broadest on their inner webs;
wing dark brown, with broad, glossy, greenish blue edges to the inner
feathers, and narrow buff edges to the primaries; under wing-coverts and a
broad portion of the inner webs of the quills white. ‘Iris dusky brown;
bill and legs dusky ’’ (Hawker) ; ‘bill and feet bright coral red” (W. A.
Forbes). Total length 10-7 inches, culmen 0-35, wing 2°6, tail 8:5, tarsus
0:6. Ugogo (Kirk).
Adult female. Centre of crown rufous buff, flanked on each side by a
broad black band from the nostrils to the nape; a broad white eyebrow
shaded in front and behind with rufous buff like the cheeks and ear-coverts,
VIDUA HYPOCHERINA 15
the latter surmounted by a black band; hind neck, back and wings mottled
brownish black, with broad rufous buff edges to the feathers; edges of
some of the median coverts and very narrow pale edges to the primaries
white ; tail brownish black with white edges to the feathers; under surface
white washed with rufous buff on the sides of the crop and body, which
latter parts are slightly streaked with brown shaft-stripes. Iris brown, bill
and legs pale brown. Total length 4:2 inches, culmen 0°35, wing 2:0, tail
1:8, tarsus 0°55. Lamu (Jackson).
Adult male in winter. Similar in plumage to the female. Lamu (Jackson).
Immature. Differs in plumage from the adult female in being of a more
uniform sandy colour, with the dark markings of the head, neck and back
imperfectly developed. 9 3.12.97. Arabsiyo (Hawker).
The Splendid Black Whydah ranges from Ugogo into
Somaliland and South Abyssinia.
The most southern range known to me for this species is
Ugogo, a country due west of Zanzibar. Here Sir John Kirk
procured an adult and an immature bird which are now in the
British Museum, where there are also specimens from the plains
to the south of the Kilimanjaro Mountain, shot by Mr. H. C.
V. Hunter, and another one in full plumage obtained by Mr.
Jackson at Lake Jipe, September 27, 1885, out of a large
flock of the much commoner J. serena. At Ituru they have
been found by Mr. Werther. Fischer met with the species at
Nguruman near Lake Naiwasha, and procured the type of
V. splendens at Kibaradja on the Tana River in November. He
found these birds in flocks of from ten to thirty in company
with Lagonosticta brunneiceps and Vidua serena feeding on the
bare ground, where caravans had halted and left scattered corn
behind. In Somaliland Mr. Hawker saw these birds only
at Arabsiyo and Hargeisa; at the latter place they joined in
flocks with other Finches on the “ jowari” stubbles. The
most northern known range for this species is Marko, 9° 30’
N. lat. 41 H. long., where Mr. Pease obtained a hen bird in
December.
The species has not been recorded upon satisfactory
16 VIDUA SERENA
authority from west of 35° E. long. Rochebrune mentions
several localities for it in Senegambia, but no one else has
recorded it from that part of the continent. The types of
the species were given to the Paris Museum in 1852, by
Commandant Guislain, and although labelled in that Museum
as coming from Gaboon, M. Oustalet rightly doubts the
accuracy of the locality; and I may remark that the same
supposed Gaboon collection contained many other Hast African
forms, such as Passer castanopterus, &c.
The spring and autumn moults take place about March and
November, and the colour of the bill and legs also changes.
The specimen figured by Forbes was presented to the Zoo-
logical Gardens by Mr. Archibald Brown on July 17, 1878,
when it was in immature plumage. In that summer it assumed
the black dress, and was moulting in the following March when
it died.
Vidua serena.
Emberiza serena, Linn. 8. N. i. p. 312 (1766).
Vidua serena, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 217 (1904).
Emberiza vidua, Linn. S. N. i. p. 312 (1766) “ India” !
Emberiza principalis, Linn. 8. N. i. p. 313 Angola.
Vidua principalis, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 203 (1890); Shelley, B. Afr.
I. No. 312 (1896) ; Whitehead, Ibis, 1903, p. 224 Orange KR. ; Short-
ridge, Ibis, 1904, p. 178 Pondoland ; Grant, t. c. p. 256 Daira Aila ;
Bocage, Jorn. Lisb. 1904, p. 82 St. Thomas Isl.
? Fringilla superciliosa, Vieill. N. D. xii. p. 216 (1817).
Vidua erythrorhyncha, Swains. B. W. Afr. i. p. 176, pl. 12 (1837) Senegal.
Vidua fuliginosa, Licht. Nomencl. p. 49 (1854).
Vidua decora, Hartl. Ibis, 1862, p. 340 Angola.
Estrelda carmelita, Hartl. Ibis, 1868, p. 46 Natal.
Male in breeding plumage. Upper parts jet black with a clear white
collar; lower back and broad edges to the tail-coverts ashy white; wing
black, with the least and median coverts and edges of inner greater coverts
white with a few black shafts; under surface of quills dusky black, with
white inner edges to the basal half; under wing-coverts white, mottled
with black on the pinion; tail black, the short feathers with white wedge-
VIDUA SERENA 17
shaped marks on the end half of the inner webs, increasing rapidly in size
towards the outermost ones; remainder of the head and the neck pure
white like the under parts, with the sides of the head in front of the eye
and sides of crop black, the latter forming an incomplete collar. Ivis brown;
bill orange red ; tarsi and feet black. Total length 11-5 inches, culmen 0:35,
wing 2°8, tail 9, with the short feathers 1:9, tarsus 0°65. ¢g, 29. 12. 99.
Morandat R. (Delamere).
Adult female. Centre of forehead and crown sandy rufous, with an
equally broad band of black on each side from the nostrils to the nape ;
sides and back of neck, back and lesser wing-coverts rufous buff, with broad
black centres to the feathers ; tail black, and slightly graduated, with sandy
edges to the feathers, and a considerable amount of white on the inner webs,
increasing in extent towards the outer ones, which have the entire inner
webs white, as well as rather broad white edges to the outer webs; wing
brownish black; primary-coverts and primaries uniform ; remainder of
coverts and the secondaries with rufous buff edges, broadest on the feathers
nearest to the back; basal portion of inner edges of quills and the under-
coverts white mottled with black on the pinion ; eyebrow buff, shading into
sandy rufous from the eye to the nape ; a broad black band through the eye
and a narrow one along the cheeks; remainder of the sides of the head
white like the under parts generally ; crop and sides of body shaded with
sandy rufous ; flanks streaked with dusky brown. “Iris brown; bill like
pink coral; tarsi and feet black” (Savile Reid). Total length 4:7 inches,
culmen 0:35, wing 2:7, tail 2, tarsus 0°6. 9, 18.6. 81. Newcastle (Butler),
Male in winter plumage. Similar to the female. Wing 2°9, tail 2-2.
3, 18.6. 81. Newcastle (Butler).
Young. Upper parts entirely uniform brown, slightly darker on the
wings and tail, the edges of the feathers of which are of a rather more
rufous shade; there is no trace of white on the tail; inner margins of quills
and the under wing-coverts rufous shaded white ; sides of head whitey brown
with the front part dusky ; entire under parts uniform buff, tinted with ashy
brown towards the crop, and with a tawny shade on the breast and under
tail-coverts. ‘Iris dusky, bill horn colour with the base reddish, tarsi and
feet dark brown.” Total length 4:5 inches, culmen 0°35, wing 2°6, tail 1-9,
tarsus 0°6. 28.1.81. Rustenburg (W. Lucas).
The White-breasted Whydah inhabits Africa generally
south of about 17° N. lat., also the islands of St. Thomas
and Fernando Po.
From Senegal Swainson obtained the type of his V. ery-
throrhyncha, which has been nicely figured, and, I may remark,
shows a considerable amount of black on the chin, a character
[October, 1904, 2
18 VIDUA SERENA
I have generally found most strongly developed in birds from
Senegambia and British Hast Africa.
In Liberia Mr. Biittikofer found the species common on the
deserted farm-lands which had become overgrown with grass
and bushes; he also met with it frequenting gardens in the
centre of villages, and congregating in large flocks after the
breeding season. When I was on the Gold Coast with T. E.
Buckley we frequently met with these birds in small flocks
along the roads near Cape Coast and Accra; but in February
and March none of the males had assumed their full breeding
plumage, and for that reason possibly we did not find out,
as Gordon informs us, that they were looked upon here by the
natives as sacred or “ Fetish ”’ birds.
On the Island of St. Thomas it is very common, according
to Mr. Francis Newton, and Mr. Boyd Alexander has found it
on Fernando Po.
Linneus described the type of his Emberiza principalis from
Angola, and this name has generally, but wrongly, been given
precedence over his Hmberiza serena. In the same country
Mr. Monteiro procured the type of Vidua decora which is now
in the British Museum. It was described as distinct from
V. erythrorhyncha, Swainson, on account of its having the chin
entirely white.
In Benguela, according to Anchieta, the species is known to
the natives by several names: at Quillengues as “ Cahengua”’
and at Quindumbo as “ Genge”’ and ‘“ Columbaquindionjio.”
It is certainly abundant throughout this country; but from
the Cunene River southward to Cape Town it appears to be less
common than in any other portion of its range, and is here
somewhat replaced by V. regia, which is the commonest species
of Vidua in this large area. In other parts of South Africa,
according to Stark, it largely outnumbers its congeners, and
in many districts is a very common bird.
VIDUA SERENA 19
Mr. Layard remarks that it is known to the Dutch colonists
as “Koning Roodebec,” or “King of the Red-bills,” and is
found in small flocks throughout Cape Colony. He was one
of the first to observe that the males assume their remarkable
plumage for the breeding season only, after which they moult
back into the winter garb, which much resembles that of
the female. During the autumn and winter months they often
feed in flocks, 1m company with other Finches, and according to
Stark, “in summer they disperse in small parties, each con-
sisting of a single male and from ten to forty or even fifty
females.”
Mr. T. Ayres writes: “The male of this species has a
curious habit of hovering over its mate when she is feeding on
the ground, bobbing up and down as you see the May-flies and
midgets do on a summer’s evening in England. This exercise
he generally continues some minutes without resting.” Stark
observes: ‘‘ Like the other Weaver-birds, the present species
feeds upon small seeds, principally grass seeds, also upon small
insects and their eggs. Its ordinary call-note is a sharp chirp,
but in spring the male utters a soft warbling song from the top
of a bush or tall weed. In Natal this species breeds during
the wet season, from November to the end of February or
beginning of March. A somewhat openly woven domed nest of
fine grass is suspended between the stems of a thick grass tuft
a few inches off the ground, the ends of the growing grass
being tied together over the nest so as to completely conceal it.
The only nest that I have seen contained young birds from
three to four in number.”
The egg is glossy greyish white, with underlying violet
marks and clear black or dark brown elongated surface-marks,
evenly distributed. It measures 0°68 X 0°50. The type of
Estrelda carmelita, Hartl., is a young bird of this species, in the
uniform brown plumage; it was shot by Mr. T. Ayres on the
banks of Little Bushman River, near Maritzburg, in Natal.
20 VIDUA SERENA
In the Transvaal, according to Dr. Rendall, the species is
common in the Barberton district and locally known as the
** Kaffir Fink.” Along the Zambesi, Sir John Kirk records
it as “‘common everywhere, not limited to grass plains, but
frequenting woods and coming near houses,” and Mr. Boyd
Alexander writes : “ Breeds in large colonies, suspending their
nests from the topmost twigs of tall acacia trees. They keep
much to the waste plots of land near villages. The males have
a laboured flight, as if they were weighed down by their long
tails, which they commence to assume towards the end of
October ; in a flock the males predominate to a very large
extent over the females.”
It might appear that in this last sentence the words
‘*males”’ and ‘‘ females’ have been misplaced in the printing,
but possibly at the time he made these notes the females were
sitting on their eggs,
In North-east Africa, according to Heuglin, the males
during the breeding season may often be seen perched on the
crown of a tree, singing. He further remarks that he never
met with the species nesting on the ground, as Layard and
Ayres did in South Africa, but, in the beginning of the rainy
season, found the nest suspended some five or six feet over
water; from the end twigs of a bough some three or four leaves
were woven together at their ends, forming a bag lined with
cotton and hair, with the interior cavity rather deep.
From Central and Hastern Africa, where the species is about
equally abundant everywhere, there have been very few notes
made of any interest; Fischer remarks that the birds are said
by the natives to be polygamous, and he observes that the cocks
were generally accompanied by two or three hens, or feeding
in flocks in the open country. Dr. Hinde, while he was at
Machako’s, found flocks of these birds common in the swamps
and reed-beds; Mr. Pease met with them, generally near
VIDUA REGIA 21
water, frequenting the high trees and the thick bush. Heuglin
records them as ranging northward to between 16° and 17° N.
lat., and not ascending the mountains beyond 7,000 feet ; he
met with them in T’akah, Sennar, Kordofan and along the
White Nile, singly or in pairs, but in the autumn more usually
in family parties, frequenting the higher branches of trees in
damp places and forest country, as well as the bushes in the
more open districts, also the pasture land, hedges and plan-
tation near habitations. The Hon. N. C. Rothschild and Mr.
Wollaston have procured the species as far north as Shendi on
the Nile. Mr. A. L. Butler procured a male in full plumage
at Fachi Shoya in November, and writes, ‘‘ A much scarcer
bird here than V. paradisea.”
The time of the two seasonal moults to which these birds
are subject appears to vary with the climate; the males assume
their beautiful plumage as soon as the rainy season sets in,
which is also the commencement of the breeding season and
spring of the year, and retain it for about five months; thus in
South Africa it lasts from October to March, and north of the
Equator from the end of March to the end of July; but these
dates do not, I think, hold as a hard and fast rule, possibly
owing to the different age and constitution of the birds them-
selves; but I doubt if any of these males fail to go through
the two complete moults during the year.
Vidua regia.
Emberiza regia, Linn. S. N. i. p, 313 (1766) Africa.
Vidua regia, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 315 (1896).
Tetreenura regia, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 209 (1890); Reichen. Vog.
Afr. iii. p. 221 (1904).
Shaft-tailed Bunting, Lath. Gen. Syn. ii. pt. i. p. 183 (1783).
La Veuve a quatre Brins, Vieill. Ois. Chant. p. 59, pls. 34, 35 (1805).
Male in breeding plumage. Forehead, crown, sides of head in front
of the eyes, back of lower neck, back, four elongated tail-feathers, inner
22 VIDUA REGIA
half of the wings, lower flanks and the under tail-coverts, black ; remainder
of plumage, with the exception of the wings and tail, rufous buff;
primaries and outer secondaries dark brown, with very narrow outer edges
and broad incomplete white inner edges; under wing-coverts white; four
short outer pairs of tail-feathers dark brown, with whité terminal patches on
the inner webs of the outer three pairs. ‘Iris dark hazel; bill, legs and
claws coral red” (F. Oates). Total length 12-3 inches, culmen 0:35, wing
2°8, tail 9:8, tarsus 0°65. g, 13. 2.75. Omaruru (Andersson).
Adult female. Head and neck buff, with a broad dark brown band on
each side of the crown from the nostrils to the nape, formed by the feathers
having broad dark brown centres similar to those of the hind neck and
mantle ; tail short and square, the feathers blackish brown edged with buff,
and the three outer pairs fade into that colour towards the ends of their
inner webs ; wings blackish brown, the coverts broadly edged with brownish
buff, and the quills more narrowly so; under wing-coverts white, under
surface of quills paler brown than above and with whitish inner margins ;
throat and sides of body sandy buff, fading into white on the remainder of
the breast and the under tail-coverts. Total length 4:3 inches; culmen 0°35;
wing 2°7, tail 1-7, tarsus 0°6. 2, 28.11.66. Ondonga (Andersson).
Adult male in winter. Similar in plumage to the female.
Immature. Differs from the adult female in the upper parts being of
a much more uniform sandy brown; crown uniform brown, and the sides
of the head and back of neck uniform tawny buff.
The Southern Shaft-tailed Whydah inhabits Southern
Africa between 15° S. lat. and 31° S. lat., and westward from
30° E. long.
The most northern localities known to me for the species
are Huilla in Mossamedes and Tati in Matabeleland; the most
southern, Colesberg in Eastern Cape Colony. This is not an
unlikely species to have been shipped as a cage-bird to Bissao,
where Beauduin obtained a specimen, and this may account for
Vieillot and Bonaparte believing it to be a native of West
Africa.
In Mossamedes specimens have been collected by Anchieta
at Huilla and by Van der Kellen near Humbe in the Upper
Cunene district. To the south of the Cunene River the species
is resident and more abundant, especially in German South-
west Africa. Layard records a specimen shot by Mr. Arnot at
VIDUA FISCHERI 23
Colesberg, which is the only instance I know of its having
been met with in Cape Colony. Mr. Barratt found it dis-
tributed over the country from Kimberley to Rustenburg, but
considered it to be of rare occurrence in the latter district.
According to Stark, who met with the species in Natal only,
it is polygamous, each male, in spring, being accompanied by
ten or twelve females. At this season the beautiful cocks are
very pugnacious, and are constantly fighting and chasing one
another, their long tails by no means incommoding their flight,
as is the case with V. serena. They are, indeed, of much more
active habits than are the latter birds. Their call-note is
a sharp chirp occasionally uttered, but the cock in moments of
excitement indulges in a short and rather feeble song. ‘They
feed almost entirely on grass seeds.
Buckley found the species at the Limpopo. Oates collected
four specimens at Tati in Matabeleland, in which country
Jameson and Ayres saw several chasing each other near
Selenia Pan and found them fairly abundant at Kanye, affect-
ing well-wooded country with open patches of grass-land.
Vidua fischeri.
Linura fischeri, Reichen. Orn. Centralb. 1882, p. 91 Usegua; Sharpe,
Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 210 (1890) Kilimanjaro; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii.
p. 222 (1904).
Vidua (Linura) fischeri, Reichen. J. f. O. 1882, pl. 2, fig. 1.
Vidua fischeri, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 314 (1896).
Male in breeding plumage. Forehead and crown sandy buff; remainder
of the head and the entire neck jet black; mantle, wings and short tail-
feathers more dusky black, with some narrow pale brown edges to the
feathers ; lower back and upper tail-coverts pale brown, with narrow dark
centres to most of the feathers; the four narrow elongated tail-feathers
sandy buff of the same shade as the crown, breast, thighs and under tail-
coverts ; flanks slightly streaked with dark brown; under surface of wings
black, with some narrow buff edges to the coverts. ‘Iris brown; bill and
legs orange red.” Total length 10-1 inches, culmen 0°35, wing 2°6, tail 7-7,
tarsus 0°6. ¢, 9.12.0. Hrrer Goata (Pease).
24 VIDUA FISCHERI
Adult female. Above mottled, blackish brown, with broad buffy brown
edges to the feathers ; forehead and crown pale rufous, with black stripes
on the hinder part and shading into rufous buff on the sides of the head ;
under parts white, shaded with sandy buff on the base of throat and sides
of body; under surface of wings dusky brown, with whitish edges to the
coverts. ‘ Bill red; iris and legs light brown.” Total length 4-5 inches,
wing 2°6, tail 18. 9, 30.11.97. Arabsyo (Hawker).
Male in winter. Similar in colouring to the female. ¢, 2.12. 97.
Arabsyo (Hawker).
Fischer’s Shaft-tailed Whydah inhabits Eastern Africa from
Usegua to Shoa, between 6° 8. lat. and 11° N. lat.
The most southern range known for the species is the
Usegua country near Mount Kipumbui, where the species has
been procured by Fischer, who discovered the type on the
highlands of Motiom, which rise to the north-west of Kiliman-
jaro, and he collected other specimens at Nguruman near
Naiwasha Lake. In the British Museum there are two adult
males from the Kilimanjaro district, collected by Mr. Jackson
and Mr. Hunter. The former naturalist obtaining a good
series of six specimens between Ndai and Kinani, April 2,
1894; these he shot out of a small flock at a water-hole in
the wilderness. Other flocks of V. serena and V. hypocherina
were also present, but each species kept apart from the others.
V. fischert was in full plumage and evidently breeding at this
season, and he remarks that the female, as might have been
expected, is very similar to the hen of /. serena, but has an
almost uniform reddish brown head with no lateral black
bands, and the soft parts are akin to those of the male: “ Bill
dull pink, feet pale dusky pink, iris brown. The adult males
having the iris brown, the feet bright coral red, and the bill
dull coral red.”
In Somaliland the species was first obtained by Révoil.
Prince Ruspoli shot specimens at a water-hole to the south
of the Ogodan district; Dr. Donaldson Smith met with it at
VIDUA PARADISEA 25
Goura in September, and at Bussaler in November, and Mr.
Elliot obtained it at Hillier. Mr. Hawker, on November 30
and December 2, observed it in flocks near the water at
Arabsiyo and Gebili; they were then in winter plumage and
had congregated in flocks, and were conspicuous only by their
red bill. Lord Lovat shot one at Hargeisa in Northern Somali-
land, and Mr. Pease found the species in Southern Abyssinia,
in the high trees bordering the marshes of the Errer Gota
River, and never in any other locality. In Shoa Dr. Ragazzi
procured two specimens in full plumage in August. Towards
the end of that month the males moult into the winter
plumage, which closely resembles that of the females, and
the spring moult takes place about March.
Vidua paradisea.
Emberiza paradisea, Linn. 8. N. (ed. x.) p. 178 (1758) ; id. (ed. xii.) i. p.312
(1766) Angoia.
Vidua paradisea, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 316 (1896).
Steganura paradisea, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 211 (1890); Reichen.
Vog. Afr. ii. p. 223 (1904); Grant, Ibis, 1904, p. 257 Tadejemulka ;
Bocage, Jorn. Lisb. 1904, p. 82 ‘ St. Thomas Isl. ?”; Reichen. Vég.
Afr. iii. p. 223 (1904).
Vidua verreauni, Cass. Pr. Philad. Ac. 1850 (June), p. 56 Abyssinia.
Steganura sphenura, Bp. Comsp. i. p. 449 (1850, July) Abyssima.
Vidua paradisea orientalis, Heugl. Orn. N. O. Afr. p. 583 (1870).
Whydah Bird, Lath. Gen. Syn. ii. pt. i. p. 178 (1783).
La Veuve au Collier d’Or, Vieill. Ois. Chant. p. 63, pls. 37, 38 (1805).
Male in breeding plumage. Entire head, throat, back, wings, tail, sides
of abdomen and the under tail-coverts black, hinder half of the neck and
the breast buff, with the crop and front of chest chestnut; under surface of
e quills ashy brown, with the inner edges white like the under wing-coverts,
he latter mottled with black at the bend of the wing. ‘‘ Iris dark brown ;
bill black ; tarsi and feet dusky brown” (T. Ayres). Total length 16 inches,
culmen 0°45, wing 3, tail 13-3, tarsus 0°7. ¢, 30.3.73. Tati (F. Oates).
Adult female. Head buffy white, with a broad black band on each side
of the crown above the eyebrows from the nostrils to the nape; a black
patch on the upper and hinder portion of the ear-coverts and a dusky spot
on the lower portion; the buff of the crown mottled on the hinder half
26 VIDUA PARADISEA
with black; back of neck ang mantle sandy brown, mottled with black
centres to the feathers ; lower back and upper tail-coverts uniform ashy
brown ; wings and tail dark brown, with some pale edges to the feathers ;
under wing-coverts and inner margins of the quills white, the former
mottled with black along the bend of the wing; throat and under surface
of body white, shaded with sandy brown on the crop and sides of the
body ; lower throat and flanks slightly marked with dusky stripes. ‘‘ Iris
dusky brown; bill light dusky brown, lower mandible pale; tarsi and feet
pale.” Total length 5:25 inches, culmen 0:45, wing 3, tail 2-4, tarsus 0°65.
9, 28.11. 82. Rustenburg (T. Ayres).
Immature. Upper parts uniform earthy brown, often mottled with a
few black feathers; sides of head, throat and sides of body uniform pale
brown fading into white on the centre of the abdomen and the under tail-
coverts.
Adult males in winter plumage. Similar to the females.
The Paradise Whydah ranges over Africa generally south
of 17° N. lat.
In West Africa specimens have been procured by Laglaise
at St. Louis on the mouth of the Senegal River, by Marche
at Daranka and Bathurst, and Beaudouin at Casamanse.
Between this latter place and Gambaga, a distance of 900 miles,
I do not find any record regarding the occurrence of this
Species, yet it appears to be fairly plentiful in Togoland, where
specimens have been collected at Bismarckburg, Krachi and
Jendi. On following down the West Coast I again find no
record of the species for another 1,500 miles, till we come to
Angola: here the type was discovered, and in the British
Museum there is a full-plumaged male procured by Toulson
at Loanda. To the south of the Quanza River specimens have
been collected by Anchieta at Capangombe and Quillingues,
and, according to Prof. Barboza du Bocage, it is fairly abundant
from Loanda to Mossamedes. The only specimen recorded
from St. Thomas Island was probably a cage-bird. Andersson
found it not unfrequent at Lake Ngami, but scarce in Damara-
land, and Mr. Fleck has procured specimens at Moxowi in the
Kalahari district. I cannot trace the species further south in
VIDUA PARADISEA 27
Western Africa, and it has not been recorded from Cape Colony
to the west of Kingwilliamstown, but Mr. Barratt met with
it at the Diamond-fields near Kimberley. In Zululand the
Messrs. Woodwards procured a series of adult males and two
females at Hschowe and two others at the Black Umfolosi
River, so that it would appear to be plentiful in that country.
According to Stark: ‘‘ This species, nowhere very abundant in
South Africa, is still not rare in some parts of Natal and the
Eastern Transvaal, in rather open ‘bush-veldt,’ localities in
which little oases of grass are more or less surrounded by
thorny bushes. The handsome cock, in spring and summer,
is fond of perching on a prominent bush, from which he takes
short undulating flights, returning invariably to the same
perch. Occasionally he will hover for a few seconds over the
grass in which one of his little brown mates is hidden, for he
has many, from ten to fifty or more. At short intervals he
utters a flute-like note, and now and then a few bars of his
love song. When at rest the long tail-feathers are allowed to
hang down, but in flight they are carried horizontally. Like
the other Widow-birds, this species feeds almost entirely on
grass seeds. The change of plumage, from winter to spring
livery, in the males is completed in about six weeks.” Mr. T.
Ayres remarks: ‘“ During the breeding season, when the won-
derful tail of the cock bird is fully developed, he will some-
times rise until nearly out of sight, when he suddenly descends
with much velocity, and, if approached, makes off with ease
and swiftness.” He further writes in 1885: ‘ This handsome
Vidua is becoming much more plentiful amongst the Magalies-
bergen than it used to be years back. Then it was scarcely
known in the Rustenberg district, where it is now by no means
uncommon. This species assumes its nuptial plumage later
in the season than most of the family, not being in full dress
till the latter end of December.”
28 VIDUA PARADISEA
Sir John Kirk found the species in full plumage, in January
and February, frequenting the grassy plains of the Zambesi and
Shiré Rivers. In this part of Africa, according to Mr. Boyd
Alexander, it is not nearly so common as JV. serena. In Nyasa-
land it is known to the natives as the ‘‘ Namdumbo,” and
specimens have been collected at Zomba, Fort Lister, Songue,
Namaramba, Ntondwe, Chiradzulu, Mpimbi and Chanda,
Throughout Eastern Africa it is abundant, and generally. to
be met with in small flocks of from ten to twenty, consisting
of a single male and his many wives, often feeding on the
ground in company with other species of small Weavers. In
Ugogo, according to Dr. Pruen, their native name is ‘ Tumbwe.”
In the Teita district Hildebrandt found the cocks in full
plumage from February to July, accompanied by many hens
and distinguished in the Kikamba language as “ Mal-nguru”
on account of their long tails. Mr. Jackson met with the
species plentifully distributed along the coast and inland from
Kilimanjaro to Lake Baringo.
In Somaliland, Fischer procured the species at Barawa, Mr.
F. Gillett others at Wachali, and Mr. Hawker found it plentiful
at Hargeisa and Arabsiyo.
From Central Africa there are in the British Museum a full-
plumaged male obtained in Uganda by Dr. McCarthy Morrogh,
and several in winter plumage from Kaka and Ed Duem on
the White Nile. Regarding these latter Mr. Hawker, who
collected them, remarks that the species was not common and
he never saw any with the long tail-feathers; this was in
April and May.
Mr. A. L. Butler writes to me from Khartoum: “In June
I found them tolerably plentiful in the thorn bushes north of
the Rahat River (a tributary of the Blue Nile); the males were
all beginning to assume breeding plumage, but none at that
date had the long tails. I saw a male in full breeding plumage
COLIUSPASSER 29
at Duem, September 30, and numerous males, with long tails,
at Jebel Ain, November 15, and at Kawa on the following
day. At this date a few of the males had shed one or two of
the long tail-feathers. I also saw males still with their long
tails on January 2 and 3, at Fatasha Wells, twenty miles
west of Omdurman. I have seen males in full plumage from
Western Kordofan, collected by Captain H. N. Dunn in
October. They seem here to begin to change into the nuptial
plumage in June, have acquired the long-tailed feathers by
August or September, and retain them till December or
January.”
From Abyssinia came the types of Vidua verreauwi, Stega-
nura sphenura and Vidua paradisea orientalis.
In this district, according to Heuglin, it is generally distri-
buted and very common to as far north as Bogosland, but
does not range further north than 17° N. lat., nor ascend the
highlands above 7,000 feet. He met with them moulting out
of the breeding plumage in October, and in large flocks in the
autumn.
In the British Museum there are several specimens from
Ailet and Koomaylei, including a male shot by General Sturt in
March, which is in full breeding plumage.
The egg is grey, so very closely spotted with black that the
pale ground-colour is scarcely visible, and measures 0°8 x 0°56.
Genus III. COLIUSPASSER.
This genus is distinguished from all the other Ploceide by the males
assuming, for the breeding season, an elongated graduated tail of very
flexible feathers. It resembles Urobrachya (its nearest ally) and Pyromelana
in acquiring, by a spring moult, a frill of rather broad lengthened feathers on
the sides and back of the neck. In its other characters, such as the short,
narrow and sharply pointed first primary, coupled with the mottled brown
plumage of the adult male in winter, it shows its close affinities with the
Viduine only.
30 COLIUSPASSER
Type.
Coliuspasser, Riipp. N. Wirb. p. 98, PI. 36,
fig. 2 (1835-40) . . . C. laticaudus.
Penthetria, Cab. Arch. f. Iatuee: 1847, p: 331 C, laticaudus.
Coliostruthus, Sundey. Gifv. K. Vet. Ak. Férh.
Stockh. 1849, p.158 . . . . C. laticaudus.
Chera, Gray, Gen. B. ii. p. 355 (1849) . . . C. procne.
Niobe, Reichenb. Singv. p. 61 (1863) . . . C. ardens.
Penthetriopsis, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 220
(1890) . . . C. macrowra.
Drepanoplectes, Shame; ae 1891, = 246 . C. jackson.
Diatropura, Oberholser, Pr. Acad. Philad.
Use hh AG) 6 6 5 6 6 4 1s 0 6 8 OF TORRE
The genus is confined to Tropical and South Africa, and
comprises fourteen species. Its members, as well as those of
Urobrachya, may be called the Marsh Whydahs. They all
frequent marshy districts, construct oval nests mostly of grass,
which they generally hide amongst the herbage close to the
ground, and lay spotted eggs, three, sometimes four, in number.
It appears to me to be confusing rather than helping
science to separate these species into several genera. The
oldest name I can find for this group of birds is Coliuspasser.
Have we a right to set it aside, as has been done by Dr.
Sharpe (Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 215, note), or to substitute a more
classical name? We are not, in my opinion, justified in
doing either.
Out of the eight generic names proposed for members of
this genus the three following have been previously used in
other branches of zoology: Penthetria, Meigen, 1802 (Dip-
tera) ; Chera, Hiibn. 1816 (Lepidoptera); Niobe, Aug. 1851
(Crustacea).
KEY TO THE SPECIES.
a. Most of the plumage uniform black . . . . Malesinbreeding plumage.
a1, Lesser wing-coverts scarlet; under wing-
coverts black ; wing 4:5 to 5:5.
a?, Smaller; tailshorter . . . . . . progne. }-72
b2, Larger; taillonger . ... . . . delamere. /. 33
COLIUSPASSER 31
b+. Lesser wing-coverts never scarlet; wing
less than 4°5.
c?. All the wing-coverts black.
. Back of crown, nape and a collar
Bearletpem len 1: 5 6 6 6 0 on Uelgteunelany.
me red on the head:
4, A collar across the lower throat
searlet or yellow ... . . . ardens.
b*, Entire plumage black . . . . . concolor.
d?, Lesser wing-coverts chestnut or yellow.
c’. A large patch of white on the wing.
c+, Lesser wing-coverts chestnut . . eques.
d*. Lesser wing-coverts yellow.
a>, Tail shorter, about 3-4. . . . albonotatus.
b>, Tail longer, about 5:5 . . . . asymmetrurus.
d’, No patch of white on the wing.
e*, Lesser wing-coverts yellow.
OP, Smaller; wing not more than 3:5.
. Upper back yellow . . macrourus
a Upper back black ; aanioantie:
coverts whitish with the bend
of the wing yellow.
a’. Larger; wing3'5 . . . . macrocercus.
b7. Smaller; wing 3-2. . . . soror. /
d>, Larger; wing not less than 3.9.
c®. Upper wing-coverts, excepting
the least series, sandy buff ;
under wing-coverts mostly
black; tail-feathers very nar-
row . . psammacromius.
d®, Median covert alert Ces,
like the outer under wing-
coverts; remainder of made
wing-coverts black ; _ tail-
feathers broad. . . : hartlaubt.
f*. Lesser wing-coverts sandy ROR
scarcely darker than the under
coverts ; tail very long and arched jacksoni.
b. Upper parts mottled—sandy brown with
blackish centres to the feathers; a broad buff
eyebrow ; under parts whitish with the crop
and flanks shaded with brown . . . . . Adult males in winter, fe-
males, and young birds.
et. Under wing-coverts black.
iy)
bo
e?. Larger; wing more than 4 inches;
lesser wing-coverts orange scarlet.
f?. Wing 37; scarcely any trace of orange
red on wing-coverts :
g?. Wing not more than 3 inches .
d+. Under wing-coverts not black.
h?. Some white on the quills and greater
coverts
22, No white on the wings.
g®. Under wing-coverts pale dusky brown
h’. Under wing-coverts whitish.
g*. Hdges of lesser wing-coverts tinged
with rufous ier oe ete ce,
h*. Edges of lesser wing-coverts tinged
with yellow
78, Under wing-coverts rufous buff.
74+, Flanks less streaked.
e°, Lesser wing-coverts yellow
f®. Only a trace of yellow on lesser
wing-coverts
k*, Flanks more striped.
g®. Lesser wing-coverts yellow
h®. Lesser wing-coverts chestnut
75, Lesser wing-coverts with little or
no chestnut
COLIUSPASSER PROGNE
progne 3 ad.
delamerei 3 ad.
progne 2, and juv.
laticaudus, ardens, con-
color, $ ad.
eques, albonotatus and
asymmetrurus 3 ad.
ardens, 2 and juv.
eques 2.
albonotatus, asymmetru-
Tus 2.
macrurus, macrocercus,
soror $ ad.
macrurus, macrocercus,
soror @ and juy.
psammacromius gf ad.
jacksom g ad.
jacksom, 9 and juv.
Coliuspasser progne.
Emberiza progne, Bodd. Tabl. Pl. Enl. p. 39 (1783).
Diatropura progne, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 144 (1904).
Coliuspasser procne, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 317 (1896) ; Whitehead, Ibis,
1903, p. 224, Orange FR.
Chera procne, Sharpe Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 213 (1890) Natal, Transvaal ;
Butler, Foreign Finches in Captivity, p. 286, pl. 50 (1894).
Loxia caffra, Gm. 8. N. ii. p. 858 (1788).
Emberiza longicauda, Gm. t. c. p. 884.
hal
: -
COLIUSPASSER PROGNE 33
Emberiza imperialis, Shaw in Miller’s Cimel. Phys. iii. p. 7 (1796).
Vidua pheenicoptera, Swains. Class. B. ii. p. 112, fig. 161 (1837).
Male in breeding plumage. Black, with a bluish black gloss on the
edges of the feathers of the head, neck and breast; lesser wing-coverts
orange scarlet; median coverts buff with somewhat hidden black shafts ;
greater coverts and the secondaries with buff edges; primaries with the
ends paler and terminal buff edges; remainder of the under surface of the
wing black. ‘Iris brown; bill light bluish ash; feet dark brown” (Stark).
Total length 20°5 inches, culmen 0°7, wing 5:3, tail 16, tarsus 1:05.
3, 28. 10. 81.
Natal (EK. A. Butler).
Adult female. Upper parts mottled, the feathers all being brownish
black with broad pale brown edges, of a slightly more tawny shade on the
mantle, and inclining to buff on the greater wing-coverts ; inner lining of the
wings ashy-brown, with the coverts black. Under parts buff, shaded with
brown and with brown shaft-stripes on the middle and lower throat, as well
as on the front and sides of the breast. ‘‘ Iris dark hazei; bill horn brown ;
tarsi and feet pinkish brown.” Total length 6:1 inches, culmen 0:65,
wing 3:7, tail2-5, tarsus 0°95. 9, 12.6.76. Natal (T. EK. Buckley).
Male adult in winter plumage. Resembles the female in the form of
the tail as well as in the colouring of the head, neck, body and scapulars, but
differs in the wing being similar to that of the male in breeding plumage, only
with the pale edges of the greater coverts and secondaries broader.
Immature male. Differs from the last phase and resembles the female in
the colouring of the wing, with the exception of the lesser wing-coverts, which
have broad yellowish edges.
The Kaffir Great-tailed Whydah ranges from Benguela into
Eastern South Africa from Cape Colony to the Transvaal.
In Western Africa it is known from Caconda in Benguela,
where Anchieta procured two adults and two young males, while
at Humpata in Mossammedes, Van der Kellen also obtained
a specimen.
To the south of the Cunene River I do not find the species
recorded from any locality to the west of 25° H. long.; but
Layard informs us that Mr. Arnold sent him several specimens
from Colesberg, and according to Mr. Rickard it is common
both at Port Elizabeth and East London, and we may add
Natal, Zululand, the Orange River Colony and the Transvaal ;
but according to Mr. T’. Ayres it does not approach the Natal
[October, 1904, 3
34 COLIUSPASSER PROGNE
coast within eight or ten miles. Messrs. Butler, Feilden and
Reid write: ‘‘Called by the Kaffirs ‘ Saca-bulo,’ one of the
commonest birds in the upper portion of the colony, but not
observed in any great numbers below Howick, or rather Reit
Spruit, a few miles lower down on the Pietermaritzburg road.
“They roost in hundreds, or even thousands, in the reedy
vleys, flock after flock pouring in from all sides about sunset
till the whole place is alive with them. The males begin to
assume their summer livery, with its long tail-feathers, as early
as August, but some of them are not in full breeding plumage
as late as October. They were still in flocks, and apparently
not nesting, when we left Newcastle in November. It would
seem that the black plumage and long tail are not assumed by
the males during their first year (and perhaps their second), for
specimens were obtained in the immature or female dress as
late as October 26, which could not possibly have subsequently
gone through the various stages; and this would receive
confirmation from the marked preponderance of the brown
tailless birds over the long-tailed males in the various flocks.
So great, however, is the preponderance that it can really only
be satisfactorily accounted for by assuming the species to be
polygamous.”
Regarding the habits of this species, Stark writes: “ This
beautiful Widow Bird, remarkable for the extraordinary size of
the tail of the male during the breeding season, is in many
parts of Upper Natal, Zululand and the Southern Transvaal a
very common summer resident on the borders of the vleis and
swamps as well as on the open veldt, wherever there is a
sufficient growth of grass to afford it concealment and a shelter
for its nest. On bright sunny days the long-tailed males are
fond of sitting on the taller heads of grass, or on some
prominent bush or weed. They frequently fly from bush to
bush with gracefully arched tail, apparently not much incom-
COLIUSPASSER PROGNE 35
moded by its great size; but in the early morning when the
grass is still wet with dew, or after a shower of rain, not a bird
will be visible; they are then hiding under the grass, so
hampered by their wet and heavy tails as to be unable to
rise. At such times numbers are caught by the Zulu boys,
who prize the long tail-feathers as head-dresses. In autumn
both old and young collect in flocks of thousands and frequently
leave the neighbourhood of their breeding place. At this
season, until the following spring, they roost in dense reed-beds
or among thick bushes. During autumn and winter they feed
largely upon grass-seeds, millet and grain, in summer to a
considerable extent on various insects. ‘The young are fed on
small caterpillars, grubs and termites. As soon as the males
begin to assume their long tails in spring the flocks break up,
and each male, accompanied by from ten to fifteen females,
repairs to some suitable breeding place. As soon as they have
fixed on a locality the females separate and each one proceeds to
construct a nest in a thick tuft of grass. The cock meanwhile
keeps a look-out from some point of vantage and spends most
of his time in driving off other cocks who attempt to trespass
on the territory occupied by his harem. He takes no part
in the construction of any of the nests; should he see a man or
beast of prey approaching he flies round with a warning cry,
upon which the hens leave their nests, creep under the grass
for a short distance, then rise and fly off until the danger
is past. The nest is an oval, domed structure, with a side
entrance, roughly woven out of fine grass lined with the
flowering tops of grass and reeds. It is generally placed a few
inches off the ground, in the centre of a tuft of grass, attached
by its sides to many grass stalks, the blades and tops of which
are bent down and tied together to form an additional con-
cealment and protection. The female sits for fourteen days.
The eggs, usually four in number, are small considering the
36 COLIUSPASSER PROGNE
size of the bird; they are white or bluish white, closely marked
with small spots and dashes of dark brown and slaty grey ;
they average 0°9 X 0°67.” Mr. 'T. Ayres remarked that in Natal
the males were in full plumage in December and January, and
moult into the winter dress in March. According to Mr. H.
Bowker, “the tail of the male in the breeding season is not an
inconvenience to him; he never, in fact, seems to enjoy himself
so much as during a high wind, in which he shows off to
advantage, spreading his tail out like a fan.”
Mr. Layard observes: “ Riding once between Table Farm
and Grahamstown with Dr. Atherstone, I saw what I took
to be a black silk neckerchief drifting down to us in a
strong wind from a house on a hill some 300 yards from our
road. I called the attention of my companion to it, when,
with a laugh, he told me it was a male Kafir-fink. The
deception was complete! As he came near I saw he was
drifting at a prodigious rate; his wings flapping round and
round like mill-sails, and his tail spread in a compact mass.
He appeared quite capable of guiding himself, for he took care
never to let me get within shot of him.”
Mr. Distant, while at Pretoria, found that the birds had
assumed their full plumage in November, and remarks:
**Wherever wet places and high reeds are found, the long-
tailed Widow-bird (Chera procne) may usually be observed
pursuing its laborious and difficult flight, heavily handicapped
by its seasonally developed tail, and is a good instance where
sexual selection is exercised at the expense of protection.”
Dr. Rendall writes : ‘This species is common on the flats
round Barberton. ‘To the natives it is the ‘Sakubula,’ and
the large black tail-feathers are used in bunches by the Swazi
‘Regiment of Infaans’ (or young men) to adorn their head-
dresses and shields, with great effect. The natives run the
birds down on wet days when the moisture prevents them from
COLIUSPASSER DELAMEREI 37
rising after a flight or two, and they are killed with sticks and
knobkerries.”
Mr. Haagner remarks: ‘‘ This species is very common in
the Transvaal, so far as can be judged from my experience in
the Pretoria and Heidelberg districts. It is seen flying about
the veldt everywhere, which is not the case with any other
species of Weaver, so faras [am aware. ‘The nesting season
commences in October and November. ‘The eggs are of a dirty
erey-white ground-colour, indiscriminately dotted and blotched
with light and purplish brown.” The nests he found were
always in tufts of long herbage near the ground.
The species apparently does not range further north in
Hastern Africa than the Transvaal.
Coliuspasser delamerei.
Chera procne (non Bodd.) Sharpe, Ibis, 1891, p. 244 Masai; Jackson,
Ibis, 1899, p. 597 Himateita L., Maw Ravine.
Coliuspasser delamerei, Shelley, Bull. B. O. C. xiii. p. 73 (1903).
Diatropura progne delamerei, Reichen. Vig. Afr. iii. p. 145 (1904).
Similar in all its plumages to C. progne, but slightly larger, and dis-
tinguished by the greater length of the tail in the males in full breeding
plumage. “Iris brown ; bill pale horn blue; legs dark shrimp brown.” Total
length 25:5 inches, culmen 0:7, wing 5:5, tail 21:0, tarsus 1:05. 3,17. 3.00.
Mt. Kenya (Delamere).
Delamere’s Great-tailed Whydah inhabits British Hast Africa
to the east of Victoria Nyanza.
The known range of this wonderful bird, which has a longer
tail in proportion to its size than any other wild species is
separated from that of its nearest ally, C. progne, by over 1,400
miles. This fact drew my attention to the probability of the
bird from the Equator being distinct from the South African
form, although it shows a great similarity in general appearance.
I find, however, that it differs in the same manner as C. asyi-
38 COLIUSPASSER LATICAUDUS
metrurus does from C. albonotatus, that is, in the length of the
tail of the male in full breeding plumage. In this species it
varies from 20 to 25 inches; the greatest length of tail I have
met with in the South African C. progne is 18 inches, but in the
specimen described by Stark (Faun. 8. Afr. B. 1. p. 189) it is
recorded at 19°50.
In the British Museum there are five of Lord Delamere’s
specimens, comprising an adult male almost in winter plumage,
but still retaining the elongated feathers of the tail, which are
much worn and have faded into brown, also an adult female,
likewise in worn plumage; both of these were obtained at
Likipia on January 19. Two months later, at Ngari, he shot
the full plumaged male I have described as the type and two
hens in fresh plumage, so that probably the species has an
autumn as wellasa spring nesting season. It is apparently not
uncommon within its very limited range, for Mr. Jackson has
procured many specimens; the first was at the Bogonoto River
in Masailand, and during his journey to the coast, after leaving
Doreta, he saw a few, mostly hens, in a swamp frequenting the
high grass. He afterwards met with them in similar situations
to the north of Lake Elmateita and to the east of the Mau
Ravine, and the females were always more numerous than the
males.
Coliuspasser laticaudus.
Fringilla laticauda, Licht. Verz. Doubl. p. 24 (1823) Nubia.
Coliuspasser laticaudus, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 219 (1896) ; Reichen. Vog.
Afr. iii. p. 136 (1904).
Penthetria laticauda, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 218 (1890) ; Grant, Ibis,
1904, p. 257 Harrar, Dedgen.
Coliuspasser torquatus, Riipp. N. Wirb. Vég. p. 98, pl. 36, fig. 2 (1835-
40) Simien. -
Male in breeding plumage. Jet black, including the under wing-coverts,
with sandy buff edges to some of the feathers of the back, wings, tail and
COLIUSPASSER LATICAUDUS 39
under tail-coverts ; hinder two-thirds of the crown, nape, a narrow band
on sides of neck and broad collar across the lower throat scarlet; the red
feathers fading to yellow or white towards their base, and those of the back
of the crown and the nape have narrow black edges. ‘‘ Iris brown bill and
legs black.” Total length 10:7 inches, culmen 0:55, wing 3-2, tail 7:2,
tarsus 09. g, 29.11.99. Nyrobe (Delamere).
Adult female. Upper parts, as well as the under wing-coverts, mottled
brownish black with sandy brown edges to the feathers; a well-marked buff
eyebrow; under parts pale sandy brown, fading into buff towards the chin
and on the middle of the breast and abdomen; crop and sides of body
partially streaked with brownish black. Ivis dark brown; bill and legs
pale brown. Total length 6:0 inches, culmen 0:55, wing 3:1, tail 2-7, tarsus
0-9. 9, 21.2.99. Jawaha (Lovat).
Male in winter plumage. Similar in colouring to the female; but differs
in the wings and tail being blacker, the latter longer, and the under wing-
coverts entirely black. ‘‘ Ivis, bill and legs dark brown.” 4g, 4. 1. 99.
Chelunco (Lovat).
The Red-naped Whydah ranges from the Kilimanjaro
Mountain into Abyssinia.
Fischer collected specimens at Komboko to the south-west
of Kilimanjaro, in Arusha, at Susua and Lake Naiwasha, and
on the mountains of Ukira, and he found a nest, containing
three eggs, which was placed in a bush. ‘The eggs were
strongly glossed, whitish, with reddish brown and violet grey
spots, most numerous at the thick end, and measured 0°66 x
0-48. Mr. Oscar Neumann also procured specimens in the
Taveita and Kikuyu countries.
On the south-western slopes of the Kilimanjaro Mountain
Mr. Jackson found them fairly plentiful in one place only,
where, in May, they were apparently breeding, as they were also
doing when he met with them in July on Mount Elgeyo at an
elevation of 8,000 to 9,000 feet. He writes: ‘ Only seen in
long reeds and bulrushes at the swampy end of the small lake
on the top of Hlgeyo, evidently breeding. I also found
them very plentiful in the long grass near Lake Nahuro.
This bird has a curious habit of making a playground for itself.
I noticed several in the long grass, and I saw the male
40 COLIUSPASSER ARDENS
evidently playing, as it darted several times into the air to a
height of about four feet, and then darted down again. Their
‘ playing-ground’ is a work of some time, as the grass is all
worn away in an irregular circle, with the exception of a small
tuft left in the centre with two or three little recesses at the
base, which are evidently the result of the birds’ play.” On
the Mau Plateau (8,700 feet) he procured a male in breeding
plumage on August 3, and remarks: “ Plentiful in boggy
hollows, where the grass is long. I saw this bird at its game
of jumping up and down.”
In Nandi, in April, he shot a male, female and young bird
out of a large flock, and writes: “Still in flocks, consisting
mostly of males in mottled plumage.”
The species has not been recorded from Somaliland, but
Lord Lovat shot three specimens at Chelunco, Baroma and
Jawaha, within 150 miles west-south-west of Berbera. In Shoa
Antinori collected a large series from April to September.
Dr. Blanford met with the species on two occasions only
in the highlands of Abyssinia near Antalo and Agula, and
Heuglin found it in flocks with C. macrourus near Adowa and
Aksum, in the marshy districts and the cultivated lands near
the farms. The type of the species and the type of C. tor-
quatus, Riipp., both came from the North Abyssinian district.
Coliuspasser ardens.
Fringilla ardens, Bodd. Tabl. Pl. Enl. p. 39 (1783) Cape Colony.
Coliuspasser ardens, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 318 (1896); Reichen. Vég.
Afr. iii. p. 135 (1904) ; Shortridge, Ibis, 1904, p. 178 Pondoland.
Penthetria ardens, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 215 (1890).
Emberiza signata, Scop. Del. Faun. et Flor. Insubr. ii. p. 95 (1786).
Emberiza panayensis, Gm. S. N. ii. p. 885 (1788).
Vidua lenocinia, Less. Traité, p. 487 (1831) Cape Colony.
Vidua rubritorques, Swains. B. W. Afr. i. p. 174 (1837).
Vidua torquata, Less. Compl. Buff. viii. p. 278 (1837) Cape.
Penthetria auricollis, Licht. Nomenel. p. 49 (1854).
COLIUSPASSER ARDENS 41
Male in breeding plumage. Black, with a broad scarlet collar across
the base of the throat, the feathers of which pass into yellow and white
at their bases. ‘‘ Bill, tarsi and feet black; iris brown.’ Total length
12 inches, culmen 0:6, wing 38, tail 9, tarsus 0°85. ¢, 15. 3. 70. Alice,
Cape Colony (Layard).
Adult female. Above mottled, blackish brown with broad pale brown
edges to the feathers; a well-marked yellowish white eyebrow and a patch
of the same colour beneath the eye; a loral band and a band behind the eye
black ; ear-coverts buffish brown ; under parts buff, with a slight yellow tinge
on the chin and upper throat; lower throat, like the front and sides of the
chest, washed with tawny brown, and marked with some slightly darker
shaft-stripes; inner lining of the wings dusky ash, slightly paler on the
coverts. ‘Iris brown; bill, tarsi and feet pale brown” (Stark). Total
length 4:6 inches, culmen 0:55, wing 2°6, tail 1:8, tarsus 0°75. Pinetown
(T. L. Ayres).
Adult male in winter plumage. Similar to the female in the form of the
tail and the general plumage; but the dark centres to the feathers of the
upper parts blacker, the inner lining of the wing entirely black, and
the under tail-coverts having black centres. ‘Iris dusky brown ; bill light
horn colour, upper mandible darker; tarsi reddish brown; feet dusky.”
$,8. 7.78. Rustenburg (W. Lucas).
The Red-collared Whydah inhabits the eastern half of
Africa south of the Equator and ranges into Angola.
The type of Vidua rubritorques belongs to this species, and
was probably a South African bird, and not captured in Sene-
gambia, from whence Swainson nominally received it, for all
the representative specimens I know of from West Africa, from
the Congo northward, belong to C. concolor. Dr. Cabanis re-
marks that in Major von Mechow’s collection, there were three
specimens of C. concolor and one of C. ardens. The latter and
a specimen presented to me by the late Mr. I’. T. Thomson,
from Loando, are the only examples known to me of this
species from any part of the West African subregion, or
any place in Africa to the west of 24° EH. long. There-
fore, I consider (. concolor to be specifically distinct from
C. ardens.
In Dr. Sharpe’s edition of Layard’s ‘ Birds of South Africa ”’
42 COLIUSPASSER ARDENS
occur the following notes: “This is a bird of the eastern
portion of South Africa; Mr. Rickard has found them at East
London, and we fell in with them at Alice and on the Blink-
water. Captain Trevelyan says that it is common near King-
williamstown. Mr. T. C. Atmore sent several specimens from
Eland’s Post, where it was common”? and, ‘‘ Captain Harford’s
informs us that in Natal they fly in flocks, five or six- males
with about fifty females. This we also observed when we fell
in with them in the swampy grass-lands and fields of Kaffir-
corn at Alice. The females usually hid themselves in the sea
of herbage, diving to the bottom in a moment, while the males,
after occasionally doing battle with each other, or hovering
with the peculiar jerking, flapping motion common to this
genus, over some of the females concealed in the grass, would
betake themselves to some elevated head of corn or rush, and
thence survey the field.”
According to Stark, in winter they assemble in flocks and
mix with other Weaver-birds. ‘‘The nests are domed, with
a small entrance at the side; carefully woven of fine grass in
the centre of a thick tuft of grass, many of the grass-stems
being built into the walls of the nest, while others are plaited
so as to form an arched bower over it.” In Northern Natal,
Major Clarke found them in small flocks frequenting the
reeds which grow along the banks of rivers.
The habits of all the members of this genus are very much
alike. The type of the species and the type of Vidua torquata
were red-collared specimens from South Africa, from whence
also came the types of Vidua lenocinia and Penthetria auricollis,
which had yellow collars. This variation in the colour of the
collar is probably due to the constitution of the individual
bird, and similar changes from red to yellow on certain parts
of the plumage are by no means confined to this species or
genus,
COLIUSPASSER ARDENS 45
Messrs Butler, Feilden and Reid write from Natal: ‘ Gener-
ally distributed and fairly common. Some specimens of the
male were obtained near Newcastle in November, with the
collar orange rather than scarlet, but this is doubtless only an
intermediate stage.” In Zululand the Messrs. Woodward
found flocks of the species in the “ Mealie-gardens,”’ and met
with a nest “in a clump of tall grass, fastened to the stalks;
it was a small domed structure, composed of fine grass, and
contained little white speckled eggs.”
In the Transvaal and Matabeleland the species is somewhat
local but fairly common, according to Stark. Mr. Barratt shot
specimens at Potchefstroom, Rustenberg and near Pretoria,
and Mr. T’, Ayres observed it in the Lydenburg district. In
Mashonaland, Mr. Guy Marshall found the species only in large
reedy swamps, where, however, it is fairly plentiful, though
very wary, and writes: ‘‘ The male, when showing off, expands
the feathers of his curiously constructed tail vertically, so as
to make it appear as deep as possible. Along the Upper
Zambesi Mr. Boyd Alexander procured a_ specimen at
Zumba, and Capello and Ivens met with it at Caponda
in about 15° 8S. lat. Sir John Kirk found the species
tolerably common in the Shiré Valley, near Chibisa, and
specimens have been collected in Nyasaland at Zomba, Mlosa,
Milanji and Mpimbi. Béhm obtained the species at Karema,
Mauh and Qua-Mpara; Sir John Kirk at Mamboio and in
Ugogo ; Emin at Mandera in Neuru; Neumann at Pangani;
Ansore in Unyoro; Jackson from Mararu in Teita and
from Ntebbi in Uganda. On the western side of Victoria
Nyanza Dr. Reichenow records it from the island of Uhambiri
and from Bukoba, and I cannot trace the range of this species
further north or west in this direction, for in the Upper White
Nile district towards Lado it appears to be entirely replaced
by the West African C. concolor.
44 COLIUSPASSER CONCOLOR
Coliuspasser concolor.
Vidua concolor, Cass. Proc. Philad. Acad. 1848, p. 66; id. Journ. Philad.
Acad. 1849, p. 241, pl. 30, fig. 1.
Coliuspasser concolor, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 184 (1904).
Similar to C. ardens and differing only in the full plumaged males being
entirely black. Total length 10-2 inches, culmen 0:55, wing 2:8, tail 7-2,
tarsus 0°85. ¢, Uganda (Jackson).
Cassin’s Black Whydah ranges from Senegambia into
Angola and Central Africa.
Hartlaub in 1861 mentions a specimen from the Gambia
in Verreaux’s collection, which is the most northern range
known to me for this species. The type was discovered by
Afzelius at Sierra Leone, and in Liberia, along the Sulymah
River, Demery collected ten specimens. I find no mention
of the species from our British possessions of the Gold Coast
and Nigeria; but four specimens have been recorded from
Togoland and one from Camaroons.
In Central Equatorial Africa the species has been pro-
cured by Emin at Meswa; by Dr. Ansorge at Masindi
in Unyoro, and by Mr. Jackson in Uganda, on the second
and fourth days’ march after leaving Kampala for Mount
Ruwenzori. One of these latter specimens shows a few red
feathers on the throat and may be a hybrid between this
species and C. ardens, and resembles a specimen obtained by
Dr. Fiilleborn at Tandalla.
On the Congo River, Bohndorff procured the species at
Manyanga, and in Angola specimens have been collected by
Furtado d’Antas and by Major von Mechow, but it is apparently
replaced by, or meets with, C. ardens in the southern portion
COLIUSPASSER EQUES 45
of that country, for one out of the four specimens procured
by von Mechow, and Shiitts’s specimen from Malanga, belong
to ©. ardens, as well as one in the British Museum from
Loando.
Coliuspasser eques.
Vidua eques, Hartl. P. Z. S. 1863, p. 106, pl. 15 Tabora.
Coliuspasser eques, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 323 (1896); Reichen. Vog.
Afr, iii, p. 141 (1904).
Penthetria eques, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 220 (1890).
Adult male. Uniform jet black, excepting the wings ; lesser wing-coverts
chestnut, passing into yellow along the edge of the bend of the wing towards
the pinion; median coverts with buffy-brown edges; most of the greater
coverts with a considerable portion white, decreasing in extent towards the
seapulars, which are uniform black; quills with their basal portion white
like the under coverts, the latter slightly tinted with rufous buff; remaining
portion of the quills uniform black, or with a few narrow white or buff
outer edges to the secondaries. ‘Iris brown; bill pale slaty blue; legs
black.” Total length 6:4 inches, culmen 0°55, wing 2:9, tail 3, tarsus 0:8.”
g,8. 3.00. Munisu (Delamere).
Adult female. Upper parts mottled, brownish black with broad pale
brown edges to the feathers; no white on the wing, which is blackish
brown with pale brown edges to the feathers, and the lesser coverts mostly
chestnut; under wing-coverts sandy buff, rather darker along the bend of
the wing; a broad eyebrow and the under parts generally brownish buff,
inclining to white towards the chin and centre of breast. Iris, bill and legs
brown. 92, 2, 5.96. Machako’s (Hinde).
Immature. Like the female. g,15.2.01. Roquecha (Pease).
Male in winter plumage. Similar to the female in colouring of head,
neck and body ; lesser wing-coverts brighter chestnut ; and the same amount
of white on the wings as in their breeding plumage; dark parts of primaries
jet black. g, 24.2.00. Walamo (Pease).
Speke’s White-winged Whydah inhabits Hast Africa between
7° S. lat. and 10° N., and eastward of 30° H. long.
The type was discovered by Speke at Kazeh, better known
as T'aboro in the Unyamwesi country. In this district Bohm
met with it at Kakoma in February and March, in small
46 COLIUSPASSER ALBONOTATUS
parties consisting of a male accompanied by several females.
He also found the males in full plumage at the Ifume River
in December. It has been met with by Emin at Mrogoro in
Ugogo, and by Fischer at Maurui on the Pangani and at
Speke’s Gulf.
Mr. Jackson procured specimens in the Kilimanjaro district
near T'aveta, at Kikumbuliu and Ulu in Ukamba, and at Ndera
in the Teita country. ‘These Marsh Whydahs are very partial
to long grass in swampy districts, and he mentions them as
exceedingly common among the cane-like grass on the banks
of the river at Nzoi. At Machako’s Dr. Sydney Hinde found
them very abundant, usually frequenting the reed-beds; but
almost every native village was frequented by at least one
pair. Dr. Ansorge has collected specimens as far west as the
Holulu River, in which district Mr. Oscar Neumann procured
a Specimen at Kwa Mtesse in the Singo Province at the north-
west corner of Victoria Nyanza, and others during his journey
in the Ulu Mountains and at Kwo Kitoto in Kavirondo.
In the Kenia district Lord Delamere found the species
already in full plumage by the beginning of February; but
the specimens procured by Mr. Harrison at Walamo, near
Lake Rudolf, in February, and those met with by Mr. Pease
at Roquecha in that month, and at Harrar in November,
were in the brown winter plumage. The breeding season
varies with the climate, the object probably being to secure
an adequate supply of the food best suited to the young
birds.
Coliuspasser albonotatus.
Vidua albonotata, Cass. Proc. Philad. Acad. 1848, p. 65 Natal.
Coliuspasser albonotatus, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 321 (1896); Reichen.
Vog. Afr. iii. p. 140 (1904).
Penthetria albonotata, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 219 (1890 pt.) Natal,
Transvaal, Shiré R.
COLIUSPASSER ALBONOTATUS 47
Adult male. Uniform jet black excepting the wings ; lesser wing-coverts
and edges of bend of wing bright pale yellow; median coverts with buffy
brown edges; most of the greater coverts with a considerable portion
white, decreasing in extent towards the scapulars, which are uniform black ;
quills with the basal portion white like the under-coverts ; the latter slightly
tinted with rufous buff; remainder of quills uniform black or with a few
narrow pale outer edges to the secondaries. ‘‘ Iris hazel; bill pale bluish
violet ; legs black” (F. Oates). Total length 7 inches, culmen 0:5, wing 2:9,
tail 3:4, tarsus 0°8. ¢g, 20.12.77. Weenen (W. Arnold).
Adult female. Upper parts mottled, brownish black with broad pale
brown edges to the feathers, no white on the wing, which is blackish brown
with pale brown edges to the feathers, and the lesser coverts mostly yellow ;
under wing-coverts sandy buff, rather darker along the bend of the wing; a
broad eyebrow and the under parts generally brownish buff, inclining to
white towards the chin and centre of the breast. Iris, bill and legs brown.
Adult male in winter plumage. Very similar to the female, but the
lesser wing-coverts brighter yellow, and with the same amount of white
on the wing as in their breeding plumage ; dark parts of the primaries black.
g,July. Durban (1. L. Ayres).
The Natal White-winged Whydah ranges from Natal into
Ugogo.
The type of the species came from Natal, which is the
most western range known for the species. According to
Stark, “This very beautiful and rare Widow-bird appears to
have much the habits of the Urobrachya avillaris. It frequents
marshy ground on the borders of rivers, where in summer the
male sits on the summit of a tall stem of grass or reed and
shows off his glossy black plumage and yellow shoulder-knot,
frequently puffing out the neck feathers into a sort of ruff,
like the Bishop-bird, while opening and shutting his wings,
or occasionally taking a short flight and hovering, like a Vidua,
with upraised wings, over the grass, where doubtless one of
his brown wives is concealed.” In the British Museum there
are specimens from Umbilo near Durban, Weenen, the Ivuna
River in Zululand, one of Wahlberg’s from the Transvaal,
another of Barratt’s from the Winterberg district, one of
48 COLIUSPASSER ALBONOTATUS
Bradshaw’s from the Makalaka Country, and several of Frank
Oates’s from the southern tributaries of the Zambesi.
At Zumbo on the Zambesi, on November 7, Captain
Alexander met with ‘‘a small flock, consisting entirely of
male birds in full winter plumage. They frequented a stony,
bush-grown locality near the village, and hardly a day passed
without our finding them in the same spot. It is a remarkable-
looking Weaver, the bar of white on the wings as it takes to
flight at once attracts attention. Beyond Zumbo, on Decem-
ber 24, we observed for the first time a small party of males in
full breeding dress. At first it was hard to realise that they
belonged to the same species as those we had seen at Zumbo.
For one thing, their habits seemed to have altogether changed,
as instead of pottering about among bushes and getting up
almost at one’s feet, they resorted to the extensive marshy
reed-beds, and were as wild as Hawks, travelling with a strong
flight and as straight as a die for a considerable distance
before alighting upon the next group of reed-heads. Their
presence in this black velvety plumage came to us all the more
as a surprise, since from the time of leaving Zumbo we never
came across any individuals in the transitional stage.”
During the Livingstone Expedition Sir John Kirk saw the
species in a marsh by the Zambesi and brought home a
specimen from the Shiré River. In this latter district, towards
Lake Nyasa, specimens have been procured by Mr. Alexander
Whyte at Mpimbe and Zomba, and by Sir Alfred Sharpe at
Dedza in Angoniland; further north, specimens have been
collected by Bohm at Katapana, to the west of Lake Moero,
by Fischer at Lindi on the coast, and by Kmin in the Ugogo
country.
The egg is described by Mr. Nehrkorn as of a deep blue,
with dull red and violet spots clustered towards the thick end,
and measuring 0°8 x 0°58.
COLIUSPASSER ASYMMETRURUS 49
Coliuspasser asymmetrurus.
Penthetria asymmetrura, Reichen. J. f. O. 1892, p. 126 Loango, Congo,
Angola.
Coliuspasser asymmetrurus, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 322 (1896); Reichen.
Vog. Afr. iii. p. 141 (1904).
Penthetria albonotata, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 219 (1890, pt. W. Afr.).
Similar in colouring to C. albonotatus in all its stages; but the male
in breeding plumage is readily distinguishable by its much, longer tail, which
varies from 4°5 to 5:5 inches.
The Angola White-winged Whydah is confined to West
Africa, where it ranges from Gaboon to the Cunene River.
In the British Museum there are two specimens in winter
plumage, from Gaboon, of Du Chaillu’s collecting; three males,
two in full breeding dress, obtained by Petit at Landana in
January, 1876; an adult male from Cambambe in Angola,
where Mr. Monteiro found the species not uncommon in the
high grass; there are also three full plumaged males from
Loanda and the Quanza River.
In Benguela Anchieta has collected specimens at Quis-
sange, Catumbella and Caconda, where, according to his notes,
it is known to the natives as the “ Dunquequilele.” It has also
been met with in the upper Cunene district by Van der Kellen.
This bird, like C. delamerei, can be recognised easily by
the greater length of the tail in adult males in full breeding
plumage.
Coliuspasser macrourus.
Loxia macroura, Gm. §. N. ii. p. 845 (1788).
Coliuspasser macrourus, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 324 (1896) ; Reichen. Vog.
Afr. iii. p. 188 (1904).
Penthetriopsis macrura, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 220 (1900); Butler,
Foreign Finches in Captivity, p. 292, pl. 52 (1894).
(October, 1904, 4
50 COLLUSPASSER MACROURUS
Fringilla flavoptera, Vieill. Ois. Chant. p. 69, pl. 41 (1805).
Fringilla chrysoptera, Vieill. Enc. Méth. iii. p. 964 (1823).
Vidua chrysonotus, Swains. B. W. Afr. i. p. 178 (1887).
Male in breeding plumage. Velvety black, with the mantle, lesser wing-
coverts, edges of pinion and bend of the wing bright canary-yellow; some
incomplete brownish buff margins to many of the wing-feathers; under
wing-coverts sandy buff. ‘Iris brown; bill bluish black, with the cutting
edges and tip of the lower mandible buff; tarsi and feet dark brown.”
Total length 7-6 inches, culmen 0:55, wing 3-2, tail 4, tarsus 0-99.
3, 26.5.01. Pong (Boyd Alexander).
Adult female. Upper parts mottled dark brown, with broad pale edges
to the feathers, very slightly shaded with yellow on the lesser wing-coverts ;
under surface of wings brown, with pale edges to the coverts and inner webs
of the quills; a pale buff eyebrow; sides of head light brown, less mottled
than the crown; under parts buff, slightly shaded with brown on the crop
and flanks. ‘Iris brown; upper mandible horny brown; lower mandible
and legs paler.” Total length 5:3 inches, wing 2°6, tail 2-1, tarsus 0°8.
2? , Lokoja (Forbes).
Immature male. Similar in plumage to the female. ¢g , Shonga, (Forbes).
Adult male in winter plumage. Very similar to the female, but differs
in the wings being blacker and the lesser coverts bright yellow. 3, 9. 2. 72.
Accra (Shelley).
The Yellow-mantled Whydah ranges southward from Sene-
gambia, the Niam-Niam country, Uganda and the mouth
of the Tana River to Angola and the Zambesi River.
Many naturalists have collected specimens at the Gambia,
but according to Dr. Rendall the species is not common there.
Verreaux obtained it from Casamanse, Beaudouin from Bissao.
In the Bissagos Islands Fea has collected a large series on
Bulama. At Sierra Leone it has been met with by Dr. Clarke,
Demery found it at the Sulemah River, Mr. Biittikofer calls -
it tolerably common in Liberia, and Fraser obtained it at
Cape Palmas. It is, in fact, common throughout its range
in West Africa to as far south as Angola, frequenting the
marshes. In February and March, when I was on the Gold
Coast, they were all in the brown winter dress, but as the
rainy season sets in the males assume their black plumage,
COLIUSPASSER MACROURUS 51
which here lasts from May to September. In May Mr. Boyd
Alexander found many in the full breeding plumage, and
others still in the brown dress. He met with them inland
to as far as Binduri near Gambaga. In the Niger district
Mr. Hartert found them in June and July at Loko, in full
plumage, assembling in large flocks with other Finches in the
rice and cornfields. | Bohndorff procured the species in the
Niam-Niam country, Dr. Reichenow and Mr. Sjéstedt in
Camaroons, Du Chaillu and Marche in Gaboon, Falkenstein
and Petit on the Loango Coast, Sperling, Jameson and
Bohndorff on the Lower Congo, and Storms during his
Tanganyika expedition. In the British Museum there is
one of Mr. Monteiro’s specimens from Angola, and in the
Lisbon Museum one procured by Welwitsch at Galungo-Alto.
The species has not been recorded from further south in
Western Africa, but ranges southward to the Zambesi; here
Mr. Boyd Alexander shot a hen bird in January, 1899, at
Zumbo (31° HK. long.). Along the Shiré Valley Sir John Kirk
saw large numbers of them on the wide grass-plains, flying from
one grass-head to another, always selecting the highest; know-
ing this, the natives catch them by setting a noose on any grass-
head rising above the others. ‘‘ The breeding plumage,’’ he
remarks, “was assumed in December and lasted throughout
the wet season. The nest was made of grass, woven among
the stalks. In this district Sir Alfred Sharpe procured the
species on Dedja, a mountain in Central Angoniland, on the
Portuguese frontier, at an altitude of 7,000 feet.
In German East Africa specimens have been collected by
Bohm at Ifume and near the Lukumbi River, by Fischer
on the southern banks of the Victoria Nyanza, at Speke’s Gulf,
and he also procured a specimen near Port Melinda, which is
the most eastern range known for the species. Between this
place and Uganda I do not find it recorded; but in the latter
52 COLIUSPASSER MACROCERCUS
country it has been met with by Dr. Ansorge, and as Bohndorff
found it in the Niam-Niam country it probably inhabits the
whole of the Central African Lake region.
The eggs are pale green, or greenish grey spotted with
grey, and measure 0°8 X 0°55.
Coliuspasser macrocercus.
Fringilla macrocerea, Licht. Verz. Doubl., p. 24 (1823) Nubza.
Coliuspasser macrocercus, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 325 (1896); Reichen.
Vog. Afr. iii. p. 137 (1904).
Penthetriopsis macrocerca, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 223 (1890).
Coliuspasser flaviscapulatus, Riipp. N. Wirb. Vog. p. 98 (1835-40)
Abyssinia.
Male in breeding plumage. Black, with the lesser wing-coverts canary-
yellow; some pale brown or whitish edges to many of the other wing-
feathers ; end portion of the primaries dusky ; under wing-coverts buff, with
the edge of the bend of the wing bright yellow. ‘“ Iris dark steel blue ; bill,
upper mandible black, lower one brownish grey; feet dark grey.” Total
length 9 inches, culmen 0°65, wing 3°5, tail 5-0, tarsus 0-95. 3, 11. 7. 02.
S. Abyssinia (Degen).
It closely resembles C. macrowrus in all its other plumages.
Adult female. Wing 3:3, tail 2-4.
Male in winter. Upper mandible reddish brown, lower one lighter ; legs
brown.
Lichenstein’s Yellow-shouldered Whydah inhabits the
Abyssinian district.
The most southern range known to me for this species is
Baroma (9° N. lat.); here Lord Lovat met with it associating
with QO. laticaudus in flocks. Heuglin found it common in
Tigré and near Adowa in large flocks, at elevations between
4,000 and 7,000 feet, and also saw it in the country surrounding
Gondar, where Riippell procured the type of C. flaviscapulatus.
He records their flight as not powerful, the note as a melan-
choly pipe, and remarks that “ when alarmed ”’ they hide among
pea.
THE BIRDS OF AFRICA.PL.XXIZ.
|.Pyromelana ladoensis.
2.Coluspasser soror.
COLIUSPASSER SOROR 53
the reeds which grow abundantly in the marshy districts they
naturally frequent.
Coliuspasser soror. (PI. 29, fig. 2.)
Penthetria soror, Reichen. J. f. O. 1887, p. 70 Kawanga.
Coliuspasser soror, Shelley, B. Afr. 1. No. 326 (1896); Reichen. Vog.
Afr, iii. p. 138 (1904).
Penthetriopsis soror, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 223 (1890).
Male in breeding plumage. Black with the lesser wing-coverts lemon
yellow. ‘Iris brown; bill with the upper mandible black and the lower one
horny blue with a black base.” Total length 7:6 inches, culmen 0:55, wing
3°2, tail 4:0, tarsus 0°9. ¢g, 24.6. 90. Kavirondo (Jackson).
Female, inmature male and adult male in winter plumage. Similar to
those of C. macrowrus. Bill, upper mandible pale olive brown, lower one
whitish horn colour; feet pale fleshy brown with a bluish shade.
Reichenow’s Yellow-shouldered Whydah inhabits the coun-
try to the east of the northern half of Victoria Nyanza.
This is a small Equatorial representative of C. macrocercus,
inhabiting the Kavirondo district. The type was procured at
Kawanga by Fischer. In the Kavirondo country Mr. Jackson
procured a male in February which had begun moulting, another
in March almost in complete breeding plumage, two in May and
June in the full black plumage, and one at Busoga in November
which was commencing the autumn moult. He found them very
plentiful in the Kakasuega district along the cart-road to
Manicus, but it was not seen by him in the Nandi country.
Coliuspasser psammocromius.
Penthetria psammocromius, Reichen. Orn. Monatsb. 1900, p.39 Tandala.
Coliuspasser psammocromius, Reichen. Vég. Afr. ii. p. 143, pl. , fig. 1,
(1904).
Adult male Uniform glossy jet black, with the exception of the wings;
lesser wing-coverts bright lemon yellow ; median-coverts and entire outer
54 COLIUSPASSER HARTLAUBI
webs of the greater coverts pale sandy buff and with edges of the same
colour on the secondaries; under wing-coverts pale sandy buff, with black
inner webs to some of the feathers, and a few next to the primaries entirely
black like the remainder of the wings. Total length 10:2 inches, culmen
0:65, wing 4:1, tail 6:0, tarsus 1-1. g, 9.02. Livingstonia (McClounie).
Adult female. Very similar to that of C. macrocercus, with the same
amount of yellow edges on the lesser wing-coverts ; but differs in having a
large portion of the under wing-coverts black. From C. progne it differs in
the black of the under wing-coverts not extending to the bend of the wing,
and in the second primary reaching nearly to the end of the wing. Total
length 6:4 inches, culmen 0:65, wing 3:6, tail 2-6, tarsus 1:05. ¢?, 9. 02.
Livingstonia (McClounie).
Male in winter plumage. Head, neck, body and tail as in the female;
and the wings as in the full plumaged male. 9. 02. Livingstonia (McClounie).
Fulleborn’s Marsh Whydah inhabits the Lake Nyasa
district. The type, a male in full plumage, was discovered by
Dr. Fulleborn at Tandala in about 9°S. lat. 34° EK. long. There
are now in the British Museum the three specimens I have
described; these were collected by Mr. McClounie in Living-
stonia to the south of Lake Nyasa. One of the characters
of the species is that the tail-feathers are peculiarly narrow,
being scarcely half so broad as in C. hartlaubt.
Coliuspasser hartlaubi.
Penthetria hartlaubi, Bocage, Jorn. Lisboa, 1879, p. 259 Caconda ; Cab.
J. f. O. 1888, p. 218 Wakala; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 219
(1890).
Coliuspasser hartlaubi, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 320 (1896) ; Reichen. Vég.
Afr. iii. p. 142 (1904).
Penthetriopsis humeralis, Sharpe, Bull. B. O. C. xi. p. 59 (1901) Nandi.
Coliuspasser hartlaubi humeralis, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 143 (1904).
Male in breeding plumage. Uniform black with the lesser wing-coverts
orange yellow; median coverts, edges of the greater coverts and a broad
under margin to the bend of the wing rufous buff. Iris brown; bill grey
Total length 10-8 inches, culmen 0:75, wing 4:05, tail 6:0, tarsus 1:1.
g, 5.93. Galungo (Anchieta).
Ss
COLIUSPASSER JACKSONI 55
Hartlaub’s Marsh Whydah ranges from Benguela into the
Upper White Nile district eastward to Nandi on the Equator,
and Kondiland, about 10° S. lat.
Anchieta discovered the type at Caconda, where it was
known as the “ Quindembere.” He has since obtained a speci-
men at Galungo on the Bengo River in Angola, where its
’
native name is ‘* Xituco,”’ and it feeds on seeds. In the ad-
joining Machinge country Sesinando Marques procured another
specimen, which he informs us was known to the natives as
the “‘ Bimba.” To the eastward it has been obtained by Dr.
Fullebourn in Kondiland.
In Equatorial Africa, Emin procured a specimen at Wakala,
the type of Penthetria hartlaubi, Cab., 1883; Dr. Stuhlmann
one at Mengo, and it is known to me by the type of Penthe-
triopsis humeralis, which, according to the label, was shot at
Nandi, and not on Mount Elgon, as recorded in the original
description. On comparing this specimen with the one I have
described from Galungo, it differs only in the tail measuring
4°5 inches, and I cannot admit it to be distinct from C.
hartlaubi (Bocage).
Coliuspasser jacksoni.
Drepanoplectes jacksoni, Sharpe, Ibis, 1891, p. 246, pl. 5 Masailand,
Kikuyu; Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 143 (1904).
Coliipasser jacksoni, Shelley B. Afr. I. No. 327 (1896).
Male in breeding plumage. Head, neck, body and tail entirely black ;
wings dark brown with pale edges to the feathers, broadest towards the
lesser wing-coverts, the least series of which are almost or entirely pale fawn-
colour of the same shade as the under wing-coyverts. ‘‘ Iris brown; bill with
the base and lower mandible black, remainder of upper mandible pale
green.” Total length 13 inches, culmen 0°75, wing 3:5, tail 8°8, tarsus 1-1.
3, 26.9.99. Mt. Settima (H. J. Makinder).
Female. Similar in general plumage to that of C. macrowrus ; but differs
in the sandy shade of the least wing-coverts, the nearly uniform pale fawn
56 COLIUSPASSER JACKSONI
colour of the under wing-coverts, and the dark stripes on the crop and sides
of body. ‘‘Iris brown; bill, tarsi and feet pinkish brown.” Wing 3:2,
tail 2:1. Nairobe (Mackinder).
Immature male. Very similar to the adult female, but with the crop and
flanks more striped.
Adult male in winter. Similar to the immature bird, but distinguished
by having the least series of wing-coverts pale fawn colour.
Jackson's Whydah inhabits British Hast Africa to the east
of Victoria Nyanza between 3° 8. lat. and 1° N. lat.
Mr. Jackson procured the types, a male and female, July
22, 1890, out of flocks frequenting the high grass in Masailand,
and they were then in full breeding plumage. In October of
the previous year he shot a male in the mottled brown
plumage in the Kikuyu country. He next mentions the
species as very plentiful in large flocks at Lake Elmateita in
April, 1896, also in the Nandi district at an elevation of 6,000
feet, June 2, 1898, and writes: ‘* Now commencing to breed.
I found the nests, but only one contained a single egg. The
nest is rather a flimsy structure, made of fine dry grass and
lined with the seed-heads of fine grass, with an entrance at
the side, like the nest of a Willow-Wren. It is placed on the
edge of swampy places, but not on the coarse herbage of the
swamps, within an inch or two of the ground. The birds bend
down the surrounding blades of grass and weave them into the
top of the nest, which makes the latter not only more difficult
to detect, but also renders it more waterproof. Like Penthe-
tria laticauda, the cock-birds make playgrounds for themselves,
on which they dance up and down on and off throughout the
day, but more vigorously in the early mornings and late even-
ings. Yesterday evening I watched several within a radius
of 100 yards; and a truly ridiculous sight it was to see
these pitch-black, curious-shaped objects, bobbing up and
down out of the grass. From an ant-heap close by I watched
—~
COLIUSPASSER JACKSONI 57
for a long time four cock-birds within forty yards of me;
and, as the sun was within half an hour of setting and shining
brightly at my back, I had a first-rate opportunity of noticing
how they assumed their curious attitude, and succeeded in
making a fairly accurate drawing of them. The actual
position is as follows: The head is thrown back like that of
a proud Turkey-cock, the beak being held horizontally. The
feet hang downwards; the tail is held straight up till it
touches the ruff at the base of the head and neck, the ends of
the feathers falling in a curve downward, with the exception
of two tail-feathers which are held outward and downward.
While actually rising in the air the half-open wings are
worked with a very quick shivering motion, and the feet are
also moved up and down very rapidly. The bird springs
straight up in the air, sometimes for a few inches and some-
times to the height of two feet, and then drops. The whole
of the plumage is much puffed out throughout the perform-
ance, which is repeated five or six times, with a short interval
for rest. The game would appear to be somewhat fatiguing,
as the bird rarely makes more than five or six jumps at a time
without a short rest. Only on one occasion was a female
present on the playground. They very often assume their
curious jumping attitude some little distance before they arrive
at their playground. At night they roost in the tall reeds and
rushes in the swampy hollows.”
While at Machako’s Dr. Sydney Hinde remarked: “ The
males of this species frequently form a playground in the long
grass on the plains. The playground made by each bird is
circular, about two feet in diameter; the grass is beaten quite
flat inside the ring, except one tuft in the very centre. A
flock of these birds playing has a curious effect, as they Jump
about three feet in the air and drop down again into the circle,
each bird jumping from five to ten times in a minute.” I may
58 COLIUSPASSER JACKSONI
here add his brief but interesting description of this district :
* Machako’s Station, on the Uganda road, is situated at the
edge of a grassy plain, which stretches for some miles to the
westward. The only wood in the neighbourhood consists of
single thorn-trees, scattered about at distances of 200 yards.
The nearest forest is at Kikuyu, about forty-five miles away.
On the east side of the station is a valley, at the bottom of
which is a stream about two feet wide and three inches deep.
The whole valley is cultivated, and a few patches of rank grass
grow in the bed of the stream. On its eastern side the
mountains rise abruptly, and some of them are 2,000 feet
higher than the station, which is 5,300 feet above the sea-
level.”
Dr. Ansorge found the species at Nairobe, and during the
Makinder Expedition to Mount Kenia it was met with in flocks
of thirty or forty together, and appeared to be common along
the western foot of the Mount Settima range. Sir Harry
Johnston obtained the species at Lake Baringo, which is the
most northern range yet recorded for these Weaver-birds.
In the British Museum there are many specimens collected
by Lord Delamere, comprising males in winter plumage from
Kikuyu in December, and from Lake Nakuro and Molo River
in the early part of January, and full plumaged males in
Likipia, January 21. Also several at Ngari Mosser and
Elbedjeda on Mount Kenia. Specimens were procured in the
breeding plumage by the Makinder Expedition, September 26,
and in the winter plumage by Dr. Hinde at M’Gongo, Octo-
ber 20. This shows that the spring and autumn moults take
place about January and October.
UROBRACHYA 59
Genus IV. UROBRACHYA.
Most nearly allied to Coliwspasser, but the tail is always rounded and
shorter than the wing. Bill brown or hoary grey. Adult males have the
lesser wing-coyerts scarlet, orange, or golden yellow; under wing-coverts
and a portion of the upper wing-coverts rufous ; during the breeding season
the entire head, neck, body and tail are uniform velvety black, with a ruff of
broad elongated feathers surrounding the sides and back of the neck. In
winter the adult males assume a mottled brown plumage very similar to
that of the females and young birds, but they may be readily distinguished
by the bright colouring of the lesser wing-coverts, which is retained through-
out the year. Tarsi and feet moderate; claws slender and much curved.
Type.
Urobrachya, Bp. Consp. i. p. 447 (1850) . . . . U. axillaris.
The genus is confined to Tropical and South Africa. I have given in my
key the distinguishing character of nine named forms, but of these U. affinis
is probably a cage variety of U. awillaris. U. hildebrandti I cannot look
upon as more than a variety of U. zanzibarica, and the types of U. media
are in apparently the young male plumage of U. phanicea.
U. zanzibarica, the large-billed form of the red-shouldered group, is con-
fined to Eastern Africa and graduates almost imperceptibly into U. axillaris
towards 10° §. lat., and into U. phenicea about 1° S. lat. U. mechowt, more
recently named U. uganda, is the large-billed representative of the orange-
shouldered group of which U. traversii is the northern form. U. bocagei,
with its golden yellow lesser wing-coverts, is very distinguishable by the
pale basal portion of the primaries showing well in front of the under
wing-coverts.
KEY TO THE SPECIES.
a. No pale base to primaries showing beyond the
under wing-coverts.
at, Smaller, wing not more than 3°56 inches;
rufous portion of wings darker.
a?, Black ends to primary-coverts deeper
than broad ; greater wing-coverts more
black than rufous.
a’, Pale portion of wing more cinnamon
60 UROBRACHYA AXILLARIS
rufous, with the least Coe
scarlet. . . axillaris. |
b%. Pale portion of he more phocolas:
rufous, with the least wing-coverts
yell? 6 5 < aginis. pf. ¢o
b?. Black ends to paiaaey corti smaller;
least wing-coverts scarlet.
Gs sexi ieee
a*. Greater wing-coverts more rufous
than black . . . . zanzibarica. |
b+. Greater wing-coverts more ‘black
than rufous) 2 2. 4 aldebrandin. uel
d*. Bill smaller.
c*. Winter plumage: head, neck and
body whiter . . ... . . . pheniceaad. fp. 6,
d*, Winter plumage: head, neck, and
body more rufous . . media. |
b1. Larger, wing not less than 3:5 nulaiee in
adults ; rufous portion of wing paler sandy
cinnamon ; least wing-coverts orange.
c®, Bill and wings danger wing 3°7 to 3:9
WONG 5 5 o © mechowi. | ¢%
d?. Bill and wings suailees Hie 3: 5 to Be 7
made G 6 o ¢ . traversit. |
b. With pale bases to primaries showin perond
the under wing-coverts ; lesser wing-coverts
ryolckyawallony o 5 5 « 5 6 8 5 8 o, 6 (aolAene(es, p70.
Urobrachya axillaris.
var. U. affinis. (PI. 30, fig. 2.)
Vidua axillaris, Smith, Ill. Zool. S. Afr. Aves. pl. 17 (1838) Kez A.
Urobrachya axillaris, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 224 (1890) Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 328 (1896) ; Shortridge, Ibis, 1904, p. 178 Pondoland ;
Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 129 (1904).
Urobrachya affinis, Cab. Orn. Centrabl. 1881, p. 183 Hab. (?) ; id. J. f. O.
1882, p. 122.
Male in breeding plumage. Black, with the exception of the following
portions of the wing: lesser-coverts crimson-shaded scarlet, inclining to
yellow on the base of the feathers; median-coverts, basal half of primary-
UROBRACHYA AXILLARIS 61
coverts, and a variable portion of the edges of the greater-coverts
cinnamon. Iris dark brown; bill bluish horn-colour, inclining to white at
the tips and edges of the mandibles; tarsi and feet black. Total length
6°3 inches, culmen 0°6, wing 3:4, tail 3-0, tarsus0-95. g, 25. 2.74. Durban
(Shelley).
Var. U. affis. Differs from the last only in having the lesser wing-
coverts golden yellow and the brown on the wing-coverts of a slightly more
chocolate shade. Total length 6:5 inches, culmen 0°65, wing 3:4, tail 2:7,
tarsus 0:95. Cage-bird, Zoological Gardens.
Adult female. Brown; crown and back pale brown with broad blackish
brown centres to the feathers of the forehead, crown and back, less strongly
marked on the rump and upper tail-coverts; wings and tail dark brown,
with pale brown edges to the feathers, passing into orange on the lesser
coverts; sides of head and the under parts generally, brownish buff; a
blackish band extending from the gape to the ear-coverts, which latter are
shaded with dark brown; flanks with blackish brown shaft-stripes; under
wing-coyerts cinnamon. Iris brown; bill, tarsi, feet and claws pale brown.
Total length 5:5 inches, culmen 0:6, wing 2°85, tail 1:9, tarsus 0°85.
9, 5.6.75. Pinetown (T. L. Ayres).
Adult male in winter plumage. Similar to the female but differing in
having the lesser wing-coverts orange scarlet, and the quills and tail-feathers
black. g,16. 7.75. Botha’s Hill (T. L. Ayres).
Immature. Similar in plumage to the female, but with less orange red
shade on the lesser wing-coverts. ¢ and ?, Pinetown (T. L. Ayres.)
The Natal Fan-tailed Whydah inhabits Southern Africa
east of about 25° H. long. and south of 10° 8. lat.
The most western known range for this species is the Kei
River in Eastern Cape Colony, where Sir Andrew Smith pro-
cured the type. Mr. Rickard has found this Whydah nesting
near Kast London in October and November.
In Natal and throughout South-eastern Africa it is abun-
dant in the more marshy districts. Cols. Butler and Feilden and
Capt. Savile Reid met with the species in Natal, and observe :
“ Hxtremely common at Richmond Road in December, where
it was breeding. The nest is a slight but strong construction
of grasses, nearly spherical, with a side entrance, built among
the reeds. Eggs bluish green, tinted with olive, with large
blotches and a few small spots, some clear dark olive, others
62 UROBRACHYA AXILLARIS
obscured, as if washed over by the ground colour; 0°8
SEU tie
The late Dr. Stark gives the following account of the habits
of the species: ‘* Like all the members of this genus, they are
polygamous in their habits, and in spring the handsome males,
looking very brilliant and spruce in their recently acquired
plumage of velvety black, with scarlet and orange epaulettes,
may be seen flitting over the reeds or grass with a curious
‘flopping’ flight, each one attended and closely followed in all
its movements by ten or twelve females, insignificant-looking
little brown birds, which nearly always keep close together in
a ‘bunch’ a few yards behind their lord and master. About
the beginning of November the females separate and com-
mence building their nests. These are never very close
together, although they are all within a certain distance that
the male seems to look upon as his own exclusive property,
and from which he drives other males of his kind, as well as
those of the much larger and stronger Coliopasser procne who,
hampered by their long tails, stand no chance in a fight with
their smaller but much more active antagonist. Hach female
builds and occupies a separate nest. During the time she is
sitting, the male stations himself on a tall weed somewhere
near the centre of his harem, and keeps a sharp look-out for
intruders; occasionally flying round to see how matters are
progressing at his various establishments. Should a man or
other dangerous enemy approach, he flies to each nest in
succession with a warning note, upon which the sitting females
leave their nests, creep under the grass for some yards, then
rise on the wing to follow him to a distance. The nest,
usually built in the centre of a tuft of grass, from eight inches
to a foot off the ground, is a beautifully light and airy struc-
ture, oval in shape and domed, with a side entrance near the
top; it measures about four inches and a half in height, and
UROBRACHYA AXILLARIS 63
three inches in diameter, is constructed of fine grass, with the
flowering tops attached, woven in a sort of open network, so
that the sides can be seen through, without any additional
lining. The sides of the nest are attached to many of the
surrounding grass-stalks, the blades and tops of the latter
being bent over in the form of a canopy, so as to completely
conceal it from above. The eggs, laid towards the end of
December, are three in number. ‘They have a_highly-
polished surface of a clear sea green, marked with large
spots and blotches of deep olive brown. They measure
0°80 x 0:58,
“These Widow Birds feed largely on insects, including
grasshoppers, locusts, mantides, and termites, also upon
various seeds, especially small grass-seeds. In winter the old
and young birds form good-sized flocks, but never seem to
wander far from their breeding station,”
Major Clarke saw a few full plumaged males in damp
places near Ingogo; they were shy, restless and pugnacious.
It appears to be abundant in the Portuguese territory on both
sides of the Zambesi and in Nyasaland. Mr. Cavendish pro-
cured two specimens at Mapicuti in winter dress in September,
and Dr. Stuhlmann collected thirteen near Quilimane, where,
he informs us, it is known to the natives as the * Mribbe.”” In
Nyasaland the species has been obtained at the Palumbi River
and at Kotakota. To the north in German Hast Africa, it is
replaced by U. zanzibarica, and in West Africa by U. bocaget
and U. mechowi.
U. affinis, Cab., which I have figured, is, I believe, as Dr.
Reichenow has suggested (Vog. Afr. ii. p. 129), a variety of
plumage of U. axillaris caused by its having lived for some
time in captivity. The type is a bird which died in the Berlin
Aquarium, and there are two similar specimens in the British
Museum, both of which were cage-birds, one in the Zoological
64 UROBRACHYA ZANZIBARICA
Gardens, London, and the other in the possession of the well-
known aviculturist, Mr. J. Abraham.
One can hardly believe that the U. affinis and U. pheenicea
(Reichenow, J. f. O. 1892, p. 45) are alike in plumage, so I
would suggest that the former may belong to U. mechowi,
which Dr. Reichenow has, I think, wrongly referred to
U. bocagei, a species which, I believe, has never been procured
from so far north as the Quanza River.
Urobrachya zanzibarica. (Pl. 30, fig. 1.)
Urobrachya zanzibarica, Shelley, P. Z. 8. 1881, p. 516 Pangani, Usam-
bara, Melinda, Lamu.
Urobrachya phcenicea (non Heugl.), Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 225
(1890 pt. S. of Equator); Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 330 (1896 pt.
«.”); Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 180 (1904 pt. German E. Afr.).
Urobrachya hildebrandti, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 225 (1890) Mombasa ;
Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 329 (1896).
Urobrachya phcenicea hildebrandti, Reichen. Vog. Afr. ili. p. 132 (1904).
Urobrachya nigronotata, Sharpe, Bull. B. O. C. vii. p. 7 (1897) Witw.
Similar to U. axillaris in all its stages of plumage, and with the same
shade of scarlet on the lesser wing-coverts, but differs in the bill being
larger, and in full plumaged males the primary-coverts are mostly cinnamon.
In the type the greater series of wing-coverts are almost entirely cinnamon.
Total length 6-5 inches, culmen 0:7, wing 3°4, tail 2°7, tarsus 1:0. Melinda
(Kirk).
The type of U. hildebrandti differs only in having the greater wing-
coverts almost entirely black ; wing 3°35 inches. Mombasa (Hildebrandt).
The type of U. migronotata is intermediate between the two last in the
colouring of the greater wing-coverts. Witu (Jackson).
I cannot look upon these specimens as more than varieties of one
species.
The Zanzibar Fan-tailed Whydah inhabits East Africa
between 1° S. lat. and 10° 8. lat.
Owing to the absence, formerly, of any full plumaged
examples of U. phenicea in the British Museum, Dr. Sharpe,
in 1890, described one of the typical specimens of U. zanzt-
barica as the ‘adult male” of U. phenicea (Heugl.), and
© or tl &
THE BIRDS OF AFRICA,PL. Xxx
|.Urobrachya zanzibarica.
Z. ” affinis.
UROBRACHYA PH@NICEA 65
Dr. Reichenow (Vog. Afr. 11. pp. 130-133), by following Dr.
Sharpe’s lead, has confused the synonomy and distribution of
these two species.
I doubt if either of the smaller-billed allied forms (U. azil-
laris and U. phenicea) have been found in Hast Africa between
10° and 1° S. lat. To the large-billed form, U. zanzibarica,
certainly belong all Sir John Kirk’s specimens from Pangani,
Usambara, Melinda and Lamu, also two specimens from
Mombasa, one a typically coloured bird and the other the type
of U. hildebrandti, three of Bohndorff’s from Mtoni, one of
Jackson’s from Witu (type of U. nigronotata), and a specimen
procured by him at Yonte in Jubaland, “3, ad. 1. 9. 02.”
All the other specimens I have seen of Mr. Jackson’s
collecting belong to U. pheenicea, so that I think we may regard
1° S. lat. as the boundary between U. zanzibarica and U. phe-
nicea, and to U. zanzibarica I should refer so-called U. phenicea
from south of 1°S. lat. and the whole of U. phanicea hilde-
brandti, Reichenow, which include the specimens collected by
Fischer, Hildebrandt, Kirk, Bohndorff, Bohm, Marwitz and
Filleborn.
According to Fischer, the species is known in the Suaheli
language as the “ Tshongue.”
Urobrachya pheenicea.
Coliuspasser phceniceus, Heugl. J. f. O. 1862, p. 304; 1863, p. 167
Sobat R.
Urobrachya phcenicea, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 225 (1890 pt.) White
Nile; Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 330 (1896); Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii.
p. 130 (1904 pt.).
? Urobrachya media, Sharpe, Ibis, 1902, p. 118 W. Ankole.
Urobrachya pheenicea media, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 132 (1904).
Urobrachya traversii (non Salvad.), Flower, P. Z. §. 1900, p. 957 Kaka.
Male in breeding plumage. Similar to U. azillaris in size of bill and
colouring, with the exception of the primary-coverts and greater wing-
(October, 1904, 5
66 UROBRACHYA PHCNICEA
coverts, which are of the same cinnamon colour as the median-coverts,
with the black portion confined to the three innermost greater wing-coverts
and the extreme ends of the primary-coverts. ‘Iris brown; bill pale horn
blue; feet slaty black.” Total length 6:5 inches, culmen 0:6, wing 3°3, tail
2-7, tarsus 0°5. g, 28. 5.98. Nandi (Jackson).
Adult female. Crown, back of neck, back, wings and tail mostly black,
with tawny shaded brownish buff sides to the feathers; lesser wing-coverts
with their edges more orange; a broad eyebrow and the sides of the head
rufous buff, mottled with black on front of cheeks and hinder half of ear-
coverts; underparts tawny-shaded brownish buff; crop, sides of neck and
the flanks streaked with rather broad black shaft-stripes. ‘‘ Iris brown ; bill
pale brown, the lower mandible whitish horn; feet brown, with a bluish
tint.’’ Total length 5-5 inches, culmen 0:6, wing 2°9, tail 2:0, tarsus 0°85.
2, 28.5. 98. Nandi (Jackson).
Adult male in winter. Head, neck, body and tail similar in colouring to
those of the female; wings as in the full plumaged males, but with broader
pale edges to the inner secondaries. g, 26.10.89. Kisumu (Jackson).
Female, variety. Very similar to the male which has assumed most of
its black feathers, but the tail, primaries and the lesser wing-coverts are as
in the ordinary female; median wing-coverts black, with broad pale rufous
edges; greater wing-coverts entirely jet black ; primary-coverts black, with
broad rufous buff outer edges. Total length 5:0 inches, culmen 0:6, wing
2:8, tail 2:0, tarsus 0:8. 92, 23. 6.98. Nandi (Jackson).
Heuglin’s Fan-tailed Whydah replaces U. zanzibarica in
British East Africa from 1° 8. lat. to the White Nile, and
possibly ranges further south on the western side of Victoria
Nyanza; but is itself replaced in Angola by U. mechowi, and
in Shoa by U. traversi.
The species is apparently abundant throughout the marshy
districts to the north of Victoria Nyanza, where Mr. Jackson
has collected a large series from Ntebbi, Kampala, Nandi and
other places. It has been recorded from Bukome, Itale, Mengo
(Stuhlmann), and from Bukoba (Hmin), but I have not seen
these specimens. In its most western known range Dr. Ansorge
procured specimens at the Holulu River, in the Congo Free
State, and others in Toru, Uganda and Usoga.
In the Nile district Heuglin discovered the species at the
Sobat River, and remarked that these birds were generally
UROBRACHYA TRAVERSII 67
in noisy parties of from six to ten, frequenting the heads of the
high grass. They have a melancholy flute-like note. The
moults take place in July and November. The species has
also been procured by him at Port Rek, by Antinori in the
Kidsh country, and by Emin at Babira, Bora and Lado. Mr.
Hawker met with these Whydahs at Fashoda and Kaka in
flocks, frequenting the recently burnt ground near the river
and the swamps; and in April and May the males were all
in the brown winter plumage. Capt. Stanley Flower also
mentions seeing flocks of hundreds of these birds in the long
dry grass by the White Nile, near Kaka, and I have received
the following notes from Mr. A. L. Butler: ‘In February and
March, 1902, I found it common in moderate-sized flocks from
Kaka to Fashoda, up the Bahr-el-Gazel to Meshra-er-Rek, and
also along the river-edge. In the desolate swamps of the
‘Sudd,’ where there was no mixture of dry ground, I never
saw it. These birds have a heavy flopping flight.”
Sir Harry Johnston procured at Tarangola, in West Ankole,
two male birds in the brown dress, the types of U. media,
Sharpe; these specimens have the plumage more strongly
shaded with rufous than any others I have seen, but a some-
what similar variation in colour is to be met with in females
collected by Mr. Jackson at Ntebbi, and is probably a sign of
immaturity, or may be caused by rust in the water.
Urobrachya traversii.
Urobrachya traversii, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Genoa, 1888, p. 287 Shoa ;
Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 226 (1890); Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 331
(1896) Grant, Ibis, 1904, p. 257 Shoa.
Urobrachya phcenicea traversii, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 132 (1904).
Male in breeding plumage. Velvety black, with the lesser wing-coverts
reddish orange, fading into sulphur yellow towards the white basal half
of these feathers; primary-coverts, greater and median-coverts (with the
68 UROBRACHYA MECHOWI
exception of the innermost feathers) uniform cinnamon ; secondaries with
some imperfect buff edges; under wing-coverts cinnamon. Iris brown; bill
greyish horn colour; feet black. Total length 7:3 inches, culmen 0:65,
wing 3:6, tail 3:4, tarsus 1:0. 3g, 30.6.02. 8. Abyssinia (Degen).
In the size of the bill and in all its other stages of plumage it closely
resembles U. phenicea and U. azillaris.
Trayersi’s Fan-tailed Whydah inhabits Shoa and Southern
Abyssinia.
The species was discovered by Dr. Traversi at Antotto in
Shoa, and specimens have been collected in that country at
Sutta and Urafa Bonata by Dr. Ragazzi, who found it in full
plumage in October and not rare. Mr. HE. Degen met with it
in flocks of male birds only at Manna Gasha west of Adis
Ababa in June.
In Southern Abyssinia Lord Lovat procured specimens at
Lekaniti, and writes: ‘‘ A very local bird, but in large numbers
where it is found. On our western journey from Adis Ababa
to Dabous we passed through country inhabited first by this
species, then during a few days’ march we saw only Penthe-
triopsis macrocerca, and then once more the Urobrachya only
was met with, the long-tailed Weaver, Penthetria laticauda,
remaining constant throughout.” Mr. Pease saw large flocks
of these birds among the grass and sedge at the edges of
Lake Zwai and procured specimens at Lekamti. wy
[hic
ow My 7 , QA ~ Wr
Urobrachya mechowi.
Urobrachya mechowi, Cab. Orn. Centralbl. 1881, p. 183; id. J. f. O.
1882, p. 122 Angola.
Urobrachya bocagei, pt. Sharpe Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 226 (1890) ‘Sp.e,
Columbo”’ ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 1383 (1904 pt.) Quanza R. and
Angola.
Urobrachya axillaris (non Smith), Shelley, Ibis, 1902, p. 165 Karwngwesi.
Urobrachya phenicea quanze, Hartert, Bull. B. O. C. xiii. p. 56 (1908).
Quanza fi. ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 133 (1904).
? Urobrachya, affinis, Reichen, J. f. O. 1892, p. 45 Mengo.
UROBRACHYA MECHOWI 69
Type of U. quanze. Very similar in colouring to U. traversti, with
the lesser wing-coverts slightly yellower; remainder of wing-coverts uniform
pale cinnamon, with the exception of a portion of the innermost greater
wing-coverts black; but is a larger bird with a distinctly stronger bill.
Total length 6:5 inches, culmen 0°8, wing 3°8, tail 2:5, tarsus 1:1. Barraca
(Pemberton).
Mechow’s Fan-tailed Whydah ranges from the Quanza
River eastward to Karungwesi, and northward possibly to
Uganda.
In Angola Major v. Mechow discovered the species, and
procured several specimens at Malandje in December, January
and February. A little further south Mr. Monteiro obtained
a male in breeding plumage at Colombo on the Quanza River,
November, 1868, which is in the British Museum. Along
this river, at Barraca, Mr. Pemberton collected two males in
full plumage in May, one of which is the type of U. phenicea
quanze, Hartert. To this species undoubtedly belong three
specimens, in winter plumage, sent to the British Museum by
Sir Alfred Sharpe from Karungwesi close to the Kolongatsi
River, which runs westward into Lake Meru.
Its possible occurrence in Uganda rests on one of Dr.
Stuhlmann’s specimens from Mengo referred to U. affinis, Cab.
U. bocaget, one of the best marked species of this genus, is
known from Mossamedes and Benguela only, and may be said
to be represented by the present form, an almost equally well-
marked species to the north of the latitude of the Quanza
River. The large size and colouring of the wings shows that
U. traversti is the northern representative of U. mechowi, from
which the former differs in the smaller size of the bill, much
in the same way as U. awillaris and U. phenicea differ from
U. zanzibarica.
70 UROBRACHYA BOCAGEI
Urobrachya bocagei.
Urobrachya bocagei, Sharpe, Cat. Afr. B. p. 63 (1870) Hwilla ; id. Cat.
B. M. xiii. p. 226, pl. 9 (1890 pt.) Benguela ; Shelley, B. Afr. I.
No. 332 (1896); Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 133 (1904 pt.) S. of
Quanza R.
Male in full plumage. Black, with the exception of the following parts
of the wing: lesser wing-coverts chrome yellow, remainder of wing-coverts
pale cinnamon; base of primaries buff, which colour shows well in front of
the under wing-coverts. ‘Iris brown; bill whitish grey; tarsi and feet
black.” Total length 7 inches, culmen 0-6, wing 3:4, tail 3:1, tarsus 1-0.
Type, ¢, Huilla (Anchieta).
Bocage’s Fan-tailed Whydah inhabits Portuguese West
Africa between the Quanza and Cunene Rivers.
The species is at the present time known from Caconda
and Huilla only, and according to Anchieta’s notes it is called
by the natives of the former place the ‘‘ Quicengo,” and of
the latter the ‘ Lele.’ The type which is in the British
Museum came from Huilla.
The best character for distinguishing the species from all
the other members of the genus is the pale bases of the
primaries showing well in front of the under wing-coverts ;
this character, coupled with the wing-measurement (3°4), readily
distinguishes it from its larger near ally, U. mechowi, Cab.
(U. pheenicea quanze, Hartert).
Genus V. PYROMEBLANA.
The males only of the Bishop-birds, like the Whydahs, discard, by a
spring moult, the modest mottled brown plumage, which is retained through-
out the year by the females, and assume a brilliant nuptial dress in which
bright red or yellow and velvety black are the most striking features. As
in the last two genera, the neck at this season also becomes decorated with
a frill of lengthened broad feathers. The tail remains at all times short
and nearly square; otherwise the structure closely resembles that of the
other genera of the Vidwine.
PYROMELANA
Pyromelana, Bp. Saggio Distr. Met. Anim.
Vertebr. p. 141 (1831) .
Oryx (non Oken, 1846) Less. Traité p. 437
(1831) .
Euplectes, Swains. Oinee B. li. *. 278 (1837).
Hyperanthus, Gistel, ye Thierr. p. ix.
(1848) ‘
Xanthomelana, Bp. Gane ie 5 447 (1850) :
Orynx, Reichenb. Av. Syst. p. 76, fig. 28 (1850)
Taha, Reichenb. Singv. p. 73 (1861)
Type.
P. ora.
P. capensis.
P. franciscana.
P. capensis.
P. capensis.
P. taha.
The genus is confined to Tropical and South Africa.
KEY TO THE SPECIES, FOUNDED ON MALES
BREEDING PLUMAGE.
a. Head and neck entirely black; some bright
yellow on the plumage.
a1, Lesser wing-coverts and lower half of back
pale yellow ; under tail-coverts black.
a*, Bill stouter.
a8, Quills with broad rufous buff inner
margins; thighs generally browner.
a*, Larger: wing more than 3 inches;
lower mandible pale :
b*. Smaller; bill entirely black .
6%, Quills blacker ; rarely any trace of butf
inner margins; thighs generally en-
tirely black ; wing about 3 inches .
b?, Bill more slender; quills with rufous
buff inner edges; thighs mostly brown .
b1. Lesser wing-coverts brown; mantle and
lower back orange yellow; under tail-
coverts white
b. Head and neck never entirely black:
c1, Lower back, as well as upper and under
tail-coverts, yellow.
c®. Entire crown yellow.
c®&. Neck yellow, ees a broad throat
collar aa ac
Neck black, soauthae ¢ a Broad injec!
collar.
d3,
capensis.
approximans. j» 7
avanthomelas. /
phenicomera. / 7
aurea.
afra. /
71
IN
PYROMELANA
“I
wo
c+, Smaller; generally some yellow on
letswitNal:<chig A Oe Oe Oo Sa
d+. Larger; sides of body black, with
only a patch of yellow near the crop.
a>, Smaller; wing 2°45, tarsus 0°7 ;
more yellow near the crop
b>, Larger; wing 2:7, tarsus 0°8; less
yellow near the crop
d?, Forehead and front of crown orange
red; remainder of head black .
dt. Lower back, as well as tail-coverts, never
yellow ; some red on the neck.
e2, Sides of abdomen and the under tail-
coverts scarlet.
e3. Forehead and crown scarlet; entire
throat black
f. Forehead and crown black; entire
throat red .
f?. No red on abdomen nor under tail-
coverts.
g*. Forehead black.
e*. Upper tail-coverts red of the same
shade as the entire lower back ;
under wing-coverts pale.
c>. Larger; wing more than 28;
front two-thirds of crown black
d>, Smaller; wing less than 2:7;
front half only of the crown black.
a®, Red on plumage more scarlet
b®. Red on plumage more yellow .
f*. Under tail-coverts brown or blackish.
e>. Under wing-coverts pale
f®. Under wing-coverts black.
c®. Upper half of throat black .
d®. Chin black; remainder of throat
orange red aes
h8, Forehead scarlet like the crown;
under wing-coverts black
ladoensis. |». 2
taha. hf, &¢
stricta. ¢
diademata. |
migriventis. |
franciscana.
oriz.
‘
sundevalli.
werthert. /
friederichsoni. }
ansorget. /. |
guerowt f. |
flammiceps. |:
1g
G2
02
hot
/¢
2
PYROMELANA CAPENSIS
~I
Ss)
Pyromelana capensis.
Loxia capensis, Linn. 8. N. i. p. 306 (1766) Cape of Good Hope.
Pyromelana capensis, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 236 (1890); Butler,
Foreign Finches in Captivity, p. 295, pl. 53 (1894); Shelley, B. Afr.
I. No. 334 (1896) ; Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 124 (1899) egg; Harris,
Essays and Photographs, p. 103, pl. 24, fig. 2 (1901) nest.
Euplectes capensis, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 126 (1904).
Loxia neevia, Gm. 8. N. i. p. 845 (1788).
Fringilla phalerata, Licht. Verz. Doubl. p. 22 (1823) Cape.
Male in breeding plumage. Black, with the lower half of the back and
the least and median series of wing-coverts bright canary yellow; scapulars
with broad pale brown edges; greater coverts and quills with very narrow
brownish buff edges; under surface of quills black, with broad rufous buff
inner edges ; under wing-coverts rufous buff, shading into yellow along the
bend of the wing; thighs pale brown or with a few black feathers. Ivis dark
brown ; bill black, with lower mandible buff; feet pale brown. Total length
6:2 inches, culmen 0-75, wing 3°4, tail 2°5, tarsus 1:0. 3, 19. 11. 65. Cape
Town (Andersson).
Adult female. Upper parts mottled blackish brown, with pale brown
edges to the feathers: lesser and median wing-coverts and lower half of
the back with yellow edges to the feathers; under surface of wings as in
the males. Iris dark brown; bill horny buff; feet pale brown. Wing 3:4,
tail 2-1. Cape Town.
Male in winter plumage. Similar to the female in colouring, with the
exception of the lesser and median wing-coverts and the lower back, which
are bright yellow.
The Cape Black and Yellow Bishop-bird is confined to Cape
Colony. The species is abundant about Cape Town, ranging
northward to Clan William and eastward into the George
District; beyond this limited range it is replaced by a smaller
very similarly coloured species, P. approximans.
With regard to its habits, Stark writes: “This large
Bishop-bird is nearly everywhere common in the Western
Colony, and although it seems to prefer the vicinity of marshy
‘In the British Museum specimens, only one has the lower mandible nearly
lack.
74 PYROMELANA CAPENSIS
vleis or streams, it may be frequently found in very dry and
arid tracts of country. ‘lhe male in spring and summer is
fond of uttering his harsh notes from the top of a tall bush or
reed, and is then very conspicuous in his contrasting glossy
black and yellow plumage. The female at this season is not
often seen, keeping much to thick reed-beds or bushes, even
when not sitting on her eggs. In autumn the old birds of
both sexes, together with their young, form considerable flocks,
which do not separate until the following spring. The long,
loose, yellow feathers of the lower back and rump of the
breeding males are erectile, and when the bird is approaching
a hen, or is excited, they stand out at right angles to the body,
giving him an extraordinary appearance, apparently irresistible
to the impressionable female.” This mode of courting the
hens has also been remarked in the Shrikes belonging to the
genus Dryoscopus. Stark further remarks: “The song consists
of a series of harsh and discordant notes. Although these
birds feed largely on grass-seeds or grain, and are accused
by the farmers of working havoc with the crops, they devour
a considerable number of insects, and feed their young on
small caterpillars and grubs. This species nests in September
or October. The nest, a domed structure with a side entrance,
is woven out of fine grass, and is usually attached by its
sides to three or four reed-stems; sometimes it is built in
thick bushes at a height of four or five feet. The eggs, almost
always four in number, have a pale greenish blue ground
colour nearly concealed by spots, blotches and lines of dark
brown or slate colour. They average 0°85 x 0°60, and are
hatched in about fourteen days.” With regard to the moult,
Layard remarks: “ The first thing which changes is the bill;
the black commences to show at the tip of the lower mandible,
which gradually darkens, from its usual horn colour to the
deepest black; before this is accomplished the upper mandible
PYROMELANA APPROXIMANS 75
has begun to blacken, and a few black feathers are visible
round the neck; the breast next shows a change, and a feather
or two on the back darkens, and thus by degrees the whole
bird changes to its splendid black. This transformation begins
about July, and is completed in September, which is the
nesting season. The moult back again begins in the same
manner.”
I have here quoted Layard’s account of the moult, for it
gives a good idea of what takes place in the change from the
winter to the summer plumage in all the four closely allied
species ; but the bird he took his notes from must have been
a specimen of P. approximans, which is the only one of the
four in which the lower mandible changes to black for the
breeding season.
Pyromelana approximans.
Orynx approximans, Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 177 (1851) Kaffraria (Berlin
Mus.).
Euplectes capensis approximans, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 127 (1904 pt.)
Euplectes capensis, var. minor, Grill, Zool. Anteckn. pp. 10, 22 (1858).
Pyromelana minor, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 238 (1890); Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 335 (1896).
Euplectes xanthomelas (non Riipp.), Butler, Feilden and Reid, Zool. 1882,
p: 297 Natal.
Similar to P. capensis in all its plumages; but differs in being smaller,
and in full breeding plumage the males have the lower mandible black and
there is little or no brown on the thighs. Total length 5:9 inches, culmen
0:55, wing 3:0, tail 2:5, tarsus 0:9. g, 26.10.81. Newcastle (Butler).
Female. Culmen 0:5, wing 2:7, tail 19, tarsus 075. ?, 14.5. 78. Pine-
town (T. L. Ayres).
The Natal Black and Yellow Bishop-bird inhabits Hastern
South Africa from the Knysna to Inhambane in Mosambique.
In the British Museum there is a fair series of this species,
including specimens from the Knysna River (where its range
76 PYROMELANA XANTHOMELAS
meets that of P. capensis), from Natal, Zululand, the Orange
River Colony, and the Transvaal. Mr. W. L. Sclater records
it from Inhambane, which is the furthest north I can trace
the species. In habits, as in plumage, it closely resembles
P. capensis.
Major Clarke has kindly informed me that he met with
the species near Ingogo, frequenting only the higher slopes
of the mountains.
Pyromelana xanthomelas.
Euplectes xanthomelas, Riipp. N. Wirb. Vog. p. 94 (1835-40) Abyssinia ;
Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 128 (1904).
Pyromelana xanthomelena, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 239 (1890);
Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 333 (1896); Grant, Ibis, 1904, p. 257 Shoa.
Male in breeding plumage. Black, with the lower half of the back and
the least and median series of wing-coverts bright canary yellow; scapulars
with some broad pale brown edges; greater coverts and quills with very
narrow brownish buff edges; under surface of quills entirely black or with
obsolete brownish buff inner edges; under wing-coverts rufous buff, shading
into yellow along the bend of the wing; thighs with or without a few pale
brown feathers. Iris brown; bill with the lower mandible greyish horn
colour, the upper one darker, sometimes entirely black; tarsi and feet
brown. ‘Total length 5:5 inches, culmen 0°55, wing 3:0, tail 2:0, tarsus 0-9.
Abyssinia (Rippell).
Adult female. Above mottled blackish brown, with pale brown edges
to the feathers ; lesser and median coverts and feathers of the lower back
with pale edges; under surface of wings as in the males. Iris and legs
brown; bill pale horn colour, darker and browner on the upper mandible.
Wing 2:7. @, Ashanghi (Blanford).
Male in winter plumage. Similar to the female, but differs in having
the same amount of yellow on the wings and back as in the full plumaged
males.
Rippell’s Black and Yellow Bishop-bird ranges from north
of the Orange River and Limpopo into Angola and Abyssinia.
In Portuguese West Africa the species has been procured by
Monteiro, who found it to be common in the Cambambe district
and known to the natives as the “Saca.” Anchieta has
PYROMELANA XANTHOMELAS 77
collected specimens at Caconda and Quindumbo and gives the
names by which they are known at these places, respectively,
as ‘‘ Pinine” and “ Quisengo.”
I have not seen a specimen from German South-west Africa,
but the following notes by Andersson refer to the species:
“This is a comparatively scarce bird in Damara and Great
Namaque Lands, but is very abundant at Lake Ngami; it
sometimes occurs in large flocks in the open country, and is
also found in small communities in the neighbourhood of water
and in humid situations where it breeds.” ‘The measurements
he gives are probably taken from the specimens of P. capensis
he collected at Cape Town, two of which are now in the
British Museum.
To the north of the Limpopo River P. approximans is
probably entirely replaced by the present species, which is
represented in the British Museum by two specimens collected
by Mr. T. E. Buckley and Mr. Selous in Matabeleland, by
Frank Oates’s from Inyati and Hope Fontein, by Jameson's
from the Umfuli River, and by Sowerby’s from Fort Chi-
quaqua in Mashonaland. There, according to Mr. Sowerby,
it is common and mostly seen in the open country. Mr. Guy
Marshall found it much more generally distributed than
P. sundevalli, and not so much attached to the reed-beds, and
he writes : ‘“‘ The nest is generally suspended from a twig over
water and roughly but strongly built of coarse grass, the seed-
heads of which are ingeniously twisted into the interior of
the nest, so as to form a deep soft lining. The eggs
(0°98 x 0°66) are of a bluish green colour, handsomely marked
with surface blotches of both dark and light brown, and
underlying patches of violet grey.”
Sir John Kirk met with the species along the Zambesi and
Shiré Rivers, and in British Central Africa specimens have
been collected at Zomba, Milanje, Buwa, Mkukula, Katunga,
=
78 PYROMELANA PHCNICOMERA
South Angoniland, Malosa and Chanda, and according to Sir
Alfred Sharpe, it is known to the natives as the “ Chiunga.”
Capt. Storms procured the species on the western side of
Lake Tanganyika, and specimens have been collected by Bohm
at Karema; by Fischer at Lindi, in Ugogo and the Usambara
countries, along the Pangani River, at Mombasa, Lamu and
Susua. Mr. Oscar Neumann met with it at Donje-Nai,
Magila, Kikuyu, Moschi and Umbugwe.
Mr. Jackson found the species fairly plentiful in the Teita
country and along the hill-sides at Elgeyu, where it was breed-
ing in July and August. ‘‘ Eggs, two or three. Nest in long
grass, and made of fine dry grass, very scantily constructed,
with a sort of porch made of the seed-heads of grass.” At
the Eldoma Ravine in November he met with the species in
small flocks and found “the young birds of the year, moulting.”
He also observed the species near Naiwasha Lake, Nandi, and
on Mount Elgon at an elevation of 6,000 feet in December.
Its occurrence in Somaliland is known to me only by an
immature specimen obtained by Dr. Donaldson Smith at
Budda. On the neighbouring border of Abyssinia, Lord Lovat
shot a specimen at Waha-Zinzero, and Mr. Pease others at
Adis Ababa. In Shoa twenty-seven specimens have been
collected by Antinori and Dr. Ragazzi, so it must be abundant
throughout that district. The typical specimens were pro-
cured in Central Abyssinia by Ruppell. Heuglin met with
these Weavers in the highlands of Wagara up to an elevation
of 10,000 feet, and in the Upper White Nile district Antinori
found them in the country of the Kidj Negroes.
Pyromelana phcenicomera.
Euplectes phcenicomera, Gray, Ann. v. Mag. Nat. Hist. (3) x. p. 444
(1862) Camaroons.
Pyromelana phcenicomera, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 239 (1890); Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No 336 (1896).
Euplectes capensis phcenicomerus, Reichen. Vég. Afr, iii, p. 127 (1904).
PYROMELANA AUREA zfs)
Very similar to P. wanthomelas in size and colouring, but differing from
it and the other two allied species in the bill being slightly more slender.
Lower mandible pale, upper one black; under surface of quill with broad,
rather obscure, rufous buff inner edges; thighs mostly pale brown. Male:
total length.4°8 inches, culmen 0:6, wing 2°9, tail 1-9, tarsus 0:95. Female:
wing 2°9, tarsus 0°85.
Burton’s Black and Yellow Bishop-bird is probably confined
to the highlands of Camaroons.
Here the species was discovered by the late Sir R. Burton,
in the mountains, at 7,000 feet, and Sir Harry Johnston pro-
cured a fine series of specimens at elevations ranging from
8,000 to 10,000 feet. More recently Dr. Preuss has met
with it at Buea, so that it has not been recorded from a lower
elevation in that country than 7,000 feet.
Iam inclined to regard the species as a very local form,
representing its extremely near ally, P. wanthomelas, in the
highlands of Camaroons.
Mr. Boyd Alexander refers a female specimen he pro-
cured at Kwobia on the Gold Coast to this species, and
Swainson, under the heading of Hwuplectes capensis (B. W.
Afr. i. p. 180) writes: “‘ We suspect that the full plumage is
not acquired even after the first moult; for although the bird
is common to Senegal and other parts of Africa, specimens
usually seen are in immature plumage.” These notes may
belong to this species, but it appears to me quite as probable
that they refer to P. xanthomelas.
Pyromelana aurea.
Loxia aurea, Gm. 8. N. ii. p. 846 (1788).
Pyromelana aurea, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 235 (1890) ; Shelley, Ibis,
1886, p. 354, pl. 9, fig. 2; id. B. Afr. I. No. 338 (1896); Reichen.
Vog. Afr. iii. p. 113 (1904); Bocage, Jorn. Lisb. 1904, p. 82 Sé.
Thomas Isl.
Euplectes aurinotus, Swains. An. in Menag. p. 310 (1838).
80 PYROMELANA AFRA
Adult male. Head, throat and breast jet black; hinder half of the neck
and nearly the whole of the back bright orange yellow; the ends of the
feathers of the lower back broad and square, with narrow black margins ;
lower rump and upper tail-coverts dark brown with paler edges; wings and
tail black, with some buffy brown edges to the feathers ; under wing-coverts,
inner edges of the quills, thighs, lower abdomen and the under tail-coverts
buffy white. Iris; tarsi and feet brown; bill blackish. Total length 5:4
inches, culmen 0:65, wing 2°75, tarsus 0'8. Quanza R. (Brit. Mus.).
The Golden-backed Bishop-bird inhabits the Island of St.
Thomas and probably ranges from Gaboon into Benguela.
On the Island of St. Thomas Mr. F. Newton has collected
a number of specimens, and informs us that it is known as the
** Que-blancana-janilo,” so we may presume it to be abundant
there. I find very little definite information regarding its
occurrence on the African continent. Gujon brought a speci-
men to Paris in his collection from Gaboon. In the British
Museum there are three examples, two labelled “* W. Africa”
and the other ‘‘ Quanza River.” This latter skin was formerly
in my own collection, but I never knew the collector’s name.
The type of the species, figured by Brown under the name of
the *‘Golden-backed Finch,” was supposed to have come from
Benguela, and that locality is probably correct, for M. Furtado
D’Antas’s collection, which was mostly composed of specimens
from that country, contained an unlabelled example of the
present species.
Pyromelana afra.
Loxia afra, Gm. 8. N. i. p. 857 (1788).
Pyromelana afra, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 241 (1890) ; Butler, Foreign
Finches in Captivity, p. 298, pl. 54 (1894); Shelley, B. Afr. I. No.
246 (1896); Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 124 (899) egg ; Hartert, Nov.
Zool. 1901, p. 844 Niger; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 116 (1904).
Loxia melanogastra, Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 394 (1790) Africa.
Fringilla carunculacea, Licht. Verz. Doubl. p. 23 (1828) Senegambia,
Worabée, Vieill. Ois. Chant. p. 52, pl. 28 (1805).
i
PYROMELANA AFRA 81
Male in breeding plumage. Upper parts bright canary yellow, with
narrow black terminal edges to the feathers of the nape and hind neck ;
a band across the upper back next to the neck and the scapulars black, with
yellow terminal edges to the feathers; wings and tail dark brown, with
narrow buff edges to the feathers; under wing-coverts and inner edges of
quills isabelline; sides of head, chin, upper and middle throat and the
breast black; a broad yellow collar across the lower throat shaded with
chestnut in the middle; sides of body and the under tail-coverts bright
yellow ; thighs buff, tinted with yellow. Iris brown; bill black; tarsi and
feet reddish brown. Total length 4-5 inches, culmen 0:5, wing 2°3, tail 1:3,
tarsus 0°75. Hgga (Forbes).
Adult female. Upper parts mottled blackish brown, with pale brown
edges to the feathers ; lower back and upper tail-coverts more uniform pale
brown ; under wing-coverts and inner edges to the quills isabelline ; a broad
eyebrow and the under parts buffy white, with a shade of brown on the lower
throat, crop, sides of the body and thighs; crop and flanks streaked with
with dark brown ; bill pale horny brown. Wing 2:0. @, Egga (Forbes).
Males in winter plumage are similar to the female, and the immature
birds apparently differ in having no streaks on the crop and flanks.
The western Yellow - crowned Bishop-bird ranges from
Senegambia to the Niger, possibly into Benguela.
In Senegambia the species has been obtained by Marche
and De Compiégne at Daranka, by Dr. Rendall near Bathurst
on the Gambia; Verreaux received it from Casamanse, and in
the Bremen Museum there is one from Bissao. It has not been
recorded from Liberia, and it is not a common bird on the
Gold Coast, for when I was there with Buckley in February
and March, we never met with the species, nor was it pro-
cured there by Drs. Reichenow and Liihder; so that it may be
to some extent migratory, for my resident friend, Mr. John
Smith, procured two specimens at Accra after J left the
country. These are now in the British Museum along with
three from Fantee and one from the Volta River collected
by Ussher, who wrote: ‘“ Seen at times in large flocks; swamps
preferred by them.” Mr. Boyd Alexander obtained a single
specimen at Karaga (10° N. lat.) in the hinterland, and in
Togoland the species has been procured only at Mangu by
[October, 1904, 6
82 PYROMELANA AFRA
Lieut. Thierry. In the Niger district specimens have been
collected by Dr. Hartert at Loko, by Forbes at Hgga, and
by the late Capt. Thompson at Iddah. This latter specimen
is probably the one in the British Museum, and the locality,
Fernando. Po, incorrect, so I have not entered within the
range of this species either Fernando Po or the Quanza
River, the latter locality resting on a specimen labelled
“ Quanza (Whiteley),’’ contained in a small collection procured
from Mr. Whiteley, for the Lisbon Museum, in 1876. It is also
recorded by Dr. Reichenow (Vég. Afr. iii. p. 117) from ‘‘ Benguela
II. (Mocquerys).” My objection to these three latter-named
localities for the species is that it has not otherwise been
mentioned from south of the Niger River.
The group to which I have applied the name of Yellow-
crowned Bishop-birds comprises four species. The present
one is well marked; the other three are scarcely distinguishable
at first sight, the only constant character being their size. The
smallest is P. ladoensis, with a wing measuring about 2°2 inches
inhabiting North-east Africa to the north of the Equator;
it is sometimes, but not always, easily recognisable by having
the sides of the chest strongly marked with yellow, which
is never met with in P. afra or P. stricta, although all the
forms have a yellow patch on the sides of the crop. That the
yellow on the sides of the chest in P. ladoensis is not a constant
character is proved by a series of five full plumaged males
obtained by Emin at Lado in June and July; in one of these
the sides of the chest are uniform black, as in P. taha and
P. stricta, while in two others the flanks are almost entirely
yellow, as in the type of P. ladoensis, and the other two are
intermediate in colouring. In P. taha and P. stricta there is
never any trace of yellow on the sides of the chest beyond
the crop-patch; in the former the wing measurement is 2°4
and in the latter 2°7 inches,
PYROMELANA LADOENSIS 85
Pyromelana ladoensis. (Pl. 29. fig. 1.)
Euplectes ladoensis, Reichen, J. f. O. 1885, p. 218 Lado.
Pyromelana ladoensis, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 244 (1890); Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 347 (1896); Reichen, Vég. Afr. iii. p. 115 (1904).
Male in breeding plumage. Very similar to P. taha, but slightly smaller.
It differs often, but not always, in having more yellow on the sides of the
body, which in some specimens are entirely bright yellow. ‘Iris brown;
bill black ; legs shrimp brown’”’ (Jackson). Total length 4:3 inches, culmen
0:5, wing 2:2, tail 1-4, tarsus 0°65. g. 11.8.79. Lado (Emin).
Adult female. Similar to that of P taha ; eyebrows slightly shaded with
yellow ; scarcely any dark shaft-stripes near the crop. ?, 28. 6.81. Lado
(Emin).
The Lado Yellow-crowned Bishop-bird inhabits British
Hast Africa and the White Nile.
The most western range known for the species is the Nile
Valley. Emin records it as abundant near Lado, where he
procured the type. In the British Musenm there are, from
this locality, five males in full breeding plumage, shot in June
and July. These are most interesting as they show that the
amount of yellow on the sides of the chest is variable, and that
the small size is the only reliable character by which the
species can be distinguished from the South African P. taha
and the Abyssinian P. stricta. In the British Museum there
are also—a specimen obtained by Capt. Dunn at the mouth
of the Zaref River, and three of Mr. Hawker’s from within
twenty miles of Fashoda. Mr. Hawker found the species
fairly common in flocks, with P. franciscana and other allied
species, in March and April, when it was in the brown winter
plumage.
From British East Africa I have seen two of Mr. Jackson’s
full plumaged males; they are like P. taha in colouring, but
both have the wing-measurements only 2°2 inches, so that
they belong to P. ladoensis, and Dr. Sharpe writes: “ This is
84 PYROMELANA TAHA
a small form of P. taha with smaller measurements.” Mr.
Jackson first met with these birds breeding in small numbers
in a swamp two marches south of Doreta in Masailand, and
also in the Eldoma Ravine; about the middle of September
they were nesting in long grass. At Lake Rudolf Dr.
Donaldson Smith procured a male in the brown mottled
plumage in December, 1899, which may belong to either
P. ladoensis or P. stricta, as the two forms probably meet
in this district.
Pyromelana taha.
Euplectes taha, Smith, Rep. Exped. Centr. Afr. 1836, p. 50 Kurrichaine,
g ; id. Ill. Zool. §. Afr. Aves. pl. 7 (1838).
Pyromelana taha, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 242 (1890); Shelley, B. Afr. I. No.
349 (1896) ; Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 124 (1899) egg ; Reichen, Vég.
Afr. iii. p. 114 (1904).
Ploceus dubius, Smith, Rep. Exped. Centr. Afr. 1836, p. 50 Kurrichaine, ° .
Adult male. Forehead, crown, nape, back, upper and under tail-coverts,
sides of abdomen and the vent bright canary yellow; a broad black band
across the hind neck joining on to the black sides of the mantle, which latter
has the black feathers partially edged with yellow. Wings and tail dark
brown, with very narrow brownish buff edges to the feathers; under surface
of wings pale dusky brown, with the inner margins of the quills and the
coverts brownish buff, fading into white towards the bend of the wing;
sides of head, chin, throat, chest and centre of the abdomen jet black, with
a patch of yellow on each side of the chest next to the crop. ‘“ Iris brown ;
bill black ; tarsi and feet dusky brown.” Total length 4-5 inches, culmen 0:5,
wing 2:4, tail 1:4, tarsus 0:65. 3, Transvaal (T. Ayres).
Adult female. Upper parts mottled dark brown, with pale brown edges
to the feathers ; a broad buff eyebrow; under parts buffy white, shaded with
brown on the lower throat, front of chest and flanks, which parts are
strongly marked with dark brown shaft-stripes of an angular form on the
crop and front of the chest; under wing-coverts sandy buff; quills brown,
with buff inner margins. ‘Iris light brown; upper mandible light dusky
brown, lower one paler; tarsi and feet light dusky brown.’’ Length 4:0
inches, culmen 0:5, wing 2-4, tail 1:5, tarsus 0°65. ¢@,12.6.79. Potchef-
stroom (T. Ayres).
Male adult in winter plumage. Exactly like the female. ‘‘ Bill light
PYROMELANA TAHA 85
dusky brown with the mandible pale, paler towards the base ; tarsi and feet
light brown.’’ Wing 2°5. ¢g,18.6.79. Potchefstroom (T. Ayres).
)
The Taha Yellow-crowned Bishop-bird ranges from Ben-
guela and Nyasaland into Natal, but has not been recorded
from Namaqualand nor from Cape Colony.
In Portuguese West Africa, according to Anchieta, it is
known to the natives at Humbe as the ‘‘ Changombe,”
species has also been met with in this district at Humpata by
Van der Kellen.
In the British Museum there are four males from
Ondonga; two of these, collected in November, are in winter
plumage, and the others, killed in January, are in breeding
dress. Andersson writes: “I do not recollect having met
with this bird in Great Namaqualand or in Southern Damara-
land, but it breeds in great abundance in Ondonga, and I have
also seen specimens from Lake Ngami. It is found in flocks
amongst trees, as well as on the reedy banks of rivers and in
marshes, where it suspends its nest amongst the tall stalks of
reeds and coarse grasses.”
The Taha Bishop-bird is apparently absent from the whole
of Namaqualand and Cape Colony. The late Sir Andrew
Smith procured the type of the species and the type of his
Ploceus dubius at Kurrichaine in Bechuanaland, and Mr. F. A.
Barratt writes: “I have got them all the way up from the
Modder River to Potchefstroom, near Bloemfontein, Rusten-
berg, Pretoria, Nazareth, and I think I saw a few near the
Goldfields.” In the British Museum there are specimens from
the neighbourhood of Durban, a large series from Potchef-
stroom, two from the Cheringoma district of Mosambique, and
several from Fort Lister and the Palombe River in British
Central Africa, collected by Mr. Whyte.
With regard to the habits of the species, Stark writes: ‘In
and the
86 PYROMELANA STRICTA
the Transvaal and some parts of the Orange Free State these
little Bishop-birds collect in immense flocks towards autumn
and remain together until the following spring, when they
break up into smaller companies, many of which appear to
migrate, while others remain to breed in small colonies in the
swamps or among reeds on the borders of vleis or streams.
During autumn and winter these birds feed chiefly on fallen
grass-seeds; they are also accused of doing considerable
damage to the corn, and especially to millet-crops, but in
summer they subsist largely on insects, and feed their young
almost entirely on caterpillars and soft-bodied larve. Nothing
can exceed the beauty of the males in their newly-acquired
spring plumage of brilliant yellow and glossy black, and one
never tires of watching these feathered gems as they hover
with puffed-out plumage over the reeds or grass in which their
mates are hidden, looking, as Ayres aptly remarks, ‘like balls
of black and yellow floating slowly about over the grass.’
“The nests are neatly woven out of long pieces of fine
grass in the form of deep purses, or half-closed bags, sus-
pended from three or four reeds, usually over water. The
eggs are laid about the end of December in the Northern
Transvaal, but not until two months later in the North of
Damaraland. ‘They are four or five in number, of a glossy
white, dotted and sprinkled all over with very small specks
of black or dark brown. They measure on the average
0°73 X 0°52.”
Pyromelana stricta.
Huplectes strictus, Heugl. Syst. Uebers. p. 39 (1856, nom. nud.) Semien ;
Hartl. Orn. W. Afr. p. 129 (1857).
Pyromelana stricta, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 115 (1904).
? Fringilla abyssinica, Gm. 8. N. ii. p. 927 (1788) Abyssima.
Euplectes scioanus, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Genov. 1884, p. 185 Shoa.
PYROMELANA STRICTA 87
Pyromelana scioana, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 241 (1890); Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 348 (1896).
Pyromelana taha intercedens, Erlanger, Orn. Monatsb. 1903, p. 23
Arusi ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 115 (1904).
Male in full plumage. Similar to P. taha, from which it differs in
being larger, and in having the yellow patch on the sides of the chest
smaller, sometimes absent. ‘‘ Iris chestnut; bill black; feet dusky.”’
Total length 5:7 inches, culmen 0:55, wing 2°75, tail 1:75, tarsus 0°75.
¢,18.8.77. Shoa (Antinori).
The Abyssinian Yellow-crowned Bishop-bird inhabits
North-east Africa.
The species can best be distinguished from P. ladoensis, in
all its plumages, by its larger size (wing over 2°5 inches), and
apparently it replaces that bird to the east of the Nile, in
Abyssinia, Shoa and Somaliland.
Heuglin discovered the species in the Semien district and
named it in 1856 EHuplectes strictos, but it was first described
in 1857 by Hartlaub. The type, being in the brown winter
plumage, was put aside as undeterminable in the Berlin
Museum, until Dr. Reichenow pointed out that from the wing-
measurement, viz., 2°64 inches, it must belong to the large form
described as Huplectes scioanus by Salvadori (1884). Heuglin
met with the species in winter at Lake Tana in Abyssinia
and among the highlands of Semien and the surrounding
country, where it was resident, and usually seen in parties
of from three to eight individuals, frequenting the low bushes
and hedges of the pasture-land. In August he saw them in
the breeding plumage.
In Shoa Antinori found these Bishop-birds apparently
breeding at Tuor-Hamesh from June to September, when he
procured ten specimens, including the type of Huplectes scio-
anus, all of which were males, and Dr. Ragazzi has obtained
the species at Sutta. In Southern Abyssinia Mr. Pease
collected two males in winter plumage at Ounji in February,
88 PYROMELANA DIADEMATA
and remarks that their spring moult takes place in March.
His specimens, on account of their large size, I refer to this
species, to which certainly belongs P. taha intercedens procured
in the Arusi district of Gallaland.
Pyromelana diademata.
Euplectes diadematus, Fisch. and Reichen. Orn. Centralbl. 1878, p. 264;
id. J. f. O. 1878, p. 354, pl. 2, fig. 4 Melinda.
Pyromelana diademata, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 236 (1890); Shelley
B. Afr. I. No. 345 (1896) ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. ili. p. 117 (1904).
Male in breeding plumage. Forehead and front of the crown yellowish
scarlet ; remainder of the head and the neck black, like the chest; upper
back and scapulars yellow, with dusky brown centres to the feathers ;
remainder of the back, upper and under tail-coverts, sides of the abdomen
and the vent bright canary yellow; thighs sandy buff; wings and tail dark
brown, with pale edges to the feathers, shaded with yellow on the lesser
coverts and margins of the quills ; under surface of wings, with the coverts and
inner edges of the quills sandy buff. Ivis brown; bill black; tarsi shrimp
brown, toes darker. Total length 4:5 inches, culmen 0°45, wing 2°30,
tail 1:5, tarsus O°7. g, 14. 6.91. Witu (Jackson).
Adult female. Very similar to that of P. franciscana, from which it may
generally be distinguished by haying a yellow shade on the edges of the
quills and by the bill being slightly shorter and stouter. Wing 2-2.
Adult male in winter. Similar in plumage to the female and also with
the bill pale horn colour, rather darker brown towards the culmen.
The Fire-fronted Bishop-bird inhabits Kast Africa between
6° S. lat. and 1° N. lat., from Pangani to Lake Baringo.
Fischer found these birds common in the cornfields near
the town of Pangani, and known to the natives at Melinda
and on Lamu Island as the ‘* Mbara.”
Sir John Kirk collected six specimens in winter plumage
at Lamu, which are now in the British Museum, where they
were referred to P. ladoensis, which, when in the dull brown
plumage, they much resemble in colouring as well as in size ;
one of these specimens has a trace of the red frontal patch
wrath
PYROMELANA NIGRIVENTRIS 89
and all have the bill shorter and stouter than in P. ladoensis,
which latter species probably never ranges so far eastward.
Mr. Jackson has procured a nearly full plumaged male in
the same district at Jipi in September, 1885, where he found
these Bishop-birds common in the ricefields, and also at Witu.
Further inland he met with the species in full plumage at Teita
in April, and plentiful in the long grass at the river Tigrish
near Njemps, towards the southern end of Lake Baringo, in
July. This is the most northern and western range known to
me for the species.
Pyromelana nigriventris.
Euplectes nigriventris, Cass. Proc. Philad. Acad. 1848, p. 66 Zanzibar ;
id. Journ. Philad. 1849, p. 242, pl. 31.
Pyromelana nigriventris, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 230 (1890); Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 344 (1896); Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers, p. 124 (1899) egg ;
Reichen. Vog. Afr. iil. p. 125 (1904).
Male in breeding plumage. Forehead, crown, back, upper and under tail-
coverts and sides of lower abdomen scarlet, the mantle slightly duller and
more rufous; wings and tail dark brown, with narrow pale edges to the
feathers; under wing-coverts and inner margins of the quill rufous buff;
chin, throat, chest and centre of abdomen jet black. ‘‘ Iris brown; bill
black ; tarsi and feet brownish flesh colour” (Fischer). Total length 4-2
inches ; culmen 0:5; wing 2:2; tail 0°65. Mtoni (Emin).
Female. Upper parts mottled blackish brown, with pale brown edges to
the feathers; a broad buff eyebrow ; under parts white, shaded with brown
on the sides of throat, lower throat, front and sides of body, and some dark
shaft-stripes towards the crop and on the flanks.
Male in winter. Similar in plumage to the females.
The Black-throated Fire-backed Bishop-bird inhabits Hast
Africa between the Zambesi and the Equator, east of 35° EH.
long.
The most southern range known to me for this species is
Quilimane on the Mosambique coast, where Dr. Stuhlmann
procured five specimens, so it is apparently abundant in that
90 PYROMELANA FRANCISCANA
country. He also collected specimens at Mbusini in Usegua,
and at Zanzibar, where it is known to the natives as the
* Baniani.” Fischer records it as abundant throughout the
coast-countries from Lindi to Lamu. Emin met with it at
the Kingani River, and Mr. Jackson at Witu, which is the
furthest north that I can trace the species. The type
came from Zanzibar, and in this district Fischer procured
several nests and eggs. The nest, according to him, much
resembles that of P. flammiceps, and is of a lengthened oval
shape with the opening at one side, constructed of coarse grass
lined with fine grass, and attached, some five or six feet from
the ground, to the reeds or thick covert in marshy places. The
eggs in a nest are two, or sometimes three, in number; they are
pale blue, occasionally spotted with dusky greyish brown, and
their average measurement is 0°68 x 0°52.
Pyromelana franciscana.
Loxia franciscana, Isert, Schrift. Ges. nat. Fr. Berlin, 1789, p. 332, pl. 9.
Pyromelana franciscana, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 233 (1890); Butler,
Foreign Finches in Captivity, p. 308, pl. 57 (1894); Shelley, B.
Afr. I. No. 841 (1896); Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 124 (1899) egg;
Grant, Ibis, 1904, p. 257 Shoa; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 122 (1904).
Euplectes franciscana, Heugl. Orn. N. O. Afr. pl. 48, figs. 4, 5 (1871)
eggs.
Loxia ignicolor, Vieill. Ois. Chant. p. 92, pl. 59 (1805).
Pyromelana franciscana pusilla, Hartert, Bull. B. O. C. xi. p. 71 (1901)
L. Stephanie.
Male in breeding plumage. Top and sides of head, chest and abdomen
velvety black ; neck, back, scapulars, upper tail-coverts, cheeks, chin, throat,
under tail-coverts and sides of abdomen scarlet; wings dark brown, with
narrow pale brown edges to the feathers, and the under surface tawny buff,
with a large portion of the quills dusky brown; thighs tawny buff. “ Iris
dark brown; bill black; tarsi and feet brownish flesh-colour.”’ Total length
4:8 inches, culmen 0°45; wing 2:4; taill-4; tarsus0-7. ¢, 22.6.01. Accra.
(Alexander).
Female. Upper parts mottled, blackish brown, with pale brown edges
j
PYROMELANA FRANCISCANA 91
to the feathers; a broad buff eyebrow; under parts white, shaded with
brown on the sides and lower half of the throat, front and sides of breast ;
a few dark brown stripes on the sides of the crop. Iris brown; bill and legs
pale brown. Total length 4:2 inches; culmen 0:45; wing 2:3; tail 14;
tarsus 0°75. @, 4.3.01. Tadejemulka (Pease).
Male in winter. Similar in plumage to the female.
In full plumaged males the upper tail coverts reach beyond the end of
the tail.
The Red-throated Bishop-bird inhabits Northern Tropical
Africa between 22° N. lat. and the Equator.
The species is fairly abundant throughout its range, which
is limited in West Africa to Senegambia and Guinea. From
this part of Africa it is well represented in the British Museum
by specimens from Senegambia, Gold Coast, and the Volta and
Niger Rivers. The spring and autumn moults take place here
about April and August, and it breeds during the rainy season.
Dr. P. Rendal writes: ‘‘ Builds a woven grass nest and lays
two or three eggs of a deeper blue than those of our Hedge
Sparrow. The nest has a hole in the side, and is built in a
tall weed of the pea family—almost invariably. The males lose
their red feathers so gradually that all stages intermediate
with the females are to be seen in August.”
According to the late Dr. Gordon: ‘‘ Fantee name
* Alchim-butukra.’ Have made their appearance since the com-
mencement of the rainy season in great abundance in small
flocks.” I think he must have overlooked this bird when it
was in the brown plumage, for during my visit to the Gold
Coast with IT. E. Buckley, we found it to be common in flocks
frequenting the more open country in February and March,
when the males were all in the brown winter plumage, which
closely resembles that of the female. At Accra, in June,
Mr. Boyd Alexander found them in full breeding plumage. In
the Niger district Forbes met with the species in full plumage
in August at Rabba and Abuschi, and according to Dr. Hartert
92 PYROMELANA FRANCISCANA
it was very common on the higher ground of the interior, both
on the Niger and Benué Rivers, and he took a nest with eggs
in September at Kaschia.
It is generally distributed over Central and North-east
Africa from 22° N. lat. on the Nile (from whence it has been
recorded by Heuglin) to the Equator. It is represented in
the British Museum by specimens from Uganda, Lado, Redjaf,
Fashoda, Senaar, Kordofan, Omdurman, Shendi, Shoa, Southern
Abyssinia, Lake Baringo, Eldoma Ravine, and from Somali-
land. I can distinguish no local forms and agree with Dr.
Bowdler Sharpe (Ibis, 1902, p. 119) that P. franciscana pusilla,
Hartert, ‘‘ will not stand, even as a subspecies,” the type of
which was procured at Lake Stephanie by Dr. Donaldson
Smith, who procured other specimens at Barri in Central
Somaliland.
Speke met with large flocks of these Bishop-birds in the
cornfields of Unyoro, and Dr. Ansorge found them near the
Rafu River in that country and at Kibero. Mr. Jackson has
procured specimens at Elgeyo in the Kamassia Mountains
and at the Kldoma Ravine, which is the most southern range
known to me for the species. In this district specimens
have been collected by Lord Delamere at Lake Baringo.
In Somaliland Mr. Gillett procured the species at Bodeweno,
and Mr. Lort Phillips writes: ‘‘ Only plentiful on the Webbe
Shebeyli in the cornfields, where it assembles in large flocks
of from fifty to one hundred.” In Southern Abyssinia it
was also met with in large flocks by Lord Lovat, who shot
specimens at Hado, Lake Harar-Meyer and Lake Chercher,
and Mr. Pease collected others at Goraboutha, 'ladejemulka
and Filwa. These were in the winter dress from December to
February, but in the early part of March they began to assume
the bright breeding plumage. In Shoa Antinori procured
specimens in May and September, Dr. Ragazzi others in April
and August, and Mr. Degen met with them therein July. Before
—
PYROMELANA FRANCISCANA 93
and after the breeding season these Bishop-birds assemble to
feed in flocks, at times in company with other Weaver-birds ;
but I much doubt their being migratory, as Heuglin suggests ;
for, according to his notes, they arrive in North-east Africa
in June and July, where he met with them in Takah, Senaar,
Kordofan, and Nubia, to as far north as 22° N. lat., and found
them very plentiful in the lowlands of Abyssinia up to 7,000
feet. He also mentions them as leaving their winter quar-
ters in the Upper White Nile district between October and
December.
Mr. Hawker met with them in flocks at Fashoda in April.
At about the same time of the year Mr. Witherby found them,
all in winter plumage, assembled in a considerable flock near
the river within a few miles of Khartoum. The Hon. N. C.
Rothschild and Mr. Wollaston write: ‘“ This bird frequents
the fields of millet or ‘dhurru,’ on the seeds of which it
feeds; it is not common at Shendi, but a good many indi-
viduals were seen a few miles south, while at Wad-Habushi,
about fifty miles south, it was exceedingly abundant.”
According to the notes kindly forwarded to me by Mr.
A. L. Butler, “This bird is universally known to Europeans
in the Soudan as the ‘Dhurra bird,’ and is very abundant
at Khartoum and Dongola. The nuptial plumage, out here,
lasts from August to January. I met with them in the
brown plumage at Gedaref in June, and on my return to
the Soudan from Kawa, September 17, 1902, most of the
males were in full plumage, though a few were still in
transition. The red plumage disappeared in January, having
previously lost much of its brightness. I found a pair
breeding in a thick Sont-tree near Khartoum, October 20,
but the tree was so thorny that I could not reach the nest.
The males in the breeding season are a most beautiful sight,
dozens of them collecting together on a small patch of green
94 PYROMELANA FRANCISCANA
dhurra. They have a pretty habit of rising and hovering
with a jerky flight over the sea of glossy green dhurra
blades, with their feathers puffed out until they look like
balls of scarlet and black velvet; this action being accom-
panied with a loud ‘purr-rr-purr-rr’ of the wings. They
nearly always puff themselves out in this manner when
approaching a female. I have seen beautiful head-dresses
made out of their plumage by natives of the Upper White
Nile, the black and scarlet feathers being set alternately in
broad rings.”
With regard to the moult in captivity, Dr. A. G. Butler
purchased one autumn five males of P. franciscana and six of
P. afra, and writes: ‘All these birds continued to develop
their nuptial plumage up to the first frosts, when the change
was arrested and the bright colouring gradually receded from
the feathers, so that in about six weeks the birds had all
resumed their winter plumage.
«Several views have been put forward to account for the
change of plumage in birds, but when the colouring gradually
comes and again recedes from the same feathers, the casting
of a disguising film will not account for the second operation.
“In Pyromelana the change of plumage is very slow; the
feathers daily gain in intensity, the pale buff of the under
parts getting scarcely perceptibly deeper, until at length the
velvet black and the fiery orange in P. franciscana appear as
mere spots or shaft-streaks, which gradually expand fan-wise
towards the outer fringes of the feathers. This spotting,
however, is very uneven, some feathers being developed in
advance of others, so as to give the bird a very patchy
appearance. In the bright yellow and black plumage of
P. afra this is even more noticeable.
“ At the change of plumage the flank-feathers and upper
tail-coverts are moulted out, being replaced by long soft
PYROMELANA ORIX 95
feathers, which droop over and almost hide the tail; but
none of the feathers of the head, back, breast and belly
are lost, they simply undergo a gradual change of colour.”
The late Mr. J. H. Gurney, in 1882, gives an interesting
account of a specimen of P. franciscana he had as a cage-bird,
which, in 1880, acquired its gorgeous breeding dress fully and
completely, but when this was lost it was exchanged for
a decidedly melanistic one. In the following year it again
assumed the ordinary bright breeding plumage without any
abnormal coloration, but on losing it, once more became
melanistic.
—Enrvle ct.
Pyromelana orix.
Emberiza orix, Linn. 8. N. (x.) p. 177 (1758); 8S. N. (xii.) i. p. 309
(1766).
Pyromelana orix, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 230 (1890); Butler, Foreign
Finches in Captivity, p. 304, pl. 56 (1894); Shelley, B. Afr. I. No.
343 (1896); Whitehead, Ibis, 1903, p. 224 Orange R.; Shortridge,
Ibis, 1904, p. 178 Pondoland ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 120 (1904).
Euplectes pseudoryx, Reichenb. Singv. p. 56, figs. 200, 202 (1863).
EKuplectes edwardsi, Reichenb. t. c. p. 57.
Male in breeding plumage. General plumage vermilion, of a slightly
duller and more rufous shade on the mantle; scapulars with broad angular
blackish centres; front two-thirds of crown, sides of head, chin, upper
throat, chest and middle of abdomen black; wings and tail dark brown, with
narrow pale edges to the feathers ; under wing-coverts, inner margins of the
quills and the thighs rufous buff. “Iris dark brown; bill black; legs light
brown.” Total length 5:1 inches, culmen 0-6, wing 3:0, tail 1-7, tarsus 0°8.
Transvaal (T. E. Buckley).
Female. Upper parts mottled blackish brown, with pale brown edges to
the feathers ; a broad buff eyebrow ; under parts white, shaded with brown
on the sides and lower half of the throat, and front and sides of body, most
of which feathers have obscure darker shaft-stripes. Wing 2°65." 9, 18.6. 81.
Neweastle (H. A. Butler).
Adult male in winter. Similar to the female, but with the stripes on
the throat and hody more strongly marked, Wing 2°75. g, 21. 7. 75.
Lower Umgeni R. (T. L, Ayres).
96 PYROMELANA ORIX
The Cape Red Bishop-bird ranges from Angola and the
Limpopo River to the Cape of Good Hope.
In the Lisbon Museum there is a specimen labelled
* Angola (Toulson),” and several from Catumbella, Capan-
gombe, Huilla and Humbe, collected by Anchieta, who
informs us that it is known to the natives at Catumbella as
the “ Quisengo.” In Western South Africa, according to
Andersson, “This very handsome bird is abundant at Lake
Ngami and in Ondonga, and though rarer in Damara and
Great Namaqualand, it is found in those countries also, con-
eregating in small communities and frequenting moist situa-
tions, where it breeds in January and February.
“Tn Ondonga its nest may be found in those months in
almost every palm bush; the nest is very pretty, airy and
graceful, somewhat oval in form, and composed of threads
torn from the edges of the branches of young palms. Some
nests are thickly lined, whilst others are quite bare within; in
the latter the eggs may be seen from the outside; but not-
withstanding the seeming looseness with which the threads are
interwoven, the apparently frail structure is in reality very
strong. The eggs are of a bluish colour, and from three to
four in number.”
In the British Museum the species is represented by
specimens from the Kuil River in Cape Colony, Eland’s Post,
Bloemfontein, the Umgeni River near Durban, Weenen,
Maritzburg and Potchefstroom ; the other specimens referred
to this species in the “Catalogue of Birds,” all belong to
P. sundevalli.
According to Layard, it confines itself to certain favourite
spots, and near Cape Town the only place known to him for
it was the swampy ground near the Royal Observatory; but
he calls |it not an uncommon bird throughout Cape Colony,
and Mr. Barratt found it similarly distributed over the Orange
PYROMELANA ORIX 97
River Colony to Pretoria in the Transvaal. In Natal Butler,
Feilden and Reid found it to be common, and also universally
distributed. Specimens of the male bird were obtained in all
stages of transition from winter to summer plumage in October
and November. They were found breeding in considerable
numbers along the reedy streams near Maritzburg; some of
the nests contained eggs and others young birds in December,
and on returning to the same place in the following March
they were again breeding, evidently for a second time. ‘The
nests are constructed of grasses, domed, with a side entrance,
and usually placed among reeds, on the stems of which they
are formed, about four or five feet from the ground-level, and
at the water’s edge.”
Stark remarked that the brilliancy and depth of colour of
the plumage of the males in summer increases with age. It is
seldom found at any great distance from marshy ground or the
reed-overgrown borders of vleis or rivers. It appears to be
a resident in the localities in which it occurs. In winter these
birds assemble in flocks, sometimes numbering thousands of
individuals, and frequently feed in company with other Finches
on seeds and grain. At night they roost in extensive reed-beds
or among bushes. In summer the cocks may be seen slowly
gliding over the reed-beds with a curious hovering flight,
during which the body is kept very erect, the plumage of the
lower back puffed out, while that of the neck is erected into
a frill, looking, in the blazing sunshine, like flames of fire
slowly drifting to and fro. At times they dance about in front
of the females with puffed-out plumes, turning from side to
side, as if to show off the full beauty of their plumage.
“The eggs, four or five in number, are somewhat pyriform
in shape and of a uniform pale greenish blue colour. They
average 0°82 x 0:60. The female sits for fourteen days. ‘he
young are at first fed on small caterpillars and other insects,
including the larvee of mosquitoes.”
[October, 1904, 7
98 PYROMELANA SUNDEVALLI
Pyromelana sundevalli.
Euplectes sundevalli, Bp. Consp. i. p. 446 (1850) S. Afr.
Pyromelana sundevalli, Alexander, Ibis, 1899, p. 567 Zambesi.
Pyromelana nigrifrons, Bohm, J. f. O. 1884, p. 177; 1886, pl. 2, fig. 2
Karema; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 233 (1890); Shelley, B. Afr. I.
No. 342 (1896) ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. ili. p. 122 (1904).
Pyromelana oryx (non Linn.), Sharpe, Ibis, 1900, p. 110 Mapicuti ;
Marshall, t. c. p. 241 Mashona.
Male in breeding plumage. General colour bright scarlet, of a duller
and more rufous shade on the mantle; scapulars with broad angular
blackish centres ; the black of the head is restricted to the front half of the
crown, sides of head, sides, and occasionally the centre of the chin; chest
and middle of abdomen black ; wings and tail dark brown, with narrow pale
edges to the feathers ; under wing-coverts, inner margins of the quills, and
the thighs rufous butf. Ivis dark brown; bill black; legs light brown.
Total length 4:7 inches, culmen 0:5, wing 2:5, tail 1:5, tarsus 0°75. Zambesi
(Kirk).
Females and males in winter. Similar to those of P. franciscana.
Wing 2:5. 9, 18. 1.99, Zumbo (Alexander); ¢g, Cheringoma District
(Cavendish).
The Red Bishop-bird inhabits Eastern Africa between the
Limpopo River and Victoria Nyanza.
The type was from~ Wahlberg’s collection, labelled
“ Caffraria,” and was described by Bonaparte as similar to
P. orix, but smaller.
The most southern range known to me for the species is
Mapicuti in the Cheringoma district near Beira, in about
20° 8. lat., where it has been procured by Mr. Cavendish. A
specimen obtained by the late Mr. F. Oates, at Hope Fontein
near Gulubeweyo, is in the British Museum, and belongs to
this species, so that this is doubtless the form met with
in Mashonaland, where, according to Mr. Guy Marshall, it is
“very local, but plentiful wherever large reed-beds are found.
There are few prettier sights than the male in his courting
flight, floating with feathers puffed up and quivering wings
eee
| i
PYROMELANA SUNDEVALLI 99
over the green reeds, a living ball of black and scarlet plush.
The stomach contained seeds, small beetles, and an occasional
spider.”
Sir John Kirk, during the Livingstone Expedition, collected
a number of these birds at the Zambesi, and wrote: ‘‘ The
nests of the different Huplectes are found in colonies, hanging
from the extremities of the branches of such trees as the
Acacia, having delicate twigs; a position overhanging water
is usually chosen. The nest is commonly suspended by a long
peduncle of the same material. The opening is tubular and
directed downwards. Besides breeding-nests, there are
generally a number of a different construction in which the
birds may rest. These frequently have two openings, or
consist of a ring of woven grass.”
Mr. Boyd Alexander, during his journey up the Zam-
besi, procured a good series, including one from the Rufue
River, which is the most western range known for the species.
With regard to its habits he writes: ‘This is the most
plentiful of all the Weavers, being common everywhere, and
it appears to be equally at home among the huts of a native
village, in reed-beds, or in thick woods. Throughout the
greater portion of the year it is found in large flocks, whose
numbers increase at times of feeding, in the morning and
evening. With them safety lies in numbers, since they are
constantly being preyed upon by Hawks (Accipiter minullus)
and the Black-shouldered Kite (Hlanus cxruleus) during the
daytime, and the Red-legged Gos-hawk (Melierux gabar) in the
evening, when they resort to the reed-beds for the night.
When a flock travels over a region where an attack is likely
a strong and rapid flight close to the ground is resorted to;
but they do not always get off scot-free, for I have more than
once seen a flock completely routed and one of their number
borne away. In one locality the flocks are often considerable,
100 PYROMELANA SUNDEVALLI
and there is no better time to estimate their numbers than
towards evening, when they journey to the reed-beds. An
accustomed track is always taken; flock after flock will go
‘swishing’ past in almost bewildering succession to some
reed-bed ahead, into which they pitch like so many showers
of bullets. Soon among the green cover of the fish-cane there
will be hosts of Weavers making great chatterings, and when
there is a pool close by they travel to the confines of the fish-
cane and commence to drop down to the water to take their
last drink for the night, a continuous string of birds circling
down and up without interruption, like an endless chain on
a wheel. Itis a pretty sight. There is neither bickering nor
quarrel, each bird has a chance to dip its beak into the water,
and only when the last bird leaves the pool does the chattering
or singing within the reed-beds cease. Then the confused
rustling of innumerable wings takes place, telling the observer
that these large flocks are retiring into the depths of the green
cover for the night. From the winter plumage to the brilliant
summer-dress the change is slow, and during this period all
stages of plumage may be observed, which impart to a flock
a very mottled and curious appearance. By the end of
January the males have completely assumed their remarkable
breeding-dress, but their numbers are small compared with
the females and the birds of the previous season, who still
keep the brown plumage, and the flock that awhile back was
nothing more than a study in brown becomes glorious with
the gorgeous liveries of the male birds. It is a sight worth
seeing to behold a flock go past you, twisting and turning in
the bright sunlight across the wide mealie-fields, bristling
with the fresh green blades, then on to the dark green cover
of a reed-bed, whose lowest depths they penetrate and fill
with a soft, confused chattering, for all the world like a fugue
in monotone, while now and again the males climb to the top
PYROMELANA WERTHERI 101
of the tallest reeds, their look-out posts, and the setting sun
glancing on their plumage seems to turn each reed-head into
a brilliant ruby.”
In the Nyasa district the species has been met with by Sir
John Kirk and Dr. P. Rendall in the Shiré Valley. Mr. Whyte
procured several males in breeding plumage in February at
Mpimbi, and found them in winter plumage at Zomba in July
and September. At Karema, on the eastern shore of Lake
Tanganyika, Bohm procured the type of P. nigrifrons and
found the species abundant in the Kawendi country, often in
company with P. vanthomelas dotting the high grass with their
bright breeding plumage. Fischer obtained P. swndevalli at
Kagehi on Speke’s Gulf.
Pyromelana wertheri.
Pyromelana wertheri, Reichen. Orn. Monatsh. 1897, p. 160 Wembere ;
id. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 122 (1904).
Pyromelana nigrifrons, Hartert, Nov. Zool. 1900, p. 41 Kasesi, Fort
George.
Male in breeding plumage. Very like P. sundevalli, differing only in the
red parts being paler and of a more orange shade. Forehead, front of crown
and sides of head black; chin mottled with black; remainder of the head
and the neck scarlet shaded ochreous buff, the feathers fading into white
towards the base and slightly mottled with bright scarlet at their ends;
hinder neck and mantle yellowish rufous, passing into scarlet shaded orange
on the lower back and upper tail-coverts; a few black shaft-stripes on the
scapulars ; wings and tail blackish brown, with pale brown edges to the
feathers ; under wing-coverts and inner edges of the quills isabelline buff ;
chest and centre of abdomen velvety black; sides of abdomen, thighs and
under tail-coverts tawny buff washed with reddish orange. Total length
48 inches, culmen 0-55, wing 2'8, tail 1:7, tarsus 0°8. Toro (Jackson).
Werther’s Bishop-bird inhabits the Victoria Nyanza district.
In the Wembere district of Central German East Africa
Lieut. Werther obtained the type. A similar example
102 PYROMELANA FRIEDERICHSENI
has been obtained by Mr. Jackson at Toro during the return
journey from the Ruwenzori Mountains to Victoria Nyanza,
and specimens have been obtained by Dr. Ansorge at Kasesi
in Toru and at Fort George on the Albert Nyanza, which have
been referred to the last species by Mr. Hartert, so P. werthert
is possibly only a pale variety of P. sundevalli, but two full
plumaged males procured by the late W.G. Doggett in Uganda
have yellowish rufous mantles, which is perhaps the most
constant character for this species.
Pyromelana friederichseni.
Euplectes friederichseni, Fisch. and Reichen. J. f. O. 1884, p. 54
Nguruman.
Pyromelana friederichseni, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 235 (1890); Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 839 (1896); Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 117 (1904).
Type. Front half of the head, ear-coverts and upper half of the throat
uniform black like the chest; hinder half of head, neck, back and lower
throat fire-red ; wings, upper tail-coverts and tail black, with pale brown
edges to the feathers; under wing-coverts, thighs, vent and under tail-
coyerts isabelline. Iris brown; bill black; tarsi and feet horny brown.
Total length 6 inches, culmen 0°6, wing 3:2, tail 25, tarsus0'9. ¢, 24. 6. 83.
Nguruman (Fischer).
Friederichsen’s Red Bishop-bird inhabits Masailand.
The species is, I believe, known only by two specimens,
the type discovered by Fischer at Nguruman in Masailand,
about 2° 8. lat., 36° 20’ E. long., and a specimen recorded by
M. Oustalet from Bouré near Witu.
Pyromelana ansorgei.
Pyromelana ansorgei, Hartert in Ansorge’s Under Afr. Sun. p. 344, pl. 2,
fig. 2 (1899) Masindi ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. ii. p. 117 (1904).
Pyromelana xanthochlamys, Sharpe, Bull. B. O. C. xiii. p. 10 (1902)
Hoima.
PYROMELANA GIEROWI 103
Type. General plumage jet black; hinder half of the crown and the
neck orange red, fading into yellowon the front half of the interscapular
region ; some brownish buff edges to the feathers of the scapulars, lower
back, wing and tail (remains of the winter plumage, these parts being entirely
black in the type of P. zanthochlamys, Sharpe). The black throat extends
nearly to the crop, and has the lower half compressed by the orange red of
the neck, which extends across only the lower throat and crop ; abdomen and
under tail-coverts mottled, with brownish buff edges to the feathers; under
surface of wings jet black, with a trace of brown on the axillaries and inner
coverts. Ivis brown; bill black, inclining to brown on the under part of the
lower mandible; tarsi and feet deep reddish brown. ‘Total length 5:9 inches,
culmen 0:65, wing 3-4, tail 2:5, tarsus 1:0. ¢,17. 6.97. Masindiin Unyoro
(Ansorge).
Ansorge’s Bishop-bird inhabits the Equatorial Lake district
to the north-west of Victoria Nyanza.
The type of the species, a male in breeding plumage, was
discovered by Dr. Ansorge in June, 1897, at Masindi in
Unyoro. <A second specimen, the type of P. wvanthochlamys,
Sharpe, is in Mr. Jackson’s collection from the Ruwenzori
range, at Hoima. The present species is nearly allied to
P. gierowi, known from the type only. These two species agree
well with P. flaminiceps in size and in the black colouring of
the under surface of the wings, so there can be little doubt
that the females and males in winter plumage of the three
species closely resemble each other.
Pyromelana gierowi.
Euplectes gierowi, Cab. J. f. O. 1880, pp. 106, 203, pl. 3, fig. 2 Quango.
Pyromelana gierowi, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 235 (1890); Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 340 (1896) ; Reichen, Vég. Afr. iii. p. 118 (1904).
Type. Forehead, front half of crown, cheek, ear-coverts, chin, entire
wings, tail and chest uniform black; remainder of the head, neck and
throat scarlet shaded yellow; upper and middle back golden yellow;
rump and upper tail-coverts blackish brown, with paler brown edges to
the feathers; axillaries light brown; thighs, vent and under tail-coverts
buff, the latter with blackish centres. Iris brown; bill black; tarsi and
104 PYROMELANA FLAMMICEPS
feet brown. Total length 6 inches, culmen 0:65, wing 3:0, tail 2-0, tarsus
0:95.
Gierow’s Bishop-bird inhabits Angola.
The type was sent to Berlin in one of Mr. Schiitt’s
collections from Angola, where it was procured by Mr. Gierow
in the interior near the Kuango River, in about 7° S. lat. and
18° EK. long. It belongs to the same group as P. ansorgei and
P. flammiceps, which are, all three, readily distinguished by
the black under wing-coverts from the other members of the
genus.
Eup i -Tes
Pyromelana flammiceps.
Euplectes flammiceps, Swains. B. W. Afr. i, p. 186, pl. 13 (1837) Senegal.
Pyromelana flammiceps, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 228 (1890); Butler,
Foreign Finches in Captivity, p. 295, pl. 55 (1894) ; Shelley, B. Afr.
I. No. 338 (1896); Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 124 egg; Reichen, Vog.
Afr. iii. p. 118 (1904); Bocage, Jorn. Lisb. 1904, p. 83 St. Thomas Isl.
Loxia (Euplectes) petiti, Des Murs in Lefebvre’s Voy. Abyss. p. 112, pl.
10, fig. 1 (1850).
Euplectes ‘“ craspedopterus, Schiff.” Bp. Consp. i, p. 446 (1850) Abyssiua.
Huplectes flaviceps, Hartl. P. Z. S. 1868, p. 106 (laps. cal.).
Kuplectes pyrrhozona, Heugl. J. f. O. 1864, p. 247 Abyssinia.
Male in breeding plumage. Crown, entire neck and lower half of back
orange scarlet; mantle and upper tail-coverts more rufous; sides of head,
chin, upper throat and often the front of the forehead jet black; scapulars
scarlet shaded fawn-colour with black angular centres; wings and tail black,
both above and below, with a trace of buff margins to the centre tail-feathers,
secondaries and ends of the median wing-coverts ; breast velvety black, with
the sides of the abdomen fawn-colour ; thighs and under tail-coverts rufous
buff. Iris brown; bill black; tarsi and feet reddish brown. ‘Total length
5:2 inches, culmen 0:6, wing 3:0, tail 1:7, tarsus 0:85. Sierra Leone.
Adult female. Upper parts mottled blackish brown, with pale brown
edges to the feathers; under surface of the wing uniform dusky black;
a broad buff eyebrow ; cheeks and ear-coverts pale brown, and very slightly
streaked, like the sides of the neck; chin, upper throat and centre of the
breast white, shading into buffy brown on the lower throat, front and sides
of breast, which parts are striped with dark brown centres to the feathers ;
thighs and under tail-coverts more uniform rufous buff. Ivis brown; bill,
PYROMELANA FLAMMICEPS 105
tarsi and feet brownish flesh colour. Wing 2°5, tail 1:5, tarsus 0°75. Connor’s
Hill (Shelley).
Adult male in winter plumage. Similar in colouring to the female, but
with the wings blacker. g, 26. 2.72. Abokobi (Shelley).
The Fire-crowned Bishop-bird inhabits Tropical Africa
generally between 17° N. lat. and 18° S. lat., ranging from
Senegal into Benguela on the west, and from the Zambesi
into Abyssinia in Hastern Africa.
The type of the species came from Senegambia. Sir A.
Moloney and Dr. P. Rendall have procured specimens at the
Gambia; Verreaux from Casamanse; Beaudouin at Bissao ;
Bulger and Fea on Bulama, one of the Bissagos Islands ;
and in the British Museum there is a specimen from Sierra
Leone. Demery obtained specimens at the Sulymah River
in Liberia, and Mr. Biittikofer records them as tolerably
common in the vicinity of Robertsport, at Grand Cape Mount,
on the grassy plains behind Schieffelinsville, at Oldfield, and
on Gallilee Mountain, and according to his notes, the adult
males frequent the tops of the canes, where they remain for
hours, quite isolated from other birds, and even from their
females and young ones, being apparently proud of their
brilliant plumage, as they are indefatigable in exposing it
in the most obvious manner.
These Bishop-birds are abundant throughout our Gold
Coast possessions and in Togoland, where the males assume
the bright red plumage for the breeding and rainy season,
which lasts from the latter part of April to the end of August.
They frequent the more open country, often in flocks, accom-
panied by P. franciscanus. Drs. Reichenow and Luhder found
them breeding abundantly on the plains of Accra, and with
young in August. The nest is of the same oval form as with
members of the genus Hyphantornis, but is hung singly from
the high grass and constructed of fine grass. Mr. Boyd
106 PYROMELANA FLAMMICEPS
Alexander writes: “During our stay at Gambaga, from
January to May, this species was not observed, although
Capt. Giffard obtained a male specimen there in August.”
Around Cape Coast and Accra he found the species, in
breeding plumage, plentiful in the damp reedy localities,
which situations they appeared to leave after the nesting
season.
In the Niger district the species has been met with by
Falkenstein at Bonny; by Forbes, in full plumage in August,
at Abutchi; and by Dr. Hartert at Loko on the Benué, where
he found it fairly abundant. In Camaroons Dr. Zenker
procured the species at Jaunde, where it was known to
the natives as the ‘‘ Kopisong,”’ and it has been recorded
from St. Thomas Island. In the British Museum there
are specimens from Gaboon, and from Landana on _ the
Loango Coast. Along the course of the Congo River my
late friend, Jameson, while with the Stanley Expedition, met
with the species, and other specimens have been collected
here by Kellen at Boma, by Bohndorff at Kassango, and
by Capt. Storms during his expedition up that river to Lake
Tanganyika. There is a specimen from Angola, obtained
by Furtado d’Antas, in the British Museum. Welwitsch
found it known to the natives at Galungo-alto as the ‘‘ Saco,”
and it has been recorded as abundant by Mr. Monteiro at
Bembe and Cambambe, and by Anchieta at Quissange.
At the Zambesi River, towards Zumbo, Mr. Boyd
Alexander found these Bishop-birds ‘‘not so common as P.
sundevalli, from which they can be readily distinguished in
flight by their larger size and blackish wings. The song
of the male is peculiar
the depths of some reed-bed, being especially loud after rain.”
Sir John Kirk in 1864 recorded the species from the Zambesi and
Shiré Rivers, In Nyasaland, according to General Manning,
a running voluble ‘ tiz,’ uttered from
PYROMELANA FLAMMICEPS 107
it is known to the natives as the ‘“‘ Mkanje,” and it must
be plentiful in this country, as specimens have been collected
at Zomba, Mtondwe, Mkukula, Kotakota, Namiwawa and
Ulumba. The specimens procured in November, January
and April are in the bright breeding plumage, and in
a large series obtained by Mr. Alexander Whyte at Zomba,
between June and November, all are in the brown winter
dress. From the above records it is evident that the species
breeds in its southern range from November to April, and in
the more northern latitudes from May till August.
In the Portuguese territory, at Quilimane, the species is
called by the natives ‘‘ Mribba,” according to Dr. Stuhlmann.
He also procured specimens at Zanzibar and in the Usegua
country, where it is known to the natives as the ‘ Baniani”
and ‘“ Mnana.” Serpo Pinto records it from Ibo Island off
the Mosambique Coast in 12° 30’ S. lat.
This species is abundant and very generally distributed
over German Hast Africa, where Sir John Kirk, Boéhm,
Fischer and Emin have collected specimens at many places.
At Melinda, Fischer found it beginning to breed in May,
and this is the most eastern locality known to me for the
species. It has not been recorded from Somaliland, and the
Species is apparently rare in British Hast Africa, for Mr.
Jackson procured only a single pair at Elgeyu in August,
a male in breeding plumage at Dindi, in Kavirondo, July 16,
1890, and one at Kabindo. Sir Harry Johnston obtained
a specimen at Nandi, and Dr. Ansorge met with the species
in Usogo. From further west, in Central Africa, Emin pro-
cured specimens at Tingasi and Kubbi, five of which are
now in the British Museum, along with two from Abyssinia,
in which latter country were procured the types of Orya
petiti, Huplectes craspedopterus and H. pyrrhozona. According
to Heuglin they breed in August and September in the high
108 ANOMALOSPIZA IMBERBIS
grass and bush in the Djur country, and along the streams
which flow from the Kasango Mountains. Prince Paul of
Wiirtemberg found the species in Southern Senaar, and I
cannot trace the range further north in Eastern Africa.
The eggs, generally three in number, are of a pale greenish
blue, with or without small reddish brown and greyish brown
spots, and measure on an average 0°75 x 0:58.
Genus VI. ANOMATOSPIZA.
Bill very deep and much compressed at the sides; exposed culmen
straight from the tip to the nostrils and extending far back, parting the
feathered portion of the forehead; cutting edge of the lower mandible bent
into a sharp angle at the base, with the posterior side directed in a straight
line with the centre of the nostrils; structure of the wings and feet the same
as in Pyromelana and Quelea.
Type.
Anomalospiza, Shelley, Bull. B. O. C. xii. p. 30 (1901) . . A. imberbdis.
The genus is represented by one species, which is confined to Tropical
and South Africa. This species was originally placed in the genus Crithagra,
no doubt on account of the colouring of the full plumaged male, which much
resembles that of Serinus flavivertex. The bare culmen receding back
through the frontal feathers is a character of the Ploceide and not of any
of the African members of the Fringillide. The small sharply pointed first
primary, in conjunction with the striped mantle of the female, shows that it
belongs to the Vidwine.
Anomalospiza imberbis. (Pl. 31.)
Crithagra imberbis, Cab. J. f. O. 1868, p. 412, note Zanzibar Coast.
Anomalospiza imberbis, Reichen. Orn. Monatsb. 1903, p. 168; id. Vég.
Afr. iii, p. 276 (1904).
Crithagra chloropsis (non Bp.) Cab. in Decken Reis. iii. p. 30, pl. 9
(1869).
Crithagra rendalli, Tristram, Ibis, 1895, p. 180 Transvaal.
Serinus rendalli, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 292 (1896).
Anomalospiza rendalli, Shelley, Bull. B. O. C. xii. p. 30 (1901).
‘ljepued ezidsopemouy
IXXX Td VOlIW4V 40 SCUId HL
ANOMALOSPIZA IMBERBIS 109
Adult male. General plumage canary yellow. Forehead and front of
crown uniform yellow; remainder of the crown, back of neck, back,
scapulars, upper tail-coverts and the tail brownish black, with broad yellow
edges to the feathers. Wings brownish black, with moderately broad dull
yellow edges to all the feathers, excepting the primary coverts ; inner edges
of the quills and the under-coverts whitey brown, washed with yellow along
the bend of the wing. Sides of the head and neck and the under parts
yellow; flanks streaked with narrow blackish shaft-stripes; thighs slightly
shaded with brown. Iris brown; bill horny brown, paler beneath ; tarsi
and feet pale brown. Total length 4:9 inches, culmen 0:5, wing 2°75,
tail 1:55, tarsus 0:65. ¢g,16.2.94. Barberton district (Rendall).
Female. General plumage brown, with no bright yellow. Upper parts
blackish brown, uniform on the forehead and front of the crown, but with
a narrow yellowish white parting extending back from the culmen ;
remainder of the upper parts similar in pattern to that of the adult male,
but with the edges of the feathers pale brown instead of yellow, and the
dark centres to the feathers much narrower on the head and neck than on
the mantle; a broad yellowish buff eyebrow extends from the nostril to
above the ear-coverts; front half of sides of head yellowish buff, shading
into pale brown on the ear-coverts and back of cheeks, which are slightly
streaked with darker brown; under parts whitey brown ; sides of neck and
the crop with small lanceolate dark brown shaft-stripes ; flanks boldly
streaked with dark brown. Bill paler than in the full plumaged male.
Total length 4:7 inches, culmen 0:5, wing 2°7, tail 1:55, tarsus 0-65.
2? , 16. 2. 94, Barberton district (Rendall).
The Canary-like Bishop-bird ranges from Sierra Leone and
the Upper White Nile over Central and Eastern Africa to as far
south as the Transvaal.
Mr. Robin Kemp, during a visit to Sierra Leone in 1902,
procured an adult male of this species at Bo, in September,
and writes : “ The only specimen I have seen was caught with
bird-lime by a native, at the edge of a ricefield. Iris dark
brown ; upper mandible horn-colour ; lower mandible, feet and
claws dusky flesh colour.”
The species has been obtained by Emin in the Upper White
Nile district at Fadjulli and Obbo; by Mr. Oscar Neumann in
Usoga at Kwa Lubwa; by Bohm in the Uniamwesi country
110 QUELEA
at Kakoma, and by Fischer in Ugaia on the eastern coast of
Victoria Nyanza, and also at Zanzibar.
The type was discovered by Decken near the Zanzibar
coast, but the exact locality has not been recorded, and it
remained hidden in the Berlin Museum from 1868 until the
beginning of this century, when, I believe, Mr. Neumann re-
named Serinus imberbis, Sharpe, S. Sharpii, under the impres-
sion that Crithagra imberbis, Cab., belongs to the same genus
Serinus, which proves not to be the case.
With regard to my article on Serinus imberbis (B. Afr. III.
p. 203), erase all the references to Crithagra imberbis and
chloropsis, and those to Serinus imberbis after “* Zomba,” all of
which refer to the present species. Similar corrections should
be made in the Catalogue of the Birds of the B. M. xii. p. 355.
From further south the species is known by the types of
Orithagra rendalli, a male and female, shot by Dr. P. Rendall
in the Barberton district of the Transvaal out of a large flock,
February 17, 1894. They were very wild and gave him an
exciting ride after them over the open veldt before he could
secure both sexes. ‘These specimens are now in the Liverpool
Museum, and I had them figured for my present work in 1901
under the name of Anomalospiza rendalli, believing at the time
that they were distinct from Crithagra imberbis, Cab., which
Dr. Reichenow assures me is not the case.
Genus VII. QUHELEA.
The alteration in the plumage of the adult male by the spring moult is
slight, most marked by the head or throat assuming some clear black or red,
which distinguishes it from the female; the back does not change, but
remains brown, with blackish centres to the feathers, the neck and breast
sometimes acquiring a crimson shade. In general structure it closely
resembles Pyromelana, but like Anomalospiza, it never has a ruff on the neck
and the upper tail-coverts do not extend so far over the tail.
QUELEA QUELEA 111
Type.
Quelea, Reichenb. Syst. Nat. pl. 76, fig. 1 (1850) . . . . @Q. quelea.
Hyphantica, Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 180 (1851) . . . . . ?Q. quelea.
This genus is confined to Tropical and South Africa, including St.
Thomas Island in the Bight of Benin, and comprises four species.
KEY TO THE SPECIES.
a. Bill red.
a1. Side of head and the upper throat black . Mualesin breeding plumage.
a?, Entire forehead black. . . . quelea. f
62, Entire forehead buff . . . ethiopica (typical). /
b1. Sides of head and the upper amo ae
black.
c?. Forehead, crown and sides of head more
ashy; throat whitish . . . . . . . Males im winter plumage
and the females.
d?, Forehead, sides of head and the upper
throat brighter, sandy buff or pale brown var. russi.
b, Bill black or brown.
c1. Forehead bright crimson or scarlet, entire
ae red in breeding plumage. . Males.
. Bill larger; upper half of free lige
crimson, shading almost into black down
HaeKceninere yo.) § |e 6erythrops. Fully
f?. Bill smaller ; entire throat bright scarlet cardinalis. /-'
d'. Noyvedonhead orthroat . . . . . . Females of both species.
Quelea quelea.
Emberiza quelea, Linn. 8. N. (x.) p. 177 (1758); (xii.) 1, p. 310 (1766)
Africa.
Quelea quelea, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 257, pl. 10, fig. 3 (1890) ;
Butler, Foreign Finches in Captivity, p. 298, pl. 58 (1894); Shelley,
B. Afr. I, No. 350 (1896).
Quelea sanguinirostris (non Linn.), Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 108 (1904).
Loxia lathami, Smith, Rep. Exped. Centr. Afr. 1836, p. 51 Kurrichaine.
Quelea sanguinirostris lathami, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 110 (1904).
Quelea occidentalis, Hart]. Orn. W. Afr. p. 129 (1857) Senegambia.
Ploceus russi, Finsch, Gefied. Welt. 1877, p. 307 W. Afr.
Quelea russi, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 260, pl. 10, fig. 6 (1890 pt.) ;
Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 353 (1896).
Dioch, Vieill. Ois. Chant. p. 46, pls. 22, 23 (1805).
112 QUELEA QUELEA
Male in breeding plumage. Forehead, cheeks, ear-coverts, chin and
upper throat black; remainder of the head and throat as well as the sides
of neck glossy sandy buff, with the nape ashy brown like the back of the
neck; back, wings and tail dark brown, with pale edges to the feathers ;
primaries and most of the tail-feathers edged with chrome yellow; under
wing-coverts sandy; quills ashy brown, with whitish inner edges; breast,
thighs and under tail-coverts buff; front of chest and sides of body with a
wash of brown or with brown centres to the feathers. ‘Iris light hazel; bill
dark rosy red; tarsi and feet bright red brown.’ Total length 4:7 inches,
culmen 0:55, wing 2°6, tail 1-6, tarsus 0°'7. g, 11.12.76. Potchefstroom
(T. Ayres).
Var. a. Pale portion of head, throat and breast washed with crimson.
3, 20.12. 71. Potchefstroom.
Var. b. Similar to the last, but with the forehead, cheek, ear coverts,
chin and upper throat sandy buff. Transvaal.
Adult female. Coloured like the male first described, with the exception
of the head and neck ; forehead and crown ashy brown like the back of the
neck; sides of head, chin and throat buff, with a shade of brown on the
ear-coverts. Total length 4:4 inches, culmen 0°55, wing 2:5, tail 1:4, tarsus
0-7. 2, 11.12.76. Potchefstroom (T. Ayres).
The Black-fronted Dioch inhabits Africa south from the
Senegal River, the Albert Nyanza and Lake Nyasa.
Hartlaub described his Q. occidentalis from specimens
labelled ‘‘ Senegal,” ‘‘ Casamanse,’ and “ Guinea.” In the
British Museum there is a single specimen from the Gambia,
in the plumage of Q. russi, Finsch. In that country Mr. J. 8S.
Budgett found the species common and brought home an
example from Nianimaru. Mr. Boyd Alexander, while travel-
ling inland from the Gold Coast, met with these birds in flocks
at Binduri to the north of Gambaga.
There is, in the British Museum, a typically coloured
adult male from Kibero on the eastern side of the Albert
Nyanza, and from the Albert Edward Nyanza there are five
specimens collected by Mr. Scott Elhot, which more nearly
approach Q. quelea than Q. exthiopica, but are intermediate
forms.
I do not find the species recorded from West Africa
4
QUELEA QUELEA 118
between Gambaga and the Loango Coast. In the latter
country it has been procured by Falkenstein and Major
Mechow met with it in Angola. In Benguela Anchieta
obtained specimens at Capangombe and Humbe, and over
South Africa, with the exception of Cape Colony, it is generally
distributed. Andersson writes: “This is a very common
species in Damaraland, where it congregates in immense flocks
after the breeding season, and it is also common in the Lake
regions.” Mr. Fleck met with it at Gansis and Korizi in the
Kalahari in May, and found it in flocks at Boliwa on Lake
Ngami in June. The type of Lovia lathami came from Kurri-
chaine and is a female, or male in winter plumage.
From the Orange River Colony Mr. E. Symonds wrote:
* These little birds seem to be particularly fond of the town
of Kroonstad, which they frequent in large numbers. I have
several in my aviary, and observe that in summer, when the
males get their red colour about the head, the bills of the
females turn yellow.”
In Natal the species has been procured by Mr. T. L. Ayres
at Durban, Major Clark found it abundant at the Modder
River, and it has been met with in Zululand by Messrs. Wood-
ward, and at Inhambane by Dr. Peters. In the Transvaal it is
apparently more plentiful, for, according to Mr. T. Ayres, in
the winter season flocks of this species, and also of Pyromelana
taha and P. oviw, come for miles up the river from their
favourite patches of reeds in the swamps where they roost,
to feed on the minute grass-seeds in the old cultivated ground
about Potchefstroom, returning in large flights to the same
swamps in the evening. Although the different species feed
together, also often in company with flocks of Passer arcuatus,
so closely that they may be killed by the same shot, yet, in
going to their feeding ground and in returning to their
roosting places, the birds of each species keep by themselves
(October, 1904, 8
114 QUELEA THIOPICA
in separate flocks, notwithstanding their habit of mingling
whilst feeding. He also met with it while in company with
Jameson, at Kooroomoorooi Pan in Betuanaland. In Mata-
beleland, the species has been procured at the Kami River by
Mr. Hellmayr. Along the Zambesi, according to Mr. Boyd
Alexander, it is ‘‘ locally distributed and found in large flocks
frequenting the extensive beds of fish-cane near the river and
making them resound with their singing, which is not unlike
that of Starlings when together. At the end of December the
males were in full breeding dress, while the plumage of the
females had also undergone a change, the feathers of the upper
parts having become darker, especially on the crown, the
buffy-white edges to the secondaries and feathers of the mantle
having disappeared, the yellow edgings to the quills being
more distinct, and the eye-stripe and the whole of the under
parts being washed with a sandy buff.”
In British Central Africa specimens have been collected by
Mr. Whyte on the Nyika Plateau, at Karonga and on Mount
Mlosa, and by Sir Alfred Sharpe at Lake Moero.
Further north in Hast Africa to the confines of North-east
Africa Q. quelea and Q. xthiopica have apparently freely inter-
bred ; but as a rule these hybrids—Q. intermedia, Reichen.—
incline more towards @. #thiopica than to @. quelea, from which
one may infer that the former is possibly the older race and
that Q. quelea is scarcely more than a subspecies.
One of these forms has been procured by Senhor Cardosa
at Cape Delgado, where it is called by the natives ‘‘ Epera.”
Quelea ethiopica.
Ploceus sanguinirostris, var. ethiopicus, Sundey. Gify. K. Vet. Akad.
Forh. Stockh. 1850, p. 126.
Quelea ethiopica, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 259, pl. 10, fig. 5 (1890) ;
Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 352 (1896); Grant, Ibis, 1904, p. 257 Upper
Galla,
QUELEA XTHIOPICA 115
Quelea sanguinirostris ethiopica, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 109 (1904).
Ploceus sanguinirostris, var. major, Sundey. (ify. K. Vet. Akad. Férh.
Stockh. 1850, p. 126.
Hyphantica ethiopica, var. intermedia, Reichen. J. f. O. 1886, p. 393
Gonda, Durama, Ndi, Barawa.
Quelea intermedia, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 259, pl. 10, fig. 4 (1890) ;
Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 351 (1896).
Very similar to Q. quelea, but differs in the bill being very slightly
stronger, and in full plumaged males the forehead and back of head are
sandy buff like the crown; breast generally slightly more uniform. Total
length 4:8 inches, culmen 0:6, wing 2:7, tail 1:5, tarsus 08. ¢g, 29. 6. 68.
Ailet (Jesse).
This species is subject to the same style of variations of plumage as
Q. quelea. Those of both species which have no black on the head or throat
when in full dress have received the name of Q. russi, and others of the
present species with a few scattered black feathers on the forehead repre-
sent Y. mtermedia. These latter are probably hybrids between Q. quelea and
the present species, and are represented in the British Museum by speci-
mens from Lamu, and others from the Albert Edward Nyanza are nearly
intermediate between this form and Q. quelea.
The Buff-fronted Dioch inhabits Hastern Africa between
8° §. lat. and 17° N. lat.
Dr. Reichenow in his last work refers all the specimens
from German Hast Africa to this species. His Q. intermedia
was probably founded upon cross-bred birds between QQ. quelea
and @. xthiopica, both of which forms range into the Great
Lake district of Central Africa; and in the British Museum
there is a very typical example of Q. xthiopica from Ugogo.
Bohm has collected specimens at Qua Mpara in the Tan-
ganyika district, at Gonda and at Mdaburu in Ugogo; here,
according to Dr. S. 'T. Pruen, it is known to the natives as the
*Maumbi.” Sir John Kirk also collected specimens in Ugogo
and near Lamu Island, and Fischer's collection contained many
examples from the Pangani district, Kagehi at the southern
end of Victoria Nyanza, at several places near the Lower Tana
River, and also at Barawa in Somaliland. In the country to
116 QUELEA MTHIOPICA
the west of Kilimanjaro Mr. Oscar Neumann met with it at
Umbugwe and Neuruman. Mr. Jackson found it at Machako's
and in the Teita country. In the British Museum there are
specimens from Kilimanjaro, the Athi River, Lake Rudolf and
Somaliland, where it has been recorded by M. Oustalet, and by
Mr. Elliot, who writes: ‘‘ This Weaver-bird was frequently
seen in large flocks on the plateau. It would sometimes roost
in great numbers near the camp in some trees overgrown with
vines, which afforded a thick shelter. At the place where our
specimens were collected a large number were shot and served
for breakfast the next morning, and were as nice a morsel as
is our reed or rice-bird, the much persecuted Bob-a-link.”
Dr. Bowdler Sharpe, in an article upon Dr. Donaldson
Smith’s collection from Somaliland, observes : ‘* The way in
which the black varies in extent on the lores in this series
makes me very doubtful of the validity of . intermedia.”
In Southern Abyssinia Lord Lovat found it during January
in flocks with other Finches at Lake Harrar Meyer, Baroma
and Gadaburka, and Mr. Pease met with it near the wells
and pools at Fullfully. Antinori and Ragazzi have collected
sixteen specimens from many places in Shoa, including repre-
sentatives of Q. ethiopica, Sundey., (). intermedia, Reichen., and
Q. russi, Finsch. Mr. A. L. Butler writes to me: ‘ Quelea
ethiopica | met with in large flocks (winter plumage) on the
Blue Nile between Khartoum and Wad Medani in March, and
also found it abundant at Gedaref and Gallabat in May and
June, still in large flocks, crowding to drink at pools in the
rocky ‘khors’ during the heat of the day. Round these pools
the ground had the appearance of having been thickly
sprinkled with rice from their droppings. On May 27 I killed
thirty-seven with one shot, and of these one only was begin-
ning to assume the breeding plumage. Considerable damage
is done to the crops by the vast flocks of these birds and
Xanthophilus galbula.”
a
QUELEA ERYTHROPS 117
According to Heuglin it is migratory in Kordofan, Sennaar,
Southern Nubia and Takah, arriving there with the first
summer rains, travelling southward in September and October ;
and he met with numbers of these birds along the White Nile
in January.
Capt. Dunn has procured the species at the Zeraf River,
and Mr. Hawker found it abundant at Fashoda in flocks, along
with Hyphantornis teniopterus. In the British Museum there
are specimens from Kordofan (the most western range known
to me for the species), from Sennaar, Bejook, Ailat and
Maragaz. This latter specimen is in the Q. russi plumage.
Dr. Blanford writes: “ Only met with in Northern
Abyssinia; it was first seen at Ailat, and occurred abundantly
in the Anseba Valley. It was several times seen feeding on
insects, and even pursuing winged ants and catching them
in the air. It was always in flocks, and did not appear to be
breeding in the rains.”
Quelea erythrops.
Ploceus erythrops, Hartl. Rev. Zool. 1848, p. 109 St. Thomas Isl.
Quelea erythrops, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 255, pl. 10, fig. 1 (1890) ;
Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 354 (1896); Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 111
(1904).
? Fringilla erythrocephala, Les Murs in Lefebvr. Voy. Abyss. p. 119 (1850).
Quelea capitata, Du. Bus, Bull. Acad. R. Brux. xxii. pt. 1, p. 151 (1855)
Senegal.
Foudia hematocephala, Heugl. J. f. O. 1864, p. 250 Bongo.
Adult male. Similar to Q. quelea, from which it differs in having the bill
blackish and the entire head and upper half of the throat crimson, shading
almost into black on the chin and down the centre of the throat. ‘Iris
brown ; bill blackish, with the base of the lower mandible pale ; tarsi and feet
reddish brown.” Total length 5:1 inches, culmen 0:6, wing 2°55, tail 1:5,
tarsus 0°75. 3, 3.6.86. Kibero (Emin).
Adult female. Very similar to that of Y. quelea, but may be readily
distinguished by the bill being dark brown, with the under mandible paler.
Wing 2-4. §, Gaboon (Du Chaillu).
118 QUELEA ERYTHROPS
The types of H. erythrops, young or not in full breeding plumage, are
described by Hartlaub (Alhandl. nat. Ver. Bremen, 1891, p. 20) as follows:
“ Male. Similar to Q. quelea in the colouring of the body, wings and tail ;
upper parts dusky brown, with pale edges to the feathers; crown darker, with
crimson on the head confined to the forehead, eyebrows, lores and feathers
surrounding the base of the lower mandible; under parts brown, with the
throat and centre of abdomen white; under wing-coverts and bend of wing
isabelline. Bill and legs dark brown.
“Female. Differs in the parts being yellow, which are red in the male.”’
The Dark-throated Red-headed Dioch inhabits St. Thomas
Island, and ranges from Senegal to the Quanza River eastward
into the Bongo country and the Zanzibar district south from
the Tana River.
The species was discovered in St. Thomas Island by Weiss,
and is abundant there. The type of Q. capitata came from
Senegambia, and Verreaux received specimens from Casa-
manse. In Liberia Mr. Biittikofer found it in company with
other small birds in the bushes at Bendo, near Fischer-
man’s Lake, at Schieffelinsville, and by the Farmington River,
feeding on grass-seeds and visiting the ricefields when the
grain was ripening. While I was on the Gold Coast with
T. E. Buckley we found the species abundant in the open
country near Accra. Riis brought home specimens from his
expedition into Aquapin, Ussher met with it at the Volta River,
and Dr. Bittner in Togoland.
In Camaroons Mr, Sjéstedt procured a specimen at Bibundi,
and on Prince’s Island Dr. Dohrn and Mr. Kenlemans saw them
in flocks of twenty to eighty individuals, usually in company
with Spermestes cucullatus. In Gaboon it must be common,
for Du Chaillu’s collection contained a number of specimens
from the Moonda and Camma Rivers. On the Loango Coast
specimens have been collected by Falkenstein at Chinchonxo,
and by Lucan and Petit at Landana. Storms brought back
examples in his collection from Lake Tanganyika, and there
QUELEA CARDINALIS 119
is a specimen in the British Museum from the Quanza River,
which is the furthest south I can trace the species.
The most southern range known to me for the species in
Eastern Africa is Mtoni, on the Kingani River, 6° 30’ S. lat.
Here Mr. Bohndorff has procured a specimen. Fischer records
it as rare at Pangani, and he also met with it at Ualimi,
on the Tana River. It is certainly scarce in Hastern and
Central Africa, for the only other specimen known to me
from these parts is the type of Foudia hxmatocephala, procured
at a marsh in the Bongo country, about 7° N. lat., 28° 30’ H.
long., to the west of the Upper White Nile, and was the only
specimen found by Heuglin.
The egg is described by Mr. Kuschel as oval in form, olive
green with dusky spots and a slight gloss, and measures 0°73
x 0°55.
Quelea cardinalis.
Hyphantica cardinalis, Hartl. J. f. O. 1880, p. 325 ; 1881, pl. 1, fig. 1 Lado.
Quelea cardinalis, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 256, pl. 10, fig. 2 (1890) ;
Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 355 (1896); Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 125,
pi. 3, fig. 34 (1899) egg; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 112 (1904).
Adult male. Similar to Q. erythrops, from which it differs in the hinder
crown and back of head being mottled with blackish centres to the feathers ;
chin and entire throat uniform bright scarlet ; bill much smaller. Iris brown ;
bill blackish ; tarsi and feet reddish brown. Total length 4:3 inches, culmen
0:45, wing 2:3, tail 1:4, tarsus 0:7. ¢, 30.6. 81. Lado (Emin).
Adult females and young males. Similar in plumage to those of the other
members of the genus, but may be readily distinguished by the much smaller
bill; upper mandible dark brown, lower one paler. ? ad, and ¢ juv.
13. 8.79. Luado (Emin).
The Cardinal Dioch inhabits Eastern Africa from 7° 8. lat.
to 5° N. lat.
The species inhabits both sides of Lake Tanganyika,
for it was contained in Capt. Storms’s collection, and Bohm
met with it at Karema. Fischer remarked that in habits
120 ESTRILDINZ.
it closely resembled those of the other members of the genus,
was extremely common at Neguruman in flocks of one hundred
and fifty to two hundred, but he did not observe it elsewhere.
It frequented the country covered with grass and scrub, in
which it was breeding. The nests he found contained three
eggs, and in structure resembled those of Pyromelana nigri-
ventris, that is, an oval nest constructed of grass, with the
entrance at one side.
Mr. Jackson found it very plentiful in the long bushy grass
at Njemps, on Lake Baringo, and in flocks at Nandi up to
6,500 feet. Mr. Neumann records it from Kavirondo, and
Dr. Ansorge collected specimens in Unyoro and at Masindi.
Emin has sent many specimens from Wadelai and Lado, and
at the latter place obtained the type of the species.
Subfamily II. ESTRILDINZAD.
The members of this subfamily, like those of the Vidwine are distin-
guished from the Ploceide by their first or bastard primary being very small,
narrow and sharply pointed, and in the latter the tail is always square or
rounded, and shorter than the wing.
The Hstrildine are distinguished from the Vidwine by the upper parts
being often barred but never striped, by having no distinctly marked seasonal
plumage, and by the sexes being at all times very similar in plumage.
Bill variable in length and strength, the culmen (excepting in Spermestes
Jringilloides) shorter than the tarsus, smallest and most narrow in Nesocharis,
widest and strongest in Pyrenestes, in which the upper mandible generally
has a tooth-like notch. In Nigrita it is somewhat flattened and widened to
such an extent that one of the species was formerly referred to the Musci-
capide. Nostrils generally, but not always, hidden by the frontal feathers.
Wing (excepting in Amadina and Philetairuws) rounded; first or bastard
primary very small, second primary generally shorter than the fifth, but is
one of the longest in Amadina, Philetairus, Padda, Uroloncha, Ortygospiza
and Spermestes. Tail (excepting in Philetawrws) rounded or graduated, of
the same size and form at all seasons, and (excepting in Ureginthus) not
longer than the wing.
Members of the genera Lagonosticta and Pytelia may be readily recog-
nised by the terminal third of the first long primary being very narrow, and
generally distinctly cut away on the inner web.
ESTRILDIN © 121
KEY TO THE GENERA.
a. Nostrils exposed.
a’. Wing pointed, end of inner primary falling short of
tip of wing by not less than length of tarsus.
a. Tail short and rounded ; inner primary falling short
of tip of wing by more than length of tarsus; males
with red on head OWN 5 a . Amadina. |
b?. Tail square; inner primary falling short ae fp of
wing by length of tarsus; no red on plumage . . Philetairus. |
bt. Wing rounded; bill more flattened, broader than deep Nigrita. y
b. Nostrils hidden by frontal feathers.
c!. Second primary one of the longest.
c?. Tail fairly long and slightly graduated, with the
centre pair of feathers more elongated and pointed.
a®. Claws less curved; bill and legs pink; back uni-
form grey; quills broad . . . . 1. Padda. p:t%
b3. Claws much curved; bill and legs brown ; head
and upper throat freckled. . . . . . . . . Uroloncha. |
d?, Tail short and evenly rounded.
c®. Outstretched feet extending beyond the tail ;
culmen nearly straight. . . Ortygospiza. PISS
. Outstretched feet not reseling 0 end a tail:
culmen curved . . _ . . . . Spermestes. |
dt. Second primary shorter teen the An
e?, Bill less powerful; no tooth-like projection on the
cutting edge of the bill.
e8. Back and upper tail-coverts olive ; breast grey or
mostly so; no spots nor bars.
a*, Bill very small and narrow; tail short and
rounded, not extending beyond the outstretched
iCCi ee ar ee eee ce ks = ly i, LNeSOCharis., Fp ae
b+. Bill stout; tail graduated and extending well
beyond the outstretched feet. . . . Chlorestrilda. 4, ) >,
/®. Upper tail-coverts never olive when the breast
is mostly grey and the plumage unspotted.
c+, Little or no crimson on the wings.
a®. First long primary entire, not narrowed
towards the end.
a®. Upper tail-coverts blue; tail longer than
the wing and strongly graduated. . . . Ureginthus. »./ 7?
b&, Upper tail-coverts never blue.
a7, Bill forming on forehead a right angle ;
spots when present on plumage small
and confined to sides of breast.
122 AMADINA
a’. Bill narrower; never with the entire
under mandible pale and upper man-
dible black; tailless rounded . . . Hsérilda. ». \qo_
b8. Bill broader; adults with entire under
mandible pale and upper mandible
black ; tail rounded, end of outer
feather falling short of tip of tail 8
less than length of culmen . . . Coccopygia |. :
b7, Bill forming on forehead an acute Sanden :
adults with larger and more numerous
pale twin-spots not confined to sides of
JS
breast . . . Hypargos }- 239
bs, First long primary with ‘ike datecll third
narrow and generally distinctly cut away on
the inner margin.
c®, Tail-feathers broader; outer margins of
quills never red nor yellow; breast gener-
ally with minute white spots. . . Lagonosticta. »+ 2%
d®, Tail-feathers narrower ; outer inmyere a
quills red or yellow ; breast barred. . . Pytehia. P:2t¥.
d‘*. Greater portion of wings crimson . . Cryptospiza. |
f?. Bill very powerful; generally with a tooth- ie ae
jection on the cutting edge of the upper mandible ;
plumage of two colours, brown and crimson or black
>
5
a a ey
r'2g4
and icrimsoni) =) es el len en nny neeeumenestes nm pmanatte
Genus I AMADINA.
Bill very stout and short, swollen at the base; culmen flattened and
curved, the base ending in a right angle on the forehead; keel curved ;
edges of upper mandible festooned towards the gape; nostrils covered by
the frontal feathers. Wing pointed, the tenth quill falling short of the tip
by more than the length of the tarsus; primaries 1, small, narrow and
sharply pointed; 2, 3 and 4, longest and about equal. Tail short and
rounded. Tarsus moderate; toes long and slender; outer and inner toes
about equal; hind claw long and curved. Plumage of the sexes differing in
the males only having some red on the head or throat.
Type.
Amadina, Swains. Zool. Journ. iii. p. 349 (1827) . . . . A. fasciata.
Sporothlastes, Cab. Arch. Naturg. 1847, p. 331. . . . . A. fasciata.
The genus is confined to Tropical and South Africa, and comprises three
species. In the typical species the males have a red band across the throat,
which has caused them to be known as Ribbon Finches and Cut-throat
Sparrows. I shall call them Ribbon-Wasxbills.
—
——
rE eee
AMADINA FASCIATA
KEY TO THE SPECIES.
a. A crimson band across the throat.
a1. Black lines on under parts submarginal . fasciata, 3.
b1. Black lines on under parts forming edges
tothefesthers. ....... . . marginals, 3.
&. Emtireheadred |... . =. ~.. . . erythrocephala, 3.
c. Noredonheadorneck. . ... . . . Females and young males.
Amadina fasciata.
Loxia fasciata, Gm. §. N. ii. p. 859 (1788).
Amadina fasciata, Swains. B. W. Afr. i. p. 197, pl. 15 (1837) ; Sharpe,
Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 289 (1890); Butler, Foreign Finches in Cap-
tivity, p. 183, pl. 35 (1894); Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 359 (1896) ;
Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 125 (1899) egg; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii.
p- 146 (1904).
Fringilla detruncata, Licht. Verz. Doubl. pp. 25, 26 (1823) Senegambia.
La Loxie fasciée, Vieill. Ois. Chant., p. 90, pl. 58 (1805).
Adult male. Forehead, crown, back and sides of neck, back, wing-
coverts, inner secondaries and the upper tail-coverts pale rufous brown, with
subterminal angular black bars; remainder of wing more uniform brown,
with the under coverts and inner margins of the quills rufous buff; tail
dark brown, with white ends to all but the centre pair of feathers, increasing
in size to the external ones, which have the outer web also white; a broad
crimson band extends from the top of the ear-coverts across the throat ;
remainder of the head, chin and throat white, somewhat mottled with
brownish black ; lower throat and abdomen white, shading into rufous buff,
with the centre of the chest cinnamon; the buff feathers of the front and
sides of the breast crossed by angular black bars; under tail-coverts with
large dusky blackish centres. ‘‘ Iris hazel; bill horny ; feet flesh colour.”
Total length 5:1 inches, culmen 0-4, wing 2°6, tail 1:7, tarsus 0:55. ¢,
17. 12. 83. Redjaf (Emin).
Adult female. Differs in having no red on the head or throat, which
parts are more mottled with blackish bars on the feathers. Wing 26. ?,
Bogos (Esler),
Immature. Upper parts nearly uniform brown, with the black bars
appearing on the scapulars and upper tail-coverts. West Africa.
The,Common Ribbon-Waxbill ranges over Hastern Africa
between 17° N. lat. and 15° S. lat., and crosses the continent
into Senegambia and possibly the Congo region.
124 AMADINA FASCIATA
In West Africa the species is abundant in Senegambia only.
A specimen procured by Mr. Bohndorff at Ngombi
Manyanga, on the Lower Congo, has been referred to this
Weaver by Hartlaub; I have not seen it, but would suggest
that it possibly belongs to A. marginalis, a West African species
with no known habitat.
In the British Museum there is an immature specimen of
A. fasciata which was obtained by Frank Oates at the Tati
River, in Matabeleland. This specimen has been referred to
A. erythrocephala (non Linn.), Oates, Matabeleland and Victoria
Falls, p. 320 (1881). Otherwise the Common Ribbon-Waxbill
was not known, as a native of South Africa, until Dr. W. L.
Sclater procured a male and female at the Zambesi River, last
February.
Dr. Reichenow mentions Dar-es-Salam, Bagamoio, Usegua,
Nguruman and Wembere, as localities where the species occurs
in German Hast Africa, and remarks that the eggs are pure
white, and measure, on an average, 0°75 & 0°5.
Mr. Jackson obtained two specimens out of a small flock,
as they came down to drink, at a rocky pool known as
**Ungarunga,” in the bushy wilderness between the River
Tsavo and Kibwezi. In Somaliland Dr. Donaldson Smith
found the species breeding in August at Lammo and procured
a pair at Goura. Mr. Hawker, while he was at Arabsiyo and
Gebili, in December, 1897, ‘‘ got these birds at water-pools,
where they came in flocks in the middle of the day.” From
Southern Abyssinia Mr. Pease writes: ‘The Ribbon or Cut-
throat Finch flies in dense packs and alights in close order on
the tops of bushes and trees. It was seen only below the
escarpment at Dalado.”’ In Shoa Antinori met with it in
May, November and December, and Dr. Ragazzi found it in
large flocks near Tofan in August.
According to Heuglin the species is abundant along the
a B
AMADINA MARGINALIS 125
Abyssinian coast to 17° N. lat. He found it in Kordofan and
along the White Nile. In September they assemble with other
Finches to feed in flocks and roost in the scattered trees. It
breeds towards the end of August and beginning of September,
and in habits and voice much resembles our Common Sparrow.
Emin has procured the species at Lado and Redjaf, and
Antinori found it in large flocks in the country of the Req
Negroes. Mr. A. L. Butler informs me that he “met with
it, on May 11, 1901, in large flocks at Doka, between Gedaref
and Galabat, where they were drinking at the mud cattle-
troughs by the wells. Capt. Dunn got it near El] Obeid in
Kordofan.”
Amadina marginalis.
Amadina marginalis, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 290 (1890) W. Africa ;
Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 360 (1896).
Amadina fasciata, var marginalis, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p, 146 (1904).
Adult male. Upper parts rufous shaded brown ; forehead, crown, back
and sides of neck with black bars ; rump and upper tail-coverts buff, barred
with black ; upper back and wings more uniform brown; lesser wing-coverts
and scapulars with black terminal edges and a few other bars; greater
coverts and the quills dark brown, shaded with rufous at their edges; under
‘coverts and inner margins of quills rufous buff, tail dark brown, with
white ends to all but the centre feathers, increasing in size to the external
ones, which have the outer webs white; a broad crimson band from the top
of the ear-coverts across the throat; cheeks, chin and upper throat white ;
remainder of the under parts rufous buff, with black edges to the feathers,
giving a scale-like appearance, except on the centre of the breast, which is
uniform cinnamon shading into buff on the lower abdomen. Total length
4-2 inches, culmen 0:45, wing 2°5, tail 1:5, tarsus 0°55. Type, West
Africa (Pulham). “
Adult female. Differs in having the crown and mantle nearly uniform
brown ; no crimson on the head and neck; sides of head and upper throat
white, mottled with black bars; under surface of body paler and less
strongly marked with the black edges to the feathers. Wing 2°6. West
Africa (Sharpe Coll.).
The Black-margined Ribbon-Waxbill inhabits West Africa,
possibly the Congo district.
126 AMADINA ERYTHROCEPHALA
The species is known from four specimens in the British
Museum, all labelled ‘‘ West Africa.’ The type was presented
by Mr. J. Pulham; another adult male was formerly in Sir
Andrew Smith’s collection and the other two specimens, both
females, were cage-birds. The species apparently does not
inhabit Senegambia, where it is replaced by A. fasciata, but
as I have already remarked, to this form may belong the
specimen from Ngombi Manyanga on the Lower Congo, pro-
cured by Bohndorff and referred to A. fasciata, by Hartlanb
(Abhandl. nat. Ver Bremen, 1891, p. 19), which I have not
seen.
Dr. Reichenow regards this form asa variety of A. fasciata ;
that may be the case, if all the four known specimens were
cage-birds. I admit him to be right in assigning to Urobrachya
avillaris, U. affinis, Cab., as only a cage variety ; and upon the
same theory we might look upon Hypargos margaritatus
(Strickl., 1844) as a cage form of H. niveiguttatus (Peters, 1868),
but in the present as well as in the latter case, we require
more evidence than we have at present.
Amadina erythrocephala.
Loxia erycephala, Linn. S. N. (x.) p. 172 (1858).
Loxia erythrocephala, id. 8. N. (xii.) i. p. 801 (1766) Africa.
Amadina erythrocephala, Smith, Il. Zool. 8. Afr. Aves, pl. 69 (1841) ;
Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 290 (1890) ; Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 361
(1896) ; Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 126 (1899) egg ; Reichen. Vég. Afr.
iii. p. 147 (1904) ; Clarke, Ibis, 1904, p. 523 Bloemfontein.
Loxia brasiliana, Bodd. Tabl. Pl. Enl. p. 19 (1783).
Loxia maculata, Burchell, Tray. 8. Afr. ii. p. 269 (1824).
“ Fringilla reticulata, Voigt,” Cuy. Thierr. p. 582 (1831).
Amadina argus, Reichenb. Singv. p. 35, pl. 12, fig. 108 (1863).
Adult male. Upper parts ashy brown; head crimson, the ashy brown
showing through on the nape; some of the median and greater wing-coverts
with white ends and subterminal black bars; rump and upper tail-coverts
also with subterminal blackish bars; tail dark brown, with white ends to
7
AMADINA ERYTHROCEPHALA 127
all but the centre feathers extending over the outer webs of the external
pair; front and sides of the upper neck white, shading into ashy brown on
the lower half of the sides of the neck; lower throat, breast, thighs and
under tail-coverts white, all the feathers of the chest and flanks with ter-
minal edges and bars of black; lower chest and sides of the abdomen
mottled with cinnamon ; under tail-coverts with dusky bases, separated from
the broad white ends by black bars. ‘‘ Iris brown; bill brownish; legs and
feet flesh-colour” (Stark). Total length 5 inches, culmen 0-5, wing 2°8,
tail 2:0, tarsus 0-6. ¢g,18.6.77. Bloemfontein (Exton).
Adult female. Differs in having the upper part and sides of the head
ashy, with the edges of the feathers near the nape washed with crimson,
the throat brownish buff with narrow brown bars, and more white and less
rufous on the breast. Wing 2:9. Latakoo (A. Smith).
The Red-headed Ribbon-Waxbill inhabits Southern Africa
south from Angola and Matabeleland.
The type probably came from Angola, as Hdwards and
Brisson supposed, for the species has been since procured at
Loango, according to Prof. Bocage, and also by Welwitsch
near Bengo. Anchieta procured specimens at Benguela and
Humbe, and in the former district he found it to be abundant
at Catumbella; with regard to the native names he gives they
are not of much use, for according to his notes the present
species is known to them in the town of Benguela as both
** Niquerequere” and “ Junga.”
Andersson writes: “This pretty bird occurs in Great
Namaqualand and at Lake Ngami, also in Damaraland, where,
however, it is far from common, except in places, being,
in fact, quite a local species. I found it congregated in large
flocks on the Omaruru River at the end of October; and it was
also pretty numerous at Otjimbinque, where it nested under
the eaves of my house and in the adjacent trees in company
with the South African Sparrow (Passer arcuatus), which it
exactly resembles in its manners and habits ; and I have found
the nests of the two species on the same tree, and even on the
same bough, as well as side by side under my eaves. The
present species forms its nest of small sticks, slender roots,
128 AMADINA ERYTHROCEPHALA
&e., and lines it with wool, feathers, or other soft, warm
material. The young are fledged in June and July. It seeks
its food upon the ground, usually in small flocks, and when
disturbed takes refuge in the nearest tree or hedge; it occa-
sionally utters a kind of chirping twitter.”
In Cape Colony the species is apparently restricted to the
northern portion, and I do not find it recorded from Natal or
Zululand. Sir Andrew Smith met with it in the neighbour-
hood of Latakoo only. Here these birds were invariably seen
in flocks, generally on the ground, and, while feeding or flying,
they uttered their harsh chirping note.
Layard received the species from Kuruman and Colesberg,
and Mr. Ortlepp wrote to him that ‘in the latter neighbour-
hood it was rare, and at Priel it was common in large flocks ;
he found a colony in a large ‘ wait-a-bit’ thorn; a cart-load of
erass stuck in a fork, with two or three dozen apertures bored
in below.” According to Stark, in nearly all its habits, in its
flight, as well as in many of its notes, it closely resembles
Passer arcuatus. ‘On the Orange River the eggs are laid in
March. They are pure white, rather elongated and tapering
towards the small end, and measure 0°83 x 0°58.”
Major Clarke met with it in the town of Bloemfontein only,
on two occasions. In the Transvaal, according to Mr. 'T’. Ayres,
in 1874, it is exceedingly scarce, “but a single bird or a
pair very occasionally appear. The pair now sent were shot
in the town of Potchefstroom.” Mr. E. Symonds writes: “I
saw these birds for the first time in May, 1885, and had two
in confinement, but they unfortunately died. I have never
seen them in our summer months. 1 think a pair built on an
eucalyptus tree in Kroonstadt in July, 1886.”
To the north of the Limpopo River Dr. Bradshaw collected
six specimens which are now in the British Museum, and these
are the only examples, known to me, from the Matabele
PHILETAIRUS 129
district, where the range of the present species and that of
A. fasciata meet, for to the latter belongs an immature bird,
procured by Frank Oates at the Tati River.
Genus Il. PHITLETATRUS.
Bill rather long and compressed at the sides, but slightly swollen at the
nostrils ; culmen rounded and gently curved, extending back in an acute
angle on the forehead; keel slightly curved upwards; cutting edge of the
upper mandible waved, with an inclination to a tooth near the gape; nasal
openings exposed just in front of the frontal feathers. Wing pointed, the
tenth quill falling short of the tip by the length of the tarsus; primaries
1 short, narrow and pointed; 2, 3 and 4 the longest. Tail square. Tarsus
strong; feet moderate. Sexes alike in plumage, no portion red.
Type.
Philetairus, Smith in Charlesw. Mag. N. H. i. p. 536 (1837) P. sociws.
Pseudonigrita, Reichen. J. f.O.1903,p.149 . . . . . P. arnaudi.
The genus is confined to Tropical and South Africa, and comprises five
species. In 1789 William Paterson gave the name of Social Grosbeak to
the typical species of the genus, on account of its wonderful habit of erecting
a whole colony of nests under one thatched roof, so I employ the name of
Social-Waxbill for all the members of this genus.
KEY TO THE SPECIES.
a. Under parts brown; crown brown or greyish white.
a1, Bill pale brown; back of neck and flanks blackish, with
narrow buff edges to the feathers; crown brown . . . socius.
b1, Bill black; no black on the neck or flanks.
a®?. Crown greyish white.
a, A black band across the tail; back browner . . . . arnaudi.
ae No black band across the tail; back greyer . . . . dorsalis.
. Crown pale brown, like the back. . . emit.
b. ca parts white, with black on the funke.) upper half of
head black; billpale. . . .. . ; cabanisi.
(October, 1904, 9
130 PHILETAIRUS SOCIUS
Philetairus socius.
Loxia socia, Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 381 (1790) Cape.
Philetairus socius, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 242 (1904).
Philzterus socius, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 249 (1890); Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 374 (1896); Stark, Faun. 8. Afr. B. i. p. 117, pl. nest.
Philetairus lepidus, Smith in Charlesw. Mag. N. H. i. p. 536 (1837) ; id.
Ill. Zool. 8. Afr. Av. pl. 8 (1838).
Adult. Forehead and crown uniform brown; nape, back and sides of
the neck, and the upper back, brownish black, with narrow buff edges to the
feathers, giving to these parts a scale-like appearance ; lower back and upper
tail-coverts paler, with less sharply marked buff edges ; tail black, with the
two centre feathers, broad ends to the others and the outermost webs of the
tail brown; wings dark brown, with the edges pale, inclining to buff at the
end of the median and greater coverts and the outer webs of the secondaries ;
under wing-coverts, and inner edges of the quills, buffy brown; front of sides
of head, chin and upper throat, black; ear-coverts brown, paler than the
crown, and fading into brownish buff on the hinder half of the cheeks, sides
of upper neck and the under parts generally ; flanks, thighs and under tail-
coverts darker brown, the latter with buff edges; on each side of the
abdomen is a large black and buff scale-like patch, formed by the feathers
having the terminal half black, narrowly edged with buff. ‘Iris dark
brown ; bill horn-colour; legs and feet light brown” (Stark). Total length
5 inches, culmen 0°65, wing 3:0, tail 1:7, tarsus 0°75. ¢, Transvaal
(T. Ayres).
Immature. Crown mottled with pale edges to the feathers; no black on
the head and throat. Damara (Andersson).
The Southern Social-Waxbill inhabits South Africa from
Damaraland and the Transvaal to the Orange and Vaal Rivers.
The species is nearly always to be met with in flocks, and
Andersson found it breeding in Damaraland and Great Nama-
qualand. According to Mr. Fleck, it is generally distributed
over those countries, and he also met with it in the Kalahari.
Its most southern known range is the northern portion of Cape
Colony, near the Orange River. Stark mentions it as rather
a common species in Bechuanaland and Griqualand West, and
by no means rare, though somewhat locally distributed, in the
Transvaal.
a
bal
PHILETAIRUS SOCIUS 131
The wonderful nest-structures of these birds have been
figured by Sir Andrew Smith and by Stark, and the former
naturalist writes: ‘‘ The banks of the Orange River appear to
constitute the southern limit of this bird’s range; but speci-
mens were only obtained in great abundance in the district
around Latakoo, far from water. The most striking peculiarity
observed of the species is the extraordinary manner in which
a number of individuals associate, and build their nests under
a common roof. When a nesting place has been selected,
and the operation of building the nests is to be commenced
ab initio, the community immediately proceed conjointly to
construct the general covering which interests them all; that
being accomplished, each pair begins to form their own nest,
which, like the roof, they construct of coarse grass; these are
placed side by side against the under surface of the general
covering, and by the time they are all completed, the lower
surface of the mass exhibits an appearance of an even
horizontal surface, freely perforated by small circular openings.
“They never breed in the same nests a second time,
though they continue for many years attached to the same
roof. With the return of the breeding season, fresh nests are
formed upon the lower surface of those of the previous year,
which then form an addition to the general covering. In this
manner they proceed, year after year adding to the mass, till at
length the weight often becomes such as to cause the destruc-
tion of its support, upon which a new building-place is selected.
They appear to prefer constructing the nests upon large and
lofty trees, but where such do not occur, they will even
condescend to form them upon the leaves of the arborescent
aloe (Aloe arborescens), as occasionally happens towards the
Orange River. The commencement of the roof is firmly
interwoven with the branches of the trees to which it is
intended to be suspended; and often a great part of a principal
132 PHILETAIRUS ARNAUDI
branch is actually included within its substance. Hach female
lays from three to four eggs, which are of a bluish-white
colour and freely mottled towards the large end with small
brown dots. When once this species has attained maturity,
it never afterwards exhibits any change in respect to colours.
The male has no summer tints which he throws aside in
winter, as is the case in Huplectes. Seeds, and occasionally
small insects, constitute the food.”
Mr. Ayres met with the species near the Vaal River ‘in
July, 1869 (midwinter), when the birds, in flocks of from
thirty to forty, were still inhabiting their nests, in which they
appear to sleep all the year round.” According to Stark,
these nest-structures comprise from twenty to three hundred
separate habitations, each warmly lined with feathers, but,
nevertheless, these birds are extremely pugnacious. ‘‘ The
egos are three or four in number, and vary a good deal in
shape and colour. As a rule they are rounded ovates, but
some are very elongated. The ground colour is some shade
of drab, and they are more or less spotted all over with
small dots of brown and greyish purple. They average 0°75
x 0°52.”
Philetairus arnaudi.
Nigrita arnaudi, Bp. Consp. i. p. 444 (1850) White Nile.
Philewterus arnaudi, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 250 (1890); Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 375 (1896) ; Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 124 (1899) egg.
Pseudonigrita arnaudi, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 171 (1904).
Fringilla (Pyrgita) molybdocephala, Heugl. Syst. Uebers. p. 41 (1856,
nom. nud.).
Philzterus emini (non Reichen.), Sharpe, Ibis, 1891, p. 249, Machako’s.
Adults. General plumage pale drab brown; forehead, crown and nape
greyish white; lesser wing-coverts dusky black, with broad grey edges ;
quills brownish black, the secondaries with very broad pale drab edges
extending over the whole outer web on the inner quills; under wing-coverts
PHILETAIRUS ARNAUDI 133
and inner margins of quills pale drab; tail with a broad black band across
the middle, covering about half of the tail; sides of head and the under parts
uniform pale drab, slightly darker on the ear-coverts, and occasionally a few
black feathers in front of the eyes. ‘Iris dark crimson; bill black ; tarsi
and feet pale brown.’’ Total length 4:7 inches, culmen 0:45, wing 2:6,
tail 1-4, tarsus 0°65. 3, 26. 3. 79, Lado (Emin.); ¢, 9. 11. 99, Athi River
(Delamere).
Arnaud’s Social-Waxbill inhabits Central Equatorial Africa
from the Gazelle River (9° N. lat.) to the Motiom Mountains in
Masailand (2° S. lat.).
The type, which is in the Paris Museum, is labelled “ Nil
Blane.” It probably came from the Gazelle River district, for
the species is not positively known from further north than
9° N. lat. It is abundant between that river and Victoria
Nyanza, and, according to Emin, is generally to be met with
wherever the sandy soil admits of bushes and trees. It is
noisy, active and confiding, and is to be seen flitting in parties
from bush to bush, or dusting itself in the warm sand. They
feed themselves upon seeds, buds and insects, supplying their
young mostly with the latter. They apparently breed more
than once in the year, for he found their nests in December, also
in the middle of the dry season, as well as in August, which is
one of the wettest months in that region. Some dozen nests
are often firmly attached to a single bough; these are strongly
constructed of coarse grass with a short sleeve-like entrance
passage hanging down; inside, the nest is rounded and lined
with seed-down and soft fibres. Heuglin remarked that
beneath the entrance passage is constructed a separate shelter
for the male to roost in. The eggs, according to Emin, are
generally four in number, white, with brick red dots, most
numerous towards the thick end. They are described by
Fischer as greenish white, with yellowish and violet brown
spots, and a few streaks inclining to form a zone at the obtuse
end. They measure 0°8 x 0°55. Emin further remarked that
154 PHILETAIRUS DORSALIS
the hen sits so close that it may be taken with the hand off
its eggs. The incubation, which is performed entirely by the
female, lasts eleven days, and the young remain in the nest
for eight or nine days. He once met with a pair of Spermestes
cucullatus breeding in the middle of a colony of these birds.
The species has been found nesting in May at Elgeyo, by
Mr. Jackson, who writes: “ The nest has two entrances, one
of which is stopped up when the hen is about to lay. At other
times it is used for roosting.” He also obtained the species at
Machako’s. In the intervening country it has been met with
by Dr. Ansorge at Campi-ya-Simba, and by Lord Delamere at
the Athi River and at Larabat. Mr. Oscar Neumann records
the species from the Kikuyu country and from Nguruman.
Between the latter place and the Motiom Mountains, the most
southern range known for the species, Fischer found it in
pairs, or some half-dozen together feeding on the ground,
which was covered with high grass, and in larger flocks in the
more open country. In the Motiom highlands it was scarce,
but a colony of ten pairs were breeding there at Wasso-
Neibor.
Philetairus dorsalis.
Nigrita dorsalis, Reichen. J. f. O. 1887, p. 71 Wembere, Nassa.
Phileterus dorsalis, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 251 (1890); Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 376 (1896).
Pseudonigrita dorsalis, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 172 (1904).
Nigrita canidorsalis (Japs. cal.), Reichen. J. f. O. 1887, p. 41.
Type. Similar to P. arnaudi, but differing in its greyer back, more
dusky grey scapulars, pale grey head, and the absence of any black band on
the tail; lores black.
Forehead, crown and nape pale grey; mantle and scapulars dusky
grey; lesser wing-coverts blackish grey; lores black; a ring of whitish
feathers round the eye; remainder of sides of head, neck, rump, entire
under parts, tail and greater wing-coverts pale brown; primary-coverts
and quills black; median coverts black, edged with pale brown, this shade
extending over the entire outer web of the innermost feathers ; under
PHILETAIRUS EMINI 135
wing-coverts and inner margins of the quills pale brown. ‘Iris brown; bill
black ; feet reddish brown.”’ Total length 4:4 inches, culmen 0°45, wing 2°5,
tail 1:4, tarsus 0°8.
Fischer’s Grey-headed Social-Waxbill inhabits the country
at the south end of the Victoria Nyanza.
The types were collected by Fischer on the Wembere
Plateau, and at Nassa on Speke’s Gulf. The species has also
been obtained by Emin at Usambiro.
Philetairus emini.
Nigrita emini, Reichen. J. f. O. 1891, pp. 158, 210 Mahalala.
Phileterus emini, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 377 (1896).
Pseudonigrita emini, Reichen. Vog. Afr. ii. p. 173 (1904).
Type. Similar to P. dorsalis, but paler; head and back pale brown ;
sides of tail black. Ivis pale brown; bill black; feet flesh colour. Total
length 4:7 inches, culmen 0-4, wing 2°6, tail 1:3, tarsus 0'7. 3S, ?,
11. 7. 90. Mahalala (Emin).
Emin’s Social-Waxbill inhabits Ugogo.
All that is at present known regarding the species is that
Emin procured a pair, the types, at Mahalala in Ugogo.
Philetairus cabanisi.
Nigrita cabanisi, Fisch. and Reichen. J. f. O. 1884, p. 54 Pare ; Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 373 (1896).
Philetzrus cabanisi, Shelley, Ibis, 1888, p. 292, pl.6; Sharpe, Cat. B. M.
xiii, p. 251.
Pseudonigrita cabanisi, Reichen. Vog. Afr. ili. p. 173 (1904).
Adults. Entire head above the cheeks jet black ; back and sides of neck,
upper back and wings drab brown, shading into dark brown on the upper
tail-coverts; tail brownish black, with a trace of white terminal margins on
some of the feathers; axillaries, and inner half of the under wing-coverts,
white ; inner edges of the quills pale brown. Cheeks and under parts pure
white, with the flanks and outsides of the thighs brown; the white feathers
which margin the brown flanks have broad black ends, and there is a patch of
136 NIGRITA
black on the middle of the chest. ‘Iris crimson; bill white, base of lower
mandible tinged with yellowish green ; legs brownish flesh colour.’ Total
length 4:8 inches, culmen 0°6, wing 2:7, tail2-0, tarsus 0-7. 3g, 2, 14.3. 87.
Kilimanjaro (Jackson).
Cabanis’s Social-Waxbill inhabits Hastern Africa between
6° S. lat. and 8° N. lat.
In its most southern known range, Fischer discovered the
type on the Pare Plateau, and remarked that the sexes are
alike in plumage. He considered the species rare in the
country he traversed between the Pare Mountains and the
Pangani; they were frequenting the acacia and euphorbia
trees, where he found a colony of four or six of their nests,
which much resembled those of P. arnaudi, and had two
entrance passages, one leading into the breeding chamber
for the hen, the other into a guard-room for the cock. He
also found the species at Loeru and Kibaia, breeding in
September. Mr. Jackson obtained specimens on the Sagouvi
Mountains of the Kilimanjaro district, where a small colony
were constructing nests in a table-topped mimosa tree, in
March, 1887; so these birds have apparently a spring as
well as an autumn breeding season. In the British Museum
there are two specimens of Lord Delamere’s collecting, from
the Waso Nyro River, and three of Mr. Gillett’s from Darar,
in Somaliland. In this latter country the species has also
been met with by Dr. Donaldson Smith at Dabulli.
Genus II]. NIGRITA.
Bill widened, broader than deep at the nostrils, and compressed at the
sides of the end half; nostrils open just in front of the frontal feathers;
cutting edge of upper mandible festooned. Wing rounded; primaries
1, small, narrow and sharply pointed; 2, shorter than 5; 3 and 4, longest.
Tail fan-shaped, feathers rather broad. Tarsi and feet moderate. Plumage
of sexes generally, but not always, alike ; tail entirely black.
a
NIGRITA 137
Type.
AKthiops (non Martin) Strick]. P. Z.S. 1841, p.30 . . N. canicapilla.
Nigrita, Strickl. P. Z. 8.1842, p.145. . . . . . NN. canicapilla.
Perenopsis, Heine, J. f. O. 1860, p.144 . . . N. fusconota.
Atopornis, Reichen. and Neum. Orn. Monatsb. 1895, Hy 74 N. diabolica.
The genus is confined to Tropical Africa and comprises nine species. Its
members not having received an English name, I propose to call them Negro-
Finches.
KEY TO THE SPECIES.
a. Under parts white ; entire upper half of head glossy
black.
at, Middle back brown, like the mantle . . . fusconota. I?
bt. Middle back bulf, pours with the Sea
mantle. . . uropygialis. | >?
b. Under parts not aie ani) wien half = head
not black.
ct. Under parts deep chestnut.
a*. Upper parts more slate grey. . . . . . . bicolor.
b2. Upper parts brown. . ..... =. . . Orunmescens. 14
d‘. Under parts not chestnut.
c?. Under parts black.
a’, Forehead black.
a*, Bill slightly longer and narrower at the
gape; greater wing-coverts and the inner-
most quills tipped with white. . . canicapilla, ad. | /
b*. Bill slightly shorter and broader at the
gape ; a little smaller.
a®. Greater wing-coverts and innermost
secondaries tipped with whitish . . . diabolica.
b5. Greater wing-coverts and quills with no
whitish terminal marks.
a’. Wing-coverts with narrow white bars emilie, ad.
b&. Wing-coverts with rounded white spots schistacea.
+
A!
c®, Entire upper surface of wings black . . » ~-Var. juv.
68. Forehead buff... . . luteifrons, 3 ad. !'
d?. Under parts lead grey, or fee alae. colour!
c3. Forehead buff; under parts lead grey . . . luteifrons, 2 ad.
d*, Forehead slate colour. . . . Young of the above black
breasted species.
138 NIGRITA FUSCONOTA
Nigrita fusconota.
Nigrita fusconota, Fraser, P. Z. 5., 1842, p. 145 Fernando Po ; id. Zool.
Typ. pl. 49 (1849); Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 371 (1896); Reichen.
Vog. Afr. iii. p. 168 (1904).
Percnopsis dorsofusea, Heine. J. f. O. 1860, p. 144.
Nigrita pinaronota, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 318 (1890).
Adults. Upper half of the head, back of upper neck, upper tail-coverts,
lesser wing-coverts, edges of median coverts and of a few of the scapulars
glossy violet-shaded black ; rump and tail dull black ; remainder of the back
of the neck and back, and inner portion of wing, uniform earth brown; outer
portion of wing dark brown, with the under coverts and the inner margins of
the quills white; lower half of the head and the entire under parts white.
“Tris brown; bill black; feet grey” (Preuss). Total length 4:2 inches,
culmen 0:4, wing 21 and 2:0, tail 2:0, tarsus 0°55. g, ?, Fernando Po
(Alexander).
Fraser's White-breasted Negro-Finch ranges from Fer-
nando Po into the Ruwenzori Mountains and the Congo
district.
The type, which was discovered at Clarence, on Fernando
Po, by Fraser, is now in the British Museum. Regarding its
occurrence on this island Mr. Boyd Alexander writes: ‘ Rare.
Found on high ground, frequenting the topmost branches of
tall trees in sunny clearings.” In Camaroons it has been
procured by Dr. Preuss, in the highlands at Buea, and by
Mr. Bates at the Ja River; in Central Africa by Mr.
Jackson, from the Ruwenzori district; and in Gaboon Du
Chaillu collected specimens at the Moonda and Camma
Rivers. I do not find the species yet recorded from the
Congo River, but it would appear to be abundant in Loango,
having been met with there at Chinchonxo by Falkenstein,
and at Landana by Lucan and Petit.
|
NIGRITA UROPYGIALIS 139
Nigrita uropygialis.
Nigrita uropygialis, Sharpe, Ibis, 1869, p. 384, pl. 11, fig. 1 Fantee;
Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 319, Gold Coast; Shelley, B. Afr. I.
No. 372 (1896) ; Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 168 (1904).
Adult. Distinguished from N. fusconota only by the entire middle back
being isabelline buff. Total length 4°5 inches, culmen 0°35, wing 2:1 and
- 2:0, tail 1°9, tarsus 0°55. 3, 2, Fantee.
Sharpe’s White-breasted Negro-Finch inhabits the Gold
Coast.
There are in the British Museum eight specimens from
Fantee, collected by Ussher and others between Cape Coast
and the more inland forest of Denkera. The late Governor
Ussher wrote: “Though not so common as N. emiilizx, this
species is still not rare, Aubinn having procured me several
specimens.”
Nigrita bicolor.
Pytelia bicolor, Hartl. Syst. Verg. Brem. 1844, p. 76 Gold Coast.
Nigrita bicolor, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 318 (1890) pt. Gold Coast ;
Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 370 (1896); Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 167
(1904).
Adult. Upper parts slate colour; front of crown, sides of head and
entire under parts deep vinous chestnut; wings dark brown, with slate-
coloured edges to the coverts; under wing-coverts and inner margins of
quills whitish ; tail entirely black. Iris crimson; bill black; tarsi and feet
brown. Total length 4 inches, culmen 0:4, wing 2°3, tail 1:7, tarsus 0°55.
3, 22, 2. 72. Abouri (Shelley).
Immature. Differs in being duller, with the forehead and sides of head
slate grey, fading into pale ash on the chin and upper throat; under surface
of body paler and more tawny brown. Fantee (Aubinn).
The Northern Chestnut-breasted Negro-Finch ranges from
Senegambia to the Volta River.
The species is represented in the British Museum from
Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Gold Coast. Verreaux received
140 NIGRITA BRUNNESCENS
it from Casamanse; Demery met with it along the Sulymah
River, and Mr. Biittikofer in Liberia, frequenting the Bush near
Fisherman’s Lake in Monrovia and on Mount Olive. The type
is a specimen in the Bremen Museum from the Gold Coast.
The species appeared to me to be abundant in the forests
surrounding Abrobonko and Abouri. Aubinn procured it in
the Denkera forest, and Ussher met with it during an expedi-
tion up the Volta River, which is the most eastern range known
for the species.
Nigrita brunnescens.
Nigrita bicolor brunnescens, Reichen. Orn. Monatsb. 1902, p. 173 Cama-
roons, Gaboon.
Nigrita brunnescens, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 167 (1904).
Nigrita bicolor, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 318 (1890) pt. Camaroons,
Gaboon.
Nigrita bicolor saturatior, Reichen. Orn. Monatsb. 1902, p. 173 Upper
Congo, Uvamba.
Nigrita brunnescens saturatior, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 167 (1904).
Differs from N. bicolor only in the upper parts being rufous brown, with
rarely any grey shade. g, ¢, 6.04. River Ja (Bates).
The Southern Chestnut-breasted Negro-Finch ranges from
Prince’s Island and the Niger into the Congo district, eastward
to Uvamba.
This form may be regarded as a subspecies of N. bicolor,
but its characters, though slight, are very constant. On
Prince’s Island it has been procured by Mr. Keulemans, who
found it to be “of a solitary, shy nature, frequenting the
rivulets and mountain streams, disappearing quickly in the
rank vegetation when disturbed. Its song resembles that of
the Yellowhammer (Hmberiza citrinella). It is known by the
natives as the ‘ Liwi-gigon.’ The males have the iris bright
cherry-red, in the females it is pale brown.” Specimens have
been obtained in the Lower Niger district by Dr. Ansorge.
NIGRITA CANICAPILLA 141
Through the kindness of Dr. Reichenow I have been able
to compare one of Dr. Preuss’s typical specimens from Buea
with the British Museum collection, and find it there well
represented; from Camaroons, by one of Crossley’s specimens,
and by six shot by Mr. Bates at the Ja River; one from
Gaboon, and one, in fine plumage, obtained by Jameson at
Yambuya, close to the junction of the Aruwimi with the Congo
River.
I doubt whether N. bicolor satwratior, Reichenow, known
only by the type from “Atjanga in Uvamba, July (Emin),” is
distinct from N. brunnescens.
Nigrita canicapilla.
AMthiops canicapilla, Strickl. P. Z. S. 1841, p. 30 Fernando Po.
Nigrita canicapilla, Fraser, Zool. Typ. pl. 48 (1849) ; Sharpe, Cat. B. M.
xiii. p. 315 (1890); Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 365 (1896); Reichen.
Vog. Afr. iii. p. 170 (1904).
Nigrita cinereicapilla (laps. cal.), Sharpe, Ibis, 1869, p. 385.
Adults. Forehead and front of crown jet black, like the entire sides of
the head and the under parts; hinder half of the crown and neck and
the mantle deep lead grey, fading into a white margin next to the black
of the head and middle throat; the back fading into white just below the
middle, and then shading again into grey on the rump; upper tail-coverts
dusky black; tail entirely jet black; wings black, with fairly large white
terminal spots to the lesser, median and greater coverts and the innermost
secondaries; lining of wing dusky black, with paler inner edges to the
quills, and the coverts white, with a border of black and white next to the
bend of the wing. ‘Iris yellow; bill black; tarsi and feet brown.” Total
length 5:4 inches, culmen 0:5, wing 2:8 and 2°75, tail 2:0, tarsus 0-65.
3, 2, Fernando Po (Alexander).
Immature. Upper parts darker and more slaty grey than in the adults ;
pale border between the grey and black of the head and neck less sharply
defined ; middle and lower back ashy grey; wings with the lesser coverts
entirely black, or with three small white spots; median coverts with three
small whitish terminal spots; greater coverts and innermost secondaries
with dusky white tips; under parts mottled, dusky grey and black. Gaboon
(Verreaux) ; Landana (Petit).
142 NIGRITA DIABOLICA
Strickland’s Negro-Finch ranges over West Africa from
Abeokuta on the Slave Coast and the Lower Niger into
Angola, _
The British Museum contains a specimen from Abeokuta
(Robin), three of the typical examples from Fernando Po, a
male and two females from the Ja River in Camaroons (Bates),
several from Gaboon (Du Chaillu), three males and a female
from Chinchonxo and Landana (Petit), a male and female from
the Aruwimi River (Jameson), and one of Hamilton’s from
Angola.
The species was discovered by Fraser on the Island of
Fernando Po, where, according to Mr. Boyd Alexander,
“this species is widely distributed on the high ground,
frequenting thick trees in pairs. In flight the white on the
rump is very conspicuous.” In Camaroons it is abundant,
and Mr. Sjéstedt found it there at Bibundi and Bonge. He
remarks that it is not often seen in mid-day, but towards
twilight passed the station in noisy swarms to roost in the
cotton plantations. It feeds on seeds, larve and small snails.
In the most southern range known for these Negro-Finches
they have been procured by Hamilton at Casengo and Galungo
Alto near the Quanza River, and eastward by Bohndorff at
Kibonge on the Congo, in nearly 1° S. lat,
Nigrita diabolica.
Atopornis diabolica, Reichen. and Neum. Orn. Monatsb. 1895, p. 74
Kifinika.
Nigrita diabolica, Reichen. V6g. Afr. iii. p. 171 (1904).
Artomyias diabolica, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 1331 (1896).
Nigrita kretschmeri, Reichen. Orn. Monatsh. 1895, p. 187 Kifinika.
Nigrita dohertyi, Hartert, Bull. B. O. C. xii. p. 12 (1901) Maw.
Type of N. dohertyi. Intermediate between N. canicapilla and N. emilia,
resembling the former in its general colouring and in having white tips to
NIGRITA EMILIZ 143
the greater wing-coverts and innermost quills; but differing from N. cani-
capilla, and resembling N. emili@ in its slightly smaller size, especially that
of the bill, and in the white markings on the wings inclining more to bars
than to rounded spots. ‘Iris reddish white ; bill black ; feet dark brown.”
Total length 4:4 inches, culmen 0°45, wing 2°6, tail 1:9, tarsus 0°65.
3, 1.01. Mau Escarpment (Doherty).
The Masai Negro-Finch inhabits the country to the east
of the Victoria Nyanza.
The type, a hen-bird, was discovered by Mr. Oscar Neu-
mann at Kifinika, on Mount Kilimanjaro, at an elevation of
9,000 feet. Owing to its very unfinch-like, wide bill, it was
first referred to the Muscicapide, and a new genus, Atopornis,
was proposed for its reception. From its colouring and
description of its generic characters I was led, in 1896, to
place it in the genus Artomyias.
The next specimen procured was met with at the same
place by Dr. Kretschmer, and owing to its being in apparently
more immature plumage, was given the name of Nigrita
kretschmeri. It has been recognised by Dr. Reichenow that
these two specimens are not specifically distinct, and on com-
paring the type of N. dohertyi, he found that bird also to
belong to the present species. The late William Doherty
obtained several specimens on the Mau Escarpment, near the
Equator, at an elevation of 8,500 feet. Thus, as far as we
know, this Negro-Finch is confined to the high mountains.
Nigrita emilize.
Nigrita, emiliz, Sharpe, Ibis, 1869, p. 384, plate 11. fig. 2 Hantee ;
Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 316 (1890); Shelley, B Afr. I. No. 366
(1896) ; Reichen. J. f. O, 1902, p. 37 Togo; id. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 169
(1904).
Type. Similar to N. canicapilla, but differs in having the lower back
greyer ; upper tail-coverts blacker; upper surface of wing less spotted with
white, the white marking being confined to the lesser and median coverts,
144 NIGRITA EMILI®
forming terminal bars to these feathers. ‘Iris red; bill and feet black”
(Biittikofer). Total length 4:1 inches, culmen 0°45, wing 2:5, tail 1-7,
tarsus 0°6. Fantee.
Immature. Uniform sooty black, slightly greyer on the lower back, and
blacker on the upper tail-coverts and tail; under surface of wings dusky
brown, with paler edges to the quills and under wing-coverts, the inner
portion of the latter and the axillaries pure white. ‘‘Iris yellowish white ;
bill black; feet smoky brown” (Biittikofer). Wing 2:4. Volta River
(Ussher).
Emily’s Negro- Finch ranges from Sierra Leone into
Togoland.
In the British Museum there is a specimen from Sierra
Leone, which was formerly in the late Lord Tweeddale’s
collection, and Mr. Kemp has procured one at Bo. Demery
met with these birds at the Sulymah River, and Mr. Biittikofer
at Schieffelinsville and Hill Town, in Liberia. The latter
naturalist first described the immature bird, showing that the
colouring varies with age, a common character in the members
of this genus, and in the present instance the peculiar white
marking on the wing-coverts is attained by age only.
The type was discovered by the late Governor Ussher in
Fantee, where he found the species to be common at Cape
Coast and the Forest of Denkera, as well as at the Volta
River. During my short visit to the Gold Coast with
T. E. Buckley, we found the species frequenting the more
wooded districts, and brought home a specimen from Abouri,
in the Aguapim Mountains, where Dr. Reichenow found it
abundant. Mr. Boyd Alexander met with it at Prahsu, and
Mr. Baumann at Akome and Podji in Togoland.
In the British Museum there are fourteen specimens from
the Gold Coast, of which four are immature, including one
passing into full plumage. Its occurrence in Gaboon I look
upon as extremely improbable. Dr. Oustalet records a speci-
men in M. Avinene’s collection from that country, and in
NIGRITA SCHISTACEA 145
the British Museum there is one of Verreaux’s specimens
labelled ‘‘ Gaboon.”
Nigrita schistacea.
Nigrita schistacea, Sharpe, Ibis, 1891, pp. 118, 251 Sotik ; Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 367 (1896) ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 169 (1904).
Nigrita sparsimguttata, Reichen. J. f. O. 1892, pp. 47, 132 Bukoba;
Reichen. Vog. Afr, iii. p. 170 (1904).
Nigrita canicapilla (non Fraser) Emin, J. f. O. 1891, p. 346 Bukoba.
Nigrita canicapilla sparsimguttata, Hartert, Nov. Zool. 1900, p. 42 Toru.
Type. Very similar to N. canicapilla, especially to an immature hen,
from Landana, but differs in having no trace of white on the greater wing-
coverts, nor on any of the quills; most of the smaller, and a few of the
median, wing-coverts have small pure white spots; under parts jet black,
with the exception of very narrow, almost obsolete, whitish edges to the
feathers of the flanks, abdomen and under tail-coverts. ‘Iris yellow; bill
black; legs brown.’ Total length 5:5 inches, culmen 0-45, wing 2:6,
tail 2-0, tarsus 0°7. @, 3.10.89. Sotik (Jackson).
Male in breeding plumage. Differs in the upper parts being slightly
paler and the lower back much whiter; little or no trace of white edges
to the feathers of the flanks, abdomen, or thighs. ¢, 2. 7. 98. Nandi
(Jackson).
Young. Nearly uniform slate grey, or dusky ash, rather blacker on the
forehead, throat, wings and tail, and a trace of ashy white on the rump;
lesser and median wing-coverts with a few very obscure ashy white spots.
Variety. Differs from the last in having the forehead, sides of head and
under parts blacker, with a few ashy white feathers on the nape; rather
less white on the rump; no trace of whitish marks on any of the wing-
coyerts. d¢, juv. 2.7.98. Nandi (Jackson).
Jackson’s Negro-Finch inhabits Central Equatorial Africa.
Mr. Jackson discovered the type, a rather dull-coloured
female, apparently in winter plumage, at Sotik on the border
of the Mau Forest, October 3, 1889. I have also examined
his fine series of six specimens from Nandi, and five collected
during the expedition into the Ruwenzori Mountains. The
winter plumage is represented by the type procured in October,
a male killed in February, and a female in April; in these the
[October, 1904, 10
146 NIGRITA LUTEIFRONS
upper parts are dark, with less white on the lower back and
some white edges to the feathers of the flanks, abdomen and
under tail-coverts. In the other specimens the under parts are
uniform black, and the adult males and females have the upper
parts paler and brighter, while the lower back is washed with
white to about the same extent as is generally the case in
N. canicapilla. The winter dress is apparently discarded in
April, for the specimen procured by Dr. Ansorge at Kichuchu
in Toru, April 5, 1899, is in breeding plumage. A very similar
bird to the last mentioned was shot by Mr. Jackson in Nandi,
July 2, 1898, and on the same day he killed a specimen with
no trace of white on the upper surface of the wing.
The type of N. sparsimguttata was procured at Bukoba,
on the western side of Victoria Nyanza, by Emin, who also
obtained specimens at Ipoto, Awamba and Irumu.
Nigrita luteifrons.
Nigrita luteifrons, Verr. Rev. et Mag. Zool. 1851, p. 420 Gaboon ; Sharpe,
Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 317 (1890); Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 368 (1896) ;
Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 168 (1904).
Nigrita lucieni, Sharpe and Bouvier, Bull. S. Z. France, 1878, p. 75
Ungomongo ; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 317 (1890) ; Shelley, B. Afr.
I. No. 369 (1896).
Adult male. Forehead and front of crown buff, shading into lead grey on
the hinder half of the crown and back of neck; upper back and upper tail-
coverts darker grey; middle and lower back pale lead grey ; wings and tail
black, with a wash of grey on the lesser wing-coverts and scapulars ; under sur-
face of wings dusky black, with whitish inner margins to the quills, and the
coverts white, with a border, next to the bend of the wing, black; sides of
head and neck and the entire under parts jet black. ‘Iris black; bill black ;
tarsi and feet flesh colour.”’ Total length 4:2 inches, culmen 0:4, wing 2:4,
tail 1:6, tarsus 0°6. 3g, 31.10.02. Fernando Po (Alexander).
Adult female. Differs in the side of the head having only a dusky black
patch round the eye, extending forward to the bill; remainder of the sides
of the head and neck and the entire under parts lead grey ; under wing-
NIGRITA LUTEIFRONS 147
coverts next to the bend of the wing greyish white. ‘Iris and bill black ;
tarsi and feet flesh colour.” Wing 2-4. @?, 31. 10.02. Fernando Po
(Alexander).
Immature. Differs in the forehead, crown and sides of head being
uniform grey, with a few black feathers in front of the eye. ?, 11. 11. 02.
Fernando Po (Alexander).
The Pale-fronted Negro-Finch ranges from the Niger to
the Congo.
In its most northern known range, Lower Nigeria, the
species has been procured by Dr. Ansorge. On the island
of Fernando Po it is, according to Mr. Boyd Alexander,
locally distributed, and fond of frequenting the tops of
tall palm-trees, where it nests; he writes: ‘‘We often observed
it in sunny spots hawking in the air for flies. It is very
interesting to have come across both a male and a female
of this species, as the latter sex was previously considered
to belong to another species—WNigrita lucient.”
In Camaroons Crossley procured a male, Dr. Preuss a
female at Buea, and Drs. Reichenow and Liihder likewise
met with it in that country. The species was first described
from Gaboon by Verreaux, and one of his typical specimens
is in the British Museum, where there are also two males and
two females collected in that country by Du Chaillu, the latter
agreeing well with the type of N. lucteni which was obtained
by Petit at Ungomongo in the Congo Free State. The species
has also been met with by Marche and De Compiégne in the
Ogowé district of Gaboon, and by Bohndorff at Manyanga on
the Lower Congo.
148 PADDA ORYZIVORA
Genus IV. PADDA.
Bill pink, rather large and stout ; nostrils hidden by the frontal feathers.
Wing rounded, secondaries reaching to the tip; primaries 2, 3 and 4 longest
and broader than in Munia, Hodgs., to which genusit is nearly allied. Tarsi
and feet pink and of moderate size.
Type.
Padda, Reichenb. Syst. Nat. pl. 76, fig. 6 (1850) . . . . P. orizivora.
Oryzornis, Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 174 (1851). . . . . . P. orizivora.
The genus is represented in the Ethiopian region by the Java Sparrow,
an introduced bird which has established itself in Tropical Africa and the
islands of Seychelles, Mauritius and St. Helena.
Padda oryzivora.
Loxia oryzivora, Linn. 8. N. i. p. 302 (1766) Asia.
Padda oryzivora, Melliss, Ibis, 1870, p. 100 St. Helena.
Munia oryzivora, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 328 (1890) ; Hartl. Abhandl.
nat. Ver. Brem. 1891, p. 19 Ngurw; Finn, Ibis, 1892, p. 226
Zanzibar ; Reichen. Vég. D. O. Afr. p. 183 (1894) Ngurw ; Butler,
Foreign Finches in Captivity, p. 248, pl. 44 (1894); Shelley, B. Afr.
I. No. 362 (1896) ; Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 126 (1899) egg ; Neum.
J. f. O. 1900, p. 283 Zanzibar, Tanga, Usegua.
Oryzornis oryzivora, Reichen. J. f. O. 1889, p. 283 Zanzibar.
? Loxia sanguinirostris, Linn. 8. N. (x.) p. 173 (1758); id. (xii.) 1. p. 303
(1766) Asia.
Loxia javensis, Gm. 8. N. i. p. 850 (1788).
Emberiza calfat, Gm. ¢. c. p. 889.
Adult. Upper half of the head, chin and upper throat black, with a
large patch of pure white on the sides of the head, extending over the
cheeks and ear-coverts and margined behind by a streak of black from the
nape to the middle throat ; neck, back, greater portion of wings and front
of chest lavender grey ; rump, upper tail-coverts and tail black; primary-
covert, primaries and wing-lining dusky brown, with the inner edges of the
quills and the coverts white ; lower breast mauve pink, fading into white on
the under tail-coverts. ‘Iris brown; bill and feet pink.’”’ ‘Total length 5:6
inches, culmen 0°65, wing 2°65, tail 2:0, tarsus 0°7. g,18.9.75. Singa-
pore (W. Davison).
PADDA ORYZIVORA 149
The Java Sparrow, or Padda-bird, is a native of Java,
Sumatra and Malacca, and has become acclimatised in many
other places, as India, Ceylon, Hast Africa, the Seychelles,
Mauritius and St. Helena islands.
Regarding its occurrence on St. Helena Mr. Melliss wrote
in 1870: “A tolerably abundant bird, inhabiting the low
rocky lands on the northern side of the island, where they
are frequently seen hopping about in pairs; but they are seen
in flights in the interior when the corn is ripening. It is not
many years since this bird was introduced. It appears to
thrive well and to be increasing in numbers.”
In the British Museum there are specimens from Mauritius,
the Seychelle Islands, Zanzibar and Pangani, and it is fairly
distributed over Hast Africa within a radius of 300 miles from
Zanzibar.
Mr. Allan Hume describes a nest as placed in a thorn-
bush, 7 or 8 feet from the ground, “ globular and very large,
chiefly composed of fine grass, but with a few broad-bladed
leaves of millet intertwined. The entrance small, circular,
and lateral.” The eggs, five in number, ‘“ were very regular
ovals, pure glossless white, and varied from 0-7 to 0°75 x
0:55.” Dr. H. A. Bernstein gives a very different description
of the nests and eggs: he found them, sometimes at the
summit of various trees, sometimes among the numerous
creepers which cover the stems of the areng palm. They varied
in size and form, according to their position; whilst those
attached to trees were for the most part larger and possessed,
on an average, a fairly regularly half-ball-shaped form, those
placed among creepers on the stems of areng palms were smaller
and of a less decided, irregular form, only slightly hollowed
out in the centre. All nests, however, were almost exclusively
composed of the stalks of various grasses, which were not very
firmly twisted together, so that the whole building was of no
150 UROLONCHA
great solidity. The number of the shining white, somewhat
long-shaped eggs, varied between six and eight in number.
These measured 0°84 x 0°56.
Dr. Butler informs us: “The female is usually a little
smaller than the male and (as Mr. Abraham has pointed out),
has a narrower, more tapering beak, less swollen at the
base.” He also mentions: “The love-dance of the Java
Sparrow is very ludicrous; he bends his body like an arch
over the perch, turns his head sideways towards the female,
and lifts himself jerkily up and down, singing all the while,
and gradually sidling up to his mate.”
I cannot agree with those ornithologists who refer the
name Loxia sanguinirostris, Linn., to the Dioch, Quelea quelea
(Linn.). Linnzeus described his bird as having the feet red
like the bill, as Asiatic, and on comparing it with Edwards’s
red-billed “ Brazilian Sparrow,” writes: ‘‘ Sed subtus maculata
non mea.” ‘his shows that Linnzus’s description was not
taken from Edwards’s “ Gleanings,” p. 128, p. 271, fig. 2; but
possibly from a young specimen of the Java Sparrow, with
which his description most nearly agrees
Genus V. UROLONCHA.
Bill stout and swollen at the base, which ends in a right angle on the
forehead; culmen flattened and curved; keel straight; edges of upper
mandible festooned; nostrils hidden by the frontal feathers. Wing rounded;
primaries 1, small, narrow and pointed; 2, 3 and 4, longest. Tail mode-
rately long and fan-shaped, with the centre pair of feathers more elongated
and narrowing into points. Tarsi and feet moderate.
Type.
Uroloncha, Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 173 (1851) . . . . . Uz. molucca.
Aidemosyne, Reichenb. Singy. p. 14 pine a wee os Ohemodesta:
Euodice, Reichenb. t.c.p.46. . . . at) ith) een eacaubaniss
The genus, as I understand it, ranges from Senegambia to New Guinea,
and comprises some eighteen species, of which two are natives of Tropical
Africa, and one only is confined to that continent. These are known to
dealers in cage-birds as Silver-bills.
ai
UROLONCHA CANICEPS 161
KEY TO THE SPECIES.
a. Rump and upper tail-coverts white; breast rufous buff . . . caniceps.
b. Rump and upper tail-coverts black; breast white . . . . . cantans.
Uroloncha caniceps.
Pitylia caniceps, Reichen. Orn. Centralbl. 1879, p. 189; id. J. f. O. 1879,
pp. 326, 352, pl. 2, fig. 3 Nassa.
Uroloncha caniceps, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 356 (1890); Shelley,
B, Afr. I. No. 363 (1896).
Spermestes caniceps, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 154 (1904).
Adult. Head and upper neck grey, with a few whitish tips to the frontal
feathers ; remainder of the neck and the mantle pale cinnamon ; lower back
and upper tail-coverts pure white; tail black, the outer pair of feathers
whitish towards the end of the outer web; wings, with the coverts, scapulars
and inner secondaries slightly darker brown than the upper back;
remainder of the quills blackish brown, with the inner webs tinted with
rufous; under wing-coverts rufous buff; in front of the eye black; feathers
of the cheeks, ear-coverts and region of the chin, with white tips and black
subterminal bars, giving these parts a closely spotted appearance; the pale
cinnamon of the lower neck gradually fading into buff on the lower breast,
thighs and under tail-coverts. ‘‘Iris brown; bill bluish grey; feet greyish
brown.” ‘Total length 4-7 inches, culmen 0:4, wing 2:35, tail 2-0, tarsus 0-55.
g, 28. 4. 81. Tarrangola (Emin).
The Grey-headed Silver-bill replaces U. cantans in the
Victoria Nyanza district, from the south of that lake to
5° N. lat.
The type, a female, was discovered at Nassa on Speke’s
Gulf, by Fischer, who procured a cock-bird in like plumage
in the adjoining Wembere country. Mr. Jackson has met
with the species to the north-east of the lake, and writes:
** First seen in small flocks of from eight to ten at Karahan,
in Suk. Feeds on minute grass-seeds.’”’ Lord Delamere has
met with it at the Waso Nyro River, and Emin at Tarrangole
and at Lado, which is the most northern range known for the
species.
152 UROLONCHA CANTANS
Uroloncha cantans.
Lihuaft Niet an, lark
Loxia cantans, Gm. S. N. ii. p. 859 (1788). /#"?
Urobrachya cantans, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 364 (1896); Cholmley, Ibis,
1897, p. 206 Haddat.
Aidemosine cantans, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 371 (1890); Butler,
Foreign Finches in Captivity, p. 201, pl. 38, fig. 2 (1894); Nehrkorn,
Kat. Hiers. p. 127 (1899) egg; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 156 (1904).
Habropyga cantans, Kuschel, J. f. O. 1895, p. 339 egg.
Aidemosyne orientalis, Lorenz and Hellmayr, Orn. Monatsh. 1901, p. 39;
id. J. f. O. 1901, p. 232, N. H. Afr., Arabia.
Aidemosyne cantans orientalis, Reichen. Vog. Afr. ili, p. 156 (1904).
Adult. Upper parts brown, paler on the head, mantle and inner portion
of the wings, and dark sepia brown on the remainder of the wings, the
rump, upper tail-coverts and tail; forehead, crown and back of neck with
dark shaft-stripes, and buff edges to the feathers towards the forehead, which
has a scale-like appearance; mantle and inner secondaries with narrow,
darker brown bars; under wing-coverts and inner edges to the quills buff;
sides of head and neck pale brown ; under parts white, shaded with brownish
buff on the throat and flanks; feathers of the chin and upper throat with
cinnamon centres, giving a scale-like appearance; sides of crop and the
flanks indistinctly barred with brown. ‘Iris brown; bill lead-blue; legs
dusky.” Total length 4°3 inches, culmen 0-4, wing 2:1, tail 1-8, tarsus 0:45.
9, 18. 12.02. Kawa (A. L. Butler.)
The Warbling Silver-bill ranges eastward from Senegambia
by Gambago into Hastern Africa, from Zanzibar to Bogosland
and Shendi on the Nile, in about 17° N. lat., extending also into
South Arabia.
The type of Latham’s Warbling Grosbeak probably came
from Senegambia, as the species was known to Vieillot from
that country, where it has since been met with by Marche
and De Compitgne at Dakar on Cape Verde, by Peyés at
Casamanse, and by Dr. Percy Rendall at Bathurst, where he
obtained two specimens and the pendent nest, which contained
white eggs. The eggs measure 0'6 x 0°42, and according to
Dr. Russ, these birds sometimes lay as many as nine in a
nest. The most southern range in West Africa yet known for
phaeand, Oh s
UROLONCHA CANTANS 153
the species is Gambaga in the “hinterland” of the Gold
Coast, where it has been procured by Mr. Boyd Alexander.
The species is apparently more abundant eastward; it
formed part of Petherick’s collection from Kordofan; Mr.
Hawker considered it common at Kaka, on the White Nile,
10° 30' N. lat., and found a nest there, with young birds, in
March. Further down the Nile, within 140 miles from Khar-
toum, Mr. Witherby met with the species moulting and by no
means plentiful. After giving a comparison of the old and new
plumage he adds: “They were found in parties of five or
six, generally sitting close together on a twig of some bush
or tree near the river. They seemed most inactive, their sole
occupation consisting, apparently, of singing sotto voce.” Still
further down the Nile, at Shendi, the most northern known
range for the species, the Hon. N. C. Rothschild and Mr. A.
F. R. Wollaston collected five cocks and four hens, and found
them to be tolerably common and remarkably tame. ‘‘ They
were very sluggish in their habits and might often be seen
in small parties closely huddled together on a branch for
hours at a time. Towards the end of February a pair of
these birds built a nest in a low bush in the middle of our
camp; it was composed almost entirely of scraps of paper
and cotton-wool, and was shaped somewhat like a very untidy
nest of a Greenfinch. Unfortunately, when two eggs had been
laid, the nest was ruthlessly destroyed by a pair of Passer
rufidorsalis.”
Mr. A. L. Butler writes to me from the Soudan: “A
common resident, found in flocks, and very sociable, generally
perching in trees, two or three together, touching each other.
I have met with the species from Galabat, on the Abyssinian
frontier, to Kawa on the White Nile, and it occurs round the
wells in the otherwise waterless country of Omdurman. At
Gedaref, in May, 1901, several pairs were nesting in the thatch
154 UROLONCHA CANTANS
of the verandah, like Sparrows. A female shot at Kawa,
November 13, 1902, contained a full-sized egg, and I have
found it breeding also in February, March, May, September
and October.”
From eastward of the Nile it has been found in flocks
about Ailet and Ain, in the Anseba Valley, by Dr. Blanford ;
by Antinori in the village of Aona and near Kursi; Mr. A. J.
Cholmley obtained a specimen at Haddai on the Red Sea
Coast, and Dr. Ragazzi a single specimen at Shoddé. Heuglin
met with the species from Kordofan to the Somali coast in
pairs and small flocks. Lord Lovat shot a specimen at Laga
Hardin, and others have been procured in this district by Mr.
Pease at Dahala and Choba, and at Hensa in Somaliland. In
the latter country the species is apparently abundant, for
specimens have been collected at a number of places by Dr.
Donaldson Smith, Mr. Elliot and Mr. Hawker.
In the district between the Tana River and Victoria Nyanza
the species has been procured by Fischer at Mosiro, in Northern
Ukamba; by Lord Delamere at the Waso Nyro River, on
January 24 and 31, 1900, and on the 26th of the same month
he obtained a specimen of U. caniceps, showing that the range
of the two species meet at this river. Mr. Jackson, on
April 2, procured specimens in Southern Ukamba and writes:
‘| think these are immature birds, as they have scarcely any
white spots on the throat or sides of the face. These two
specimens were obtained out of a flock at a pool in the wilder-
ness between the River Tsavo and Kibwesi, and were the first
I have ever seen in this part of the country. Mr. Oscar
Neumann obtained three specimens at Donje Ngai, and remarks
that this is the first record from German Hast Africa. Dr.
Reichenow does not mention the species in his work on
the birds of that dominion, but specimens have been recorded
by Fischer from the Lamu coast and Zanzibar, and also by
Bohm from the latter place.
ORTYGOSPIZA POLYZONA 155
Drs. Lorenz and Hellmayr have separated, under the
name of Aidemosyne orientalis, a supposed eastern race to
include the Arabian and North-east African specimens. “This
is not, I think, a recognisable subspecies, but those who
wish to form their own opinion I would refer to the Ibis for
£/ 1901, pp. 247, 519, 61%.
Genus VI. ORTYGOSPIZA.
Bill moderately stout, culmen rounded and slightly curved, the base
ending on the forehead in a right angle; nostrils hidden by the frontal
feathers. Wing rounded; primaries 1 short, narrow and pointed, 2, 3
and 4 longest. Tail short and rounded. Tarsi moderately long; feet and
claws slender ; the outstretched feet reaching beyond the end of the tail.
Type.
Ortygospiza, Sundey. Cify. K. Vet. Ak. Férk. Stockh.
SSO OOM erg a ee a) O. polyzona.
The genus is confined to Tropical and South Africa, and comprises two
very nearly allied species. It received its Latin name from the general
Quail-like colouring of the plumage, and the resemblance is somewhat
enhanced by the short tail.
KEY TO THE SPECIES.
a. Some white on the chin and round the eyes. . . . . polyzona.
b. No white on the chin nor round the eyes, these parts
DEInCRDIACke werMe EEE ah Gk a) 3 . « « « abrecollzs:
Ortygospiza polyzona.
Fringilla polyzona, Temm. Pl. Col. iii. p. 37, pl. 221, fig. 3 (1828).
Ortygospiza polyzona, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 269 (1890); Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 389 (1896); Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 202 (1904) ;
Clarke, Ibis, 1904, p. 524 Ingogo.
Fringilla multizona, Des Murs, Lefeb. Abyss. 1850, p. 117.
Adult male. Differs from that of O. atricollis only in having more white
on the head ; two fairly broad white bands from the nostrils and gape meet
156 ORTYGOSPIZA POLYZONA
behind the eyes ; uppermost portion of the throat as well as the chin white.
“Tris hazel; bill bright crimson; tarsi and feet pale fleshy brown.” Total
length 3:6 inches, culmen 0°35, wing 2°2, tail, 1-1, tarsus 06. ¢, 20. 4. 77.
Potchefstroom (T. Ayres).
Adult female. Differs in the cheeks and dark portion of the throat being
brownish ash, like the sides of the neck. Wing 21. 92,17. 7.75. Pine-
town (T. L. Ayres).
Temminck’s Bar-breasted Mannikin ranges from Angola
and Abyssinia, southward into Cape Colony.
The species is rare in Western Africa, but 'Toulson obtained
a specimen at Loanda, in Angola, and Welwitsch met with it
at Galungo Alto. In Damaraland Mr. Fleck found it singly,
or in pairs, in the neighbourhood of Barmen.
Stark writes: “It is fairly common in the north-east of
Cape Colony, in the neighbourhood of Colesberg and Eland’s
Post. In the Orange River Colony and in the higher part
of Natal it is resident and common all the year round; it is
rather more local, but still a common species, in many parts
of the Transvaal, but becomes rarer to the north of the
Limpopo River, in Matabeleland and Mashonaland.
“These pretty little birds are usually met with in small
flocks, but occasionally in single pairs, on the open, grassy
flats. Here they feed on the ground, under the grass,
on the fallen seeds. If disturbed, they rise suddenly, with
a curious metallic chirp, fly a short distance and settle again
directly on the ground, without first perching on bushes or
weeds. As a rule their flight is rapid and direct, but they
sometimes rise, with their usual sharp cry, aud fall again on
the spot from which they rose. Mr. T. Ayres gives the
following account of the nest, found near Potchefstroom, on
April 30, in the “Ibis” for 1878, p. 297: ‘ This pretty little
fellow I shot as he rose from the nest, where he had evidently
been doing duty for his wife, by sitting on the eggs in her
absence. The nest was a very rough structure, placed on
ORTYGOSPIZA POLYZONA 157
the ground amongst the grass and not easily seen, from its
being composed of dead blades of grass; it was lined with
a few coarse feathers, and in shape was much like the nests
of some of the Sunbirds, with a projecting eave over the
entrance, but all very rough. The eggs were five in number
and pure white; length 0°54; breadth 0°47.’ Eggs in the
South African Museum at Cape Town are rounded ovates,
without gloss, and pure white. They average 0°62 x 0:48.”
According to Mr. T. Ayres, ‘‘this species is common
about Rustenburg, and seems pretty well distributed through
the Transvaal.” He also saw it in Matabeleland. From
Salisbury, in Mashonaland, Mr. Guy Marshall writes: “I
have noticed this little bird only during the winter months,
when it may be seen in considerable flocks in open spaces
about the town. It is very tame, allowing approach within
a few feet; but even then there is difficulty in detecting it
on the ground, owing to its protective upper side colouring
and diminutive size.” The species is well represented in
the British Museum from Hland’s Post, Pinetown, Newcastle
and the Transvaal, and northward from British East Africa
to Abyssinia. From the large extent of country between
Mashonaland and British Hast Africa only a single specimen
has been recorded; this is a male procured by Fischer at
Wembere, to the south of Victoria Nyanza, in 6° 30'S. lat.
This fact, like Mr. Fleck’s record of the species from
Damaraland, shows how much we have yet to learn from the
field naturalist in Africa.
In British East Africa Mr. Oscar Neumann has recorded it
from the Ulu Mountains, and in Lord Delamere’s fine collection,
which has not yet been described, there are two females, one
procured at Neari, on the Mossor River, and the other at
the Waso Nyro River, shot in February, 1900. Mr. Jackson
took a nest of this species containing six eggs, at Mau, on
158 ORTYGOSPIZA ATRICOLLIS
August 4. The nest resembled the one already described.
Doherty obtained the species in Kikuyu.
I find no mention of the species from Somaliland ; but
in Southern Abyssinia Lord Lovat met with it at Jifadensa
in January, and at Jaka in February. Mr. Pease, while in
this district, procured a specimen at Guelan, in January, and
remarks: ‘‘ Generally found near water on open rolling grass
table-lands; it makes a curious clicking noise, which is very
difficult to locate; it towers high in the air, and while in
flight clicks continually; it falls rapidly to the earth, like a
stone.” In 1863 Heuglin proposed the name of O. fuscocrissa
for the birds which he met with in flocks in May, in the
Dembea and Tiré districts, and later he remarks that the bird
procured by himself, Rippell and Lefebre, in Abyssinia,
appeared to him distinct from the White Nile birds, which he
found in the Bongo country. These latter really belong to
O. atricollis, of which the present form is little more than a
subspecies. Heuglin’s notes on the habits agree better with
those made by the South African field naturalists than with
those made by Mr. Pease, in South Abyssinia, who remarks
that he found them in flocks with other Finches in the light
bush near water. They frequented the ground and flew low,
with now and then a shrill cry of “ter-ter” in a trumpet-
like tone.
Ortygospiza atricollis.
Fringilla atricollis, Vieill. N. Dict. Hist. Nat. p. 182 (1817) Senegambia.
Ortygospiza atricollis, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 270 (1890) ; Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 390 (1896) ; Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 125 (1899) egg ;
Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 202 (1904).
Amadina lunulata, Hartl. Orn. W. Afr. p. 148 (1857).
Adult male. Forehead black; remainder of the upper parts dark brown,
with slightly paler edges to the feathers; under wing-coverts and inner
margins to the quills white, the former having a slight rufous tinge; tail with
some white towards the ends of the three, sometimes four, outer pairs
SPERMESTES 159
of feathers, increasing in amount on the outer pair, which have nearly the
whole of the outer web white; sides of head and neck brownish ash, with
two imperfect white lines above and below the eye; cheeks and throat black,
with a few white feathers on the chin; crop and flanks brownish ash;
centre of chest rufous ; abdomen buff; crop, fore-chest and flanks strongly
barred with black and white; thighs and under tail-coverts rufous buff,
mottled with black. ‘Iris yellow; bill blackish purple, with the lower one
rosy red; tarsi and feet brownish.” ‘Total length 3-6 inches, culmen 0:3,
wing 2:0, tail 1-1, tarsus0°5. g, 19.1. 84; 9, 30.11.83. Redjaf (Emin).
Vieillot’s Barred-breasted Mannikin ranges from Sene-
gambia to the Gaboon, and eastward into the Upper White
Nile district.
The types of the species and of Amadina lunulata came
from Senegambia. With regard to its habits, they should
be very similar to those of the better known O. polyzona,
which can be hardly regarded as more than a subspecies.
According to Mr. Nehrkorn the eggs, which are pure white,
measure 0°52 x 0'4.
In Liberia Mr. Biittikofer procured a specimen at Mon-
rovia, and Mr. Boyd Alexander met with it in the Gold Coast
colony at Bindura. In the British Museum there are
specimens procured by Forbes at Lokoja on the Niger; by
Du Chaillu in Gaboon, where he met with the species at
Cape Lopez and the Camma River ; also three of Emin’s from
Redjaf on the Upper White Nile. In this latter district
Heuglin found the species in the Bongo country and along
the Gazelle River during the summer, but it was scarce and
generally seen in pairs.
Genus VII. SPERMESTES.
Bill smooth, fairly long and stout; deeper than broad, culmen rounded
and slightly curved, ending on the forehead in a right angle ; nostrils hidden
by the frontal feathers. Wing rounded; primaries 1 small, narrow and
sharply pointed ; 2, 3, 4 and 5 about equal and the longest. Tail short and
rounded, reaching just beyond the outstretched feet. Tarsi and feet
moderately stout; claws rather long and slender.
160 SPERMESTES FRINGILLOIDES
Type.
Spermestes, Swains. Class. B. ii. p. 280 (1837) . . . S. cucullatus.
Lepidopygia, Reichenb. Singv. p. 48 sere Se en er Se LOTER:
Amaurestes, Reichenb. t.c.p.86 . . ee ee SEN PegUlatdes.
The genus is confined to the Ethiopian region and comprises seven
species, of which one is restricted to the island of Madagascar. These bir
ds
are well known as Mannikins, and I include under that English name the
two species of Ortygospiza and the one of Nesocharis.
KEY TO THE SPECIES.
a. Breast and under tail-coverts mostly pure white in adults.
Sexes alike in plumage.
a’, Entire head glossy black ; no bars on under tail-coverts.
a?, Rump and upper tail-coverts entirely black.
a®, Bill larger, culmen as long as the tarsus ; back and
wings brown; some clear white streaks on the
wing-coverts:) «+a. «© - = « + «© © =) © prinoillomes seen
b8, Bill smaller. Wing, above black, with a few minute
white spots on the secondaries.
a+. Only 2 to 6 white spots on the wing. . . . . bicolor. /62
b+. About 12 white spots on the wing. . . punctatus. ) | >,
b2. With white bars on the rump and basal half of ie
quills.
c’, Mantle black
ad’, Mantle chestnut .
poensis. | | |
migriceps. | (, 4,
b1, Head bronze ; under tail-cov a pared eee parce
brown.
c2. A glossy green patch on sides of chest . . . . . cucullatus. |
d?, No green patch on sides of chest . . . . . . . scutatus. IZ
b. Breast and under tail-coverts buff or brown.
ct, Under tail coverts earth brown, with buff terminal edges.
e2, Chin and upper throat black. . . . . . . . . nana, f ad.')¥
f?. No black on chin or upper throat .. ... . . mama, ?.
d+, No bars on under tail-coverts . . . . . Young of all the species.
Spermestes fringilloides.
Ploceus fringilloides, Lafr. Mag. Zool. 1835, pl. 48.
Spermestes fringilloides, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 380 (1896).
Amaurestes fringilloides, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 267 (1890); Butler,
Foreign Finches in Captivity, p. 254, pl. 45 (1894) ; Nehrkorn, Kat,
Hiers, p. 125 (1899) egg ; Reichen, Vog. Afr. iii. p. 155 (1904),
SPERMESTES FRINGILLOIDES 161
Adult male. Entire head, and front half of the neck, glossy black,
fading into dull blackish brown on the back of the neck; upper and
middle back and the wings dark brown; a few indistinct pale brown shaft-
stripes on the upper back, and a few distinct white streaks on the median
wing-coverts ; under wing-coverts buffy white, mottled with brownish at the
bend of the wing; rump, upper tail-coverts and tail entirely black ; crop,
breast and under tail-coverts white; sides of chest black, somewhat mottled
with brown and buff towards the abdomen; thighs black and white. ‘Iris
brownish red; upper mandible brownish black; lower one slaty blue, with
the edges and tip darker.” Total length 4:5 inches, culmen 0:6, wing 2°25,
tail 1:5, tarsus 0:6. ¢g, 13.4.77, Zanzibar. (Fischer).
Adult female. Similar to the male. Wing 22. 9,16.4.77. Zanzibar
(Fischer).
The Magpie Mannikin ranges from Senegambia and
Zanzibar southward into Natal.
The type of the species came from Senegambia, and there
are several specimens in the British Museum from the Gambia.
Near Sierra Leone, Mr. Robin Kemp informs me, “ These
Mannikins are locally abundant, associating freely with NS.
cuculiatus. At Rotifunk there was a large colony of them,
roosting and nesting in mango, lime and orange trees, in the
enclosed compound which contained our bungalows. How-
ever, at Bo, eighty miles inland, saw it once only during two
years’ observation, when I met with three of these birds
together, on a rice-farm of a previous year.’ In Liberia
Dr. Biittikofer found the species breeding in November.
The nests were usually placed, singly, in forks of fruit-trees,
at five to ten feet from the ground, and were very similar
to those of other species of Spermestes, tolerably large,
constructed of grass and various materials, lined with the
softer portions of the grass, and were oval in form, with an
entrance at the side. The eggs, generally six in number,
were pure white, and measured 0°6 x 0°44, Fischer gives
a similar description of a nest of this species, containing
six white egos, which he found on the island of Zanzibar.
(October, 1904, 11
162 SPERMESTES BICOLOR
Mr. R. P. Currie has met with the species in Liberia, and I do
not find any more information regarding it from the coast
north of the Equator, but inland Dr. Ansorge has found
it along the Ituri River. In Western Africa, to the south
of the Line, it has been mentioned only by Marche, from
Doumé, in Gaboon.
In Eastern Africa its most northern range appears to be
Zanzibar Island, where it is plentiful and known to the
natives, according to Fischer, as the ‘Tongo simba.’ He
met with them here frequenting the cultivated fields in parties
of six to eight, in company with other members of the genus
Spermestes, which they resemble in their note and breeding
habits. He also obtained the species at Mozambique.
In British Central Africa it has been procured by the
Capello and Ivens at Ntenke, near Lake Bangweolo,
by Sir Alfred Sharpe at Mtondwe, and by Mr. Whyte at
Zomba.
It inhabits the eastern half of South Africa to as far
west as Bechuanaland and Natal. From the latter colony
there are two specimens in the British Museum, obtained by
Mr. T. L. Ayres, at Pinetown, in May and June, and this is
all I know for certain regarding the species in South Africa,
where it has been either overlooked or not met with by other
naturalists, for Stark writes: ‘‘I have only occasionally met
with this Weaver Finch, nor can I find any record of its
habits in a state of Nature.”
Spermestes bicolor.
Amadina bicolor, Fraser, P. Z. 8. 1842, p. 145 Cape Palmas ; id. Zool.
Typ. pl. 50, figs. 2, 3 (1849).
Spermestes bicolor, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 261 (1890); Butler,
Foreign Finches in Captivity, p. 256, pl. 46, fig. 2 (1894); Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 884 (1896); Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 125 (1899) egg ;
Reichen, J. f. O, 1902, p. 86 Togo ; id. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 151 (1904).
SPERMESTES BICOLOR 163
Spermestes punctatus, Heugl. Orn. N. O. Afr. p. 594 note (1870) W.
Africa; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 262 (1890); Shelley, B. Afr. I.
No. 385 (1896).
Spermestes bicolor punctata, Reichen. Vog. Afr, ili. p. 152 (1904).
Adult. Entire head, neck and upper parts glossy greenish black, with
from two to about a dozen tiny white spots on the secondaries, just beyond
the coverts; under surface of quill dusky black, with pale inner edges fading
into clear white on the inner quills; axillaries and inner half of the under
wing-coverts white, the remainder black, with a few terminal white edges ;
breast and under tail-coverts white, with the sides of chest black, a line of
black feathers surrounding the white of the chest, having broad, white ter-
minal edges. ‘Iris brown; bill lavender blue; tarsi and feet black”
(Kemp). Total length 3:5 inches, culmen 0:4, wing 1:9, tail 1-4, tarsus 0°5.
Fantee (Ussher).
Immature. Upper parts and sides of head uniform dusky slate colour ;
under parts buff, of a dusky shade on the throat and sides of chest; thighs
dusky blackish. Rabba (Mochler Ferryman).
Nestling. Uniform carthy brown above; under parts much paler and of
a more rufous shade on the breast. Abeokuta (Robin).
The Northern Black-and-white Mannikin ranges from
Senegambia into Camaroons.
Verreaux’s collection contained the species from Case-
manse; Bulger met with it on Bulama Island. From Sierra
Leone Mr. Kemp writes: “ A common resident at Bo, but
apparently replaced by S. fringilloides at Rotifunk.”
In Liberia, according to Dr. Biittikofer, it is abun-
dant and generally distributed, frequenting human habitations
even more than S. fringilloides, which it resembles in its
habits and feeding. It breeds in the plantations and trees
in the middle of the villages, also in the roofs of houses.
A nest he found in August at Soforé Place contained six pure
white eggs, measuring 0°56 x 0-4. At Schieffelinsville they
were in flocks of about twenty individuals in the plantations.
Fraser records them as “common in the roofs of the huts
belonging to the fishermen of Cape Palmas, in which situation
they breed and commit much mischief, like our Common
Sparrows. The native name is ‘ Saybue.’”
164 SPERMESTES POENSIS
From the Gold Coast specimens have been collected by
Blissett at Elmina, and by Ussher in Fantee and at the Volta
River. At Abouri, in the Aguapim Mountains, T. E. Buckley
shot the only specimen we recognised in the garden of the
missionary station. Mr. Boyd Alexander found it at Prahsu,
and writes: ‘‘ This species breeds in August, forming a domed
nest of dry grass, which is placed between the small branches
of a tree, generally an acacia.” In Togoland it is known to
the natives as the “ Airo,” according to Mr. Baumann, who
procured a specimen at Jo.
The species is represented in the British Museum by the
following specimens: two adults from Sierra Leone, an adult
and an immature bird from Cape Palmas, a good series of
nine from the Gold Coast, two nestlings from Abeokuta, a
very typical specimen obtained by Capt. M. Ferryman at
Rabba, on the Niger, and a less typical one from Camaroons,
referred to in the “ Catalogue”’ under the name of S. punctata.
In Camaroons, apparently, S. bicolor and 8. poensis not only
meet, but interbreed; this is the conclusion I arrive at after
reading Mr. Sjéstedt’s notes on the specimens he refers to
S. punctata. In the British Museum alone the tiny white
spots on the quills vary in number from two to four in the
Sierra Leone birds, from two to six in the Gold Coast sneci-
mens, and in the single example from Camaroons there are
twelve of these spots. Otherwise they appear to me to agree
perfectly.
Spermestes poensis.
Amadina poensis, Fraser, P. Z. S. 1842, p. 145 Fernando Po; id. Zool.
Typ. pl. 50, fig. 1 (1849).
Spermestes poensis, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 262 (1890); Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 386 (1896); Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 152 (1904).
Spermestes stigmatophorus, Reichen. J. f. O. 1892, pp. 46, 133 Bukoba,
Sesse Isl. ; Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 387 (1896).
Spermestes poensis stigmatophorus, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 153 (1904).
SPERMESTES POENSIS 165
Adult. Very similar to S. bicolor, from which it differs in the basal half
of the quills showing numerous white bars, part of which are formed on the
primaries by white spots, confined to the outer webs of the feathers ; rump
similarly barred with white, upper tail-coverts rather less barred; lower halt
of back and sides of breast mottled, with broad subterminal white edges to
the feathers. Total length 4:2 inches, culmen 0-4, wing, in male, 2:1, in
female 1:95, tail 1:6, tarsus 0°5. of, 24. 5. 01, Camaroons (C. L. Bates) ;
?, 10. 82, Landana (Lucan).
The amount of white on the wings, rump and upper tail-coverts is
variable. In Fernando Po birds, some, not including any of the four
typical specimens, have no white on the upper tail-coverts. From Gaboon
an immature bird, in nearly full plumage, has the white on the quills con-
fined to the two inner primaries, the rump having the full complement of
white bars. In another specimen the white is marked on the wing to
the same extent as in the types, but there is less white onthe rump. In
two other specimens, also from Gaboon, there is rather less white on both
the wings and rump.
The Southern Black-and-white Mannikin ranges from Fer-
nando Po to the Victoria Nyanza and into Angola.
On Fernando Po the types of the species, four in number,
were collected by Fraser, who writes: ‘‘ Very common near
Clarence, in flocks of about fifty; their note is ‘ tweet-tweet.’”
Mr. Boyd Alexander obtained specimens on that island at
Ribola and Sipolo, where they were “found in small flocks
frequenting waste places near villages.’”’ In Camaroons the
species has been procured at Buea by Dr. Preuss, at Jaunde
by Dr. Zenker; also at Efulen and the Ja River by Mr.
Bates, who records its native name, at the former place,
as ‘“‘Hjile.” In Gaboon the species must be abundant, for
Du Chaillu collected specimens at Cape Lopez and along the
Moonda and Camma Rivers, and Marche procured it in the
Ogowé district at Doumé.
In the British Museum there is one of Lucan’s specimens
from Landana, three, collected by Jameson, near the Aru-
wimi tributary of the Congo, and one from Bembe, in Angola,
where Mr. Monteiro found the species in flocks frequenting
the high grass.
166 SPERMESTES NIGRICEPS
With regard to its ranging into Central Africa, specimens -
have been collected by Emin in the Ukonju country, to the
north of the Albert Kdward Nyanza, and at Bukoba on the
Victoria Nyanza, Dr. Stuhlmann also found it on Sesse
Island. ‘lo the latter specimens Dr. Reichenow has given
the name S. stigmatophorus, but from the description it does
not differ from the Fernando Po types, and as he includes
under that new name the Camaroons birds, I cannot even
recognise it as a local variety, yet Dr. Hartert uses it for
Dr. Ansorge’s specimen from the Ituri River.
Spermestes nigriceps.
Spermestes nigriceps, Cass. Proc. Philad. Acad. 1852, p. 185 Zanzibar ;
Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 263 (1890); Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 383
(1896); Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 125 (1899) egg; Reichen. Vog.
Afr, ii. p. 153 (1904).
Spermestes rufodorsalis, Peters, J. f. O. 1863, p. 401 Inhambane.
Amadina punctipennis, Biane. Spec. Zool. Mozamb. fase. xviii. p. 328,
pl. 4, fig. 1 (1867).
Subspecies a.
Spermestes nigriceps minor, Erlanger, Orn. Monatsb. 1903, p. 22 Fanole ;
Reichen. Vog. Afr, ui. p. 154 (1904).
Adult. Similar to S. poensis in the colouring of the head, rump, upper
tail-coverts, most of the wing, and the entire under parts, but differs in the
hinder neck gradually passing into chestnut, which colour extends over the
upper and middle back, the scapulars and inner secondaries. ‘‘ Iris brown;
bul bluish slate; legs dark.” ‘Lotal length 3°5 inches, culmen 0-4, wing 2:0,
tail 1-4, tarsus 0°56. g, 7.4.00. Nairobe (Delamere).
Type of S. nigriceps nunor. Is said to differ from the above only in its
smaller size. Wing 1:72 to 1:8. Somali.
The Rufous-backed Mannikin inhabits Kastern Africa from
Natal to the Equator, and a small race inhabits Somaliland.
The species is rare in Africa south of 10° 8. lat., being
known to me from Natal by a single specimen, obtained by
Mr. '. L. Ayres, at Durban, in August one procured by
Mr. Cavendish in the Chiroma district of South Mozambique,
SPERMESTES CUCULLATUS 167
and by two from Nyasaland, one unlabelled, the other from
the Nyika Plateau; all these are in the British Museum.
The type of S. rufidorsalis was met with by Dr. Peters at
Inhambane, and the type of Amadina punctipenmis came from
Mozambique. None of these collectors have favoured us with
any field-notes, and Layard, Stark and Mr. IT. Ayres appa-
rently never met with it.
The type came from Zanzibar, and the species is abundant
from that island to the Equator. Fischer, in his letters from
Zanzibar, informs us that he found the species in flocks of
twenty to thirty in the fields, feeding in company with other
small Weavers, and he once met with it in the town, where
it is known to the natives as the “'T’ongo kanga,” the word
*“Tongo”’ being apparently the generic name for all the
members of this group, and might be translated as “ Man-
nikin.” He also met with the species at Bagamoio, Pangani,
Mombas, Lamu and the Tana River. Haildelbrandt and
Kalkreuth found a nest of this species near Mombasa, in July ;
it was placed in a bush and constructed of grass. The egg
is described by Mr. Nehrkorn as being white and measuring
0°56 X 0°40.
In the British Museum there is a fine series of specimens
procured by Lord Delamere at Nairobe, in British Hast Africa,
in November and April, also one obtained by Mr. Percival,
from the Kikuyu Forest, in May.
The type of S. nigriceps minor was obtained by Mr.
Erlanger in South Somaliland, July 27, 1901, at Fanole, on
the Lower Juba River.
Spermestes cucullatus.
Spermestes cucullatus, Swains. B. W. Afr. i. p. 201 (1837) Senegambia ;
Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 264 (1890); Butler, Foreign Finches in
Captivity, p. 258, pl. 46, tig. 1 (1894); Shelley, B. Atr. I. No. 381
(1896); Nehrkorn, Kat. Miers. p. 125 (1899) egg; Hartert, Noy.
168 SPERMESTES CUCULLATUS
Zool. 1901, p. 341 Niger; Reichen. J. f. O. 1902, p. 87 Togo;
Bocage, Jorn. Lisb. 1904, p. 82 St. Thomas Isl. ; Reichen. Vog.
Afr. iii. p. 149 (1904).
Loxia prasipteron, Less, Rev. Zool. 1839, p. 104 Senegambia.
Adult. Forehead and crown glossy bronzy green, passing into deep
brown, with a coppery bronze gloss on the sides of the head, chin and entire
throat; back and sides of neck, back and wings, earthy brown; a large
patch of glossy bronzy green covering the lesser wing-coverts and a
portion of the scapulars ; rump and upper tail-coverts barred with buff and
blackish brown; tail uniform black; quills dark brown, with narrow buff
outer edges, and their under surface, with the inner edges, very pale sandy
buff, of the same shade as the under wing-coverts; sides of crop, centre of
breast and the under tail-coverts white; flanks dark brown, with some
broad, crescent-shaped white bars on the fore and hind parts, and with broad
glossy bronzy green edges to the feathers next to the centre of the white
breast, here forming a characteristic metallic patch ; under tail-coverts with
a few rather broad blackish bars; thighs dark brown, barred with white.
Iris dark brown; bill leaden grey; tarsi and feet darker grey. Total length
3:7 inches, culmen 0:4, wing 1°9, tail 1°4, tarsus 0°55. g, 26.8.81. Rimo
(Emin).
Immature. Entire upper parts uniform brown, with the tail blackish ;
sides of head, chin and throat dusky ash; crop and sides of body tawny buff,
paler on the middle of the breast and under tail-coverts. Lokoja (Forbes).
Swainson’s Bronze Mannikin ranges over West Africa from
Senegambia into Angola, and across Hquatorial Africa into
the Kavirondo district to the east of Victoria Nyanza.
The type of the species and the type of Lovia prasipteron
both came from Senegambia. These Mannikins are abundant
and apparently very evenly distributed throughout their wide
range, which includes the islands of the west coast.
Ussher writes: “ Exceedingly common on the west coast,
where large flocks of them, in company with other Finches,
rise, when disturbed, from the long grass, on the seeds of
which they are very fond of feeding. ‘They are captured in
some quantities by the natives on various parts of the coast,
especially at the Gambia and in the French settlements of
Senegal, when they are exported, with many other varieties
SPERMESTES CUCULLATUS 169
of Finches, to Europe.” These birds are hardy in captivity,
and, according to Dr. Russ, both sexes take part in the con-
struction of the nest, and sit together at the same time on
their eggs. ‘The duration of incubation lasts twelve days, and
the young desert the nest between the sixteenth and eighteenth
day; the course of the brood from the first egg to the
flight occupies nearly five weeks. He further adds: “Six
youngsters sat in a row, and as soon as the first pleader was
pacified the old bird hopped upon its back in order thereby
to provide for the second. ‘Thus she moved along until the
whole row was satisfied. As a rule they nest three or four
times in succession, and every clutch consists of from four
to seven eggs.” He also informs us that the change of plumage
~by the first moult takes place gradually from the fourth week,
and is completed in about three months.
Dr. .P. Rendall found a nest with eggs on April 21, at the
Gambia. Mr. Kemp writes from Sierra Leone: “The nests
are somewhat spherical and are placed in thick, small bushes,
banana-trees, the palm-leaved roofs of huts, or other con-
venient places, from the middle of August to February, and
usually contain five eggs of a dirty white colour. In the
rains they roost in these nests, often five or six birds together,
and can be caught at night with a butterfly net and a lantern.”
On the Gold Coast Drs. Reichenow and Liithder found a colony
of these birds breeding at Abokobi, in a mango-tree in the
town, with fresh eggs and young birds in September. The
nests were very large and loosely constructed of fine grass.
The eggs, four in number, were white and measured 0°5 x 0°4.
On Prince’s Island, Mr. Keulemans informs me, “ they are
very common, and to be found breeding in colonies in bushes
near fields, and amongst the high ferns on the outskirts of the
forests. ‘The plantations appeared to be always filled with the
young birds, many scarcely able to fly, which kept up a con-
170 SPERMESTES SCUTATUS
stant chirping and chattering, attracting the attention of the
Wood-Kingfishers (Halcyon), a pair of which birds would sweep
them up in their bills one after another; but fortunately these
little Finches are wonderfully prolific. On a plantation I
occupied, one pair produced no less than seven broods during
the year, with an average number of six young ones. They
are known to the natives as the “ Siwie-singa.” On St.
Thomas Island, where they are also common, they are known
as the ‘‘ Friernha,” according to Mr. F. Newton.
In Central Africa the species has been obtained in the
Upper White Nile district and at Bukoba on the Victoria
Nyanza, by Emin; in Unyoro and Uganda by Dr. Ansorge, and
in its more eastern range by Mr. Neumann in Kavirondo. Mr.
Jackson, who has procured specimens at Kakamega and Nandi,
writes: ‘‘Now breeding, July 14. Selects old nests of
Hyphantorms reichenowi, which it lines with fine grass-seed
heads. Kggs pure white. Up to date five has been the largest
number I have found in any nest. Yesterday I found two
eggs in a nest of H. reichenowt. Both birds were in the nest
and only flew out on my reaching up to the latter, which was
in a bush about seven feet from the ground. The species does
not appear to build a nest for itself.”
Nandi, on the Equator, a little to the east of 35° EH. long., is
probably about the most eastern range for the species; but I
feel less confident in 5° N. lat: being the limit of its range down
the Nile.
Spermestes scutatus.
Spermestes scutatus, Heugl. J. f. O. 1863, p. 18 Dembea; Sharpe, Cat.
B. M. xiii. p. 265 (1890) ; Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 382 (1896) ; Grant,
Ibis, 1904, p. 258 Darra Atla; Reichen. Vog. Afr. ui. p. 150 (1904).
Adult male. Very similar to S. cucullatws, but may be readily distin-
guished by the entire absence of any metallic bronzy green on the sides
di
SPERMESTES SCUTATUS 171
of the chest, which are brown, with broad white terminal edges to all the
feathers. ‘Iris brown; bill and legs dark slate colour’’ (Delamere). Total
length 3:5 inches, culmen 0°4, wing 1:9, tail 1:2, tarsus 0:55. 9,17. 10. 75.
Pinetown (T. L. Ayres).
Adult female. Differs only in having slightly less metallic green on the
wing-coverts and scapulars. Wing2-0. 9, 25.7.75. Pinetown(T. L. Ayres).
Heugiin’s Bronze Mannikin ranges over Africa south from
the Congo and Abyssinia, with the exception of Western South
Africa, and inhabits the Comoro Islands.
In the lower Congo district this species and its nearest
ally, S. cucullatus, meet. The present form is represented
in the British Museum from West Africa by two specimens
from the Congo, one of which was procured at Kabinda
by Sperling, two of Monteiro’s from Angola, and one of
Anchieta’s from Benguela. In Angola, according to Mr.
Monteiro, it is known to the natives as the ‘ Canquijamba.”
He found it in small flocks on the ground and also breeding
in trees. In Benguela the species has been obtained by
Anchieta at Quindumbo, Dombe and Caconda, all localities
near the town of Benguela, and I cannot trace its range further
south in Western Africa.
Its occurrence in Cape Colony is reported by Layard, who
writes: ‘‘ Appeared in a considerable flock at Table Farm, near
Grahamstown.” Mr. Shortridge calls it a common resident
near Port St. John, in Pondoland. According to Stark, it is an
uncertain and irregular migrant in Hastern Cape Colony, but
is resident in Natal, ranging northward through the ‘l'ransvaal
to the Zambesi, and he further writes: ‘“'lhese pretty little
Weaver Finches are in Natal usually met with in small parties
of from six to a dozen in the more open ‘ Bush,’ as well as in
gardens.. ‘hey spend much of their time on the ground search-
ing for small seeds, but frequently perch on bushes and occasion-
ally on tall trees. ‘hey are shyer than the majority of the small
172 SPERMESTES SCUTATUS
Weaver Finches, and if disturbed once or twice, fly off to a
distance. Their note is a soft and gentle twitter. A nest found
near Pinetown, in November, was built near the extremity of
the lower horizontal limb of a large tree, at the edge of a
clearing in the ‘Bush.’ It was about ten feet above the
ground and was domed, with a small side opening. It was
somewhat loosely built of fine dry grass lined with the soft
flowering tops. The eggs, four in number, are pure white and
measure 0°52 x 0°45.”
While at Inhambane, Dr. Peters met with this species in
company with S. wigriceps, and some hundred miles inland, on
the left of the Limpopo at Rovi-rand, Mr. W. Ayres found them in
flocks of from four to fifteen, frequenting the low open bush near
water. I do not, however, find any record of its having been
obtained in the Transvaal, but in the British Museum there are
nineteen specimens from Natal, three from Mozambique, and
two from the Zambesi. In the latter district Sir John Kirk
records it as common near Shupanga. In Nyasaland speci-
mens have been collected at Zomba, Nyika, Mlosa and Chanda.
At Mozambique Sperling found them very common and wrote :
‘*T had about a dozen of them in a cage; their method of roost-
ing is singular. Four or five would form a base, and on the
backs of these three or four more would place themselves, till
they were piled up in several tiers, forming a compact lump
of feathers, some of them resting on their sides or backs.
Occasionally, as may easily be imagined, the whole fabric would
topple over; and when this occurred at night those that fell
remained at the bottom of the cage.”
Near Cape Delgado the species has been obtained by Senhor
Cardosa, and on the islands of Great Comoro and Johanna
it is abundant. On the former island Sir John Kirk collected
seven specimens and on the latter two; here Sir E. Newton
also found it common in flocks on the highlands, and called
SPERMESTES SCUTATUS 178
by the natives ‘ Saughan.” He procured three birds, a nest
and eggs. The latter are described as ‘ white, and measuring
055 x 042; the nest is, like those of many of the genus,
entirely composed of the almost ripe stalks of grass, with the
seeds still on them, and is a domed structure.”
Speke obtained specimens in the Uniamwesi country to the
south of Victoria Nyanza, and Bohm found them common at
Kakoma and Zanzibar, with a number of eggs and young birds,
from the middle of April to the end of May. Fischer met with
them generally distributed from Bagamoio to the Tana River.
Sir John Kirk obtained specimens at Dar-es-Salaam, Zanzibar
and Pangani; these are in the British Museum, where there
are others from Mombasa, Teita, Southern Abyssinia and Shoa.
In the Ukamba country, at Kibwezi, Mr. Jackson shot a
specimen, and writes: “‘ This species is very plentiful through-
out the country in the vicinity of habitations. At Kibwezi it
was breeding in March. The nest, which is roughly made of
dry grass and lined with feathers, is generally placed on a
table-topped mimosa or other thorn-tree, some ten to twenty-
five feet from the ground. In several cases I have seen the
nest within a few inches of a hanging wasps’ nest ; and although
I am not certain on the point, [am inclined to think that the
birds began building after the wasps had begun their nest, and
that they chose to place their nest in such close proximity to
the wasps for the sake of protection against the intrusion of
snakes, lizards, mice and other enemies.”’
It is interesting to find in this same collection two specimens
of S. cucullatus from the Kavirondo district, some 250 miles
to the north-west, so that the range of these species meet
to the north-east of Victoria Nyanza, for the type of the
present species was discovered by Heuglin in the Dembea
district of Central Abyssinia to the north of Lake Tana, which
is the most northern range known for the species.
174 SPERMESTES NANA
It is apparently plentiful in Shoa and has been met with
to the east by Lord Lovat at Telagubaie, and at Roguecha, in
February, by Mr. Pease, who writes: “This bird was seen
flying fast in closely-packed flocks and was not observed
settling; all the three young birds were shot out of one
flight.” According to Heuglin, it is generally distributed over
Abyssinia from April to July, when they are to be met with
in parties of from four to eight, but often collect in noisy,
lively swarms in the corn-fields.
The specimens he procured in the Nile district may possibly
belong to S. cucullatus, of which the present form can hardly
be regarded as more than a subspecies. With regard to its
range, its apparent absence from Somaliland is as difficult to
explain as its absence from Western South Africa. For its size
it is naturally a strong bird, with a powerful flight, and has
more probably naturalised itself in the islands of Great Comoro
and Johanna than been introduced there by man.
Spermestes nana.
Pyrrhula nana, Pucher. Rey. Zool. 1845, p. 52 Madagascar.
Spermestes nana, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 266 (1890) Madagascar ;
Sibree, Ibis, 1891, p. 441; Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 388 (1896) ;
Nehrkorn, Cat. Hiers. p. 125 (1899) egg.
Adult male. Upper parts uniform earthy brown, shaded with grey on
the forehead, crown and back of neck; upper tail-coverts broadly edged
with yellowish buff; wing and tail uniform, darker brown than the back ;
under wing-coverts sandy buff; sides of head grey, shading into buff on the
sides of the upper throat; in front of eye, chin and upper throat, black ;
remainder of the under parts buff, with a rosy brown shade; under tail-
coverts brown, with broad buff edges. ‘Iris reddish brown ; bill black ;
feet reddish” (Grandidier). Total length 3-5 inches, culmen 0°35, wing 1:8,
tail 1-4, tarsus 0-5. Madagascar (Bewsher).
Female. Differs in being browner, with no grey or black on the head
or throat; chin and throat very pale ashy brown; upper and under tail-
coverts entirely brown. 9, 15. 3.83, Madagascar (Cowan).
NESOCHARIS 175
The Nana Mannikin inhabits Madagascar and the small
island of Mayotte.
According to M. Grandidier, they are to be met with in all
plantations and cultivated ground in flocks of from twenty to
forty individuals. They are constantly on the move, climbing
along the stems of the corn or flitting from one tuft of grass
to another, disappearing quickly when alarmed. The nest is
woven out of the stems of grass and lined with softer grass.
They lay three or four eggs in a nest, which are described by
M. Grandidier as pale green, with some brown spots towards
the thick end; this, I think, must be a mistake, and that Mr.
Nehrkorn is right in describing them as pure white, measuring
0:56 X 0:4. They are known by the numerous tribes of natives
in Madagascar by some eight different names, several of which
have been suggested by the sprightly habits of these little birds.
Genus VIII. NESOCHARIS.
Bill small and comparatively slender, deeper than broad ; culmen slightly
curved ; nostrils hidden by the frontal plumes. Wing rounded ; primaries
3, 4 and 5 longest and about equal; 2 and 7 equal; 1 very small, narrow
and sharply pointed. Tail entirely black, short, rounded, and not extending
beyond the outstretched feet. Tarsi, feet and claws as in Spermestes. Back
as well as the upper tail-coverts olive yellow ; neck, breast and under tail-
coverts leaden grey.
Type.
Nesocharis, Alexander, Bull. B. O. C. xiii. p. 48 (1903) . . WN. shellyi.
The genus is represented by a single species, which is con-
fined to the small island Fernando Po. I place it between
Spermestes and my new genus Chlorestrilda, from both of which
it differs in its peculiarly small bill. To the former it is most
nearly allied by its general structure and in its squarer, short,
and more rounded tail while it resembles the latter in the
green colouring of the back and the grey breast.
176 NESOCHARIS SHELLEYI
Nesocharis shelleyi.
Nesocharis shelleyi, Alexander, Bull. B. O. C. xiii. p. 48 (1903) Fernando
Po; Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 176 (1904).
Type. Wntire head and upper half of throat jet black ; neck leaden grey ;
entire back and the edges of the wing-feathers olive yellow, of a slightly
yellower shade on the lower back and upper tail-coverts; tail entirely black ;
remainder of the wings dusky black, with the under coverts and broad inner
edges to the quills white ; lower half of the throat, under surface of the body
and the under tail-coverts leaden grey like the neck, where it fades into
amarginal white line next to the black ear-coverts. ‘Iris brown; bill
glossy bluish slate colour; tarsi and feet brownish black.” Total length
3:1 inches, culmen 0:3, wing 1-65, tail 1:1, tarsus 0°56. 9, 12. 12. 02.
Moka (Alexander).
Shelley’s Mannikin is confined to Fernando Po Island.
Mr. Boyd Alexander writes: “ This species was not found
in the northern part of the island, but was discovered by my
collector on the Moka highlands. It appears to be rare, since
only two specimens were observed and obtained, which were
frequenting the tops of tall thick-leaved trees.”
Genus IX. CHLORESTRILDA. N. gen.
Bill and general structure like that of Estrilda. Wing rounded ;
primaries 4, 5 and 6 about equal and longest; 2 shorter than 3 and equal
to 7; 1 very short, narrow and sharply pointed. ‘Tail graduated and
wedge-shaped, extending beyond the wing by about one inch and beyond
the outstretched feet by half that length. Back and upper tail-coverts olive
yellow; breast and under tail-coverts mostly leaden grey, with some yellow
on the sides of the body. Type, VY. ansorgei.
The genus inhabits the western half of Northern Tropical Africa and
comprises two species. In the colouring, especially of the type, it shows its
affinities to Nesocharis, while in the form of the bill and tail it much
resembles Hstrilda.
ai
CHLORESTRILDA ANSORGEI 17
KEY TO THE SPECIES.
a. Entire head black ; tail blackish, contrasting with the olive
yellow back and upper tail-coverts . . . « ansorget.
b. Head mostly whitish grey; tail olive @ yellow, fee dine back
and upper tail-coverts . . . » 2 » « Capistrata.
Chlorestrilda ansorgei.
Pytelia ansorgei, Hartert, Bull. B. O. C. x. p. 26 (1900) Wemi FR.
Cryptospiza ansorgei, Reichen. Vog. Afr, ili. p. 175 (1904).
Type. Head and throat jet black ; back and sides of neck deep leaden
grey ; back, upper tail-coverts and edges of the wing-feathers olive yellow ;
remainder of wing dusky slate colour, with the axillaries, under wing-coverts
and inner edges of the quills white ; tail dusky black, paler towards the ends
of the outer feathers. A narrow white band across the lower throat, separat-
ing the black throat from a black patch on the middle of the crop; sides of
the crop olive yellow; remainder of the breast, the thighs and under tail-
coverts deep leaden grey. ‘Iris dark brown; bill blackish, slaty blue near
the base; tarsi and feet dark brown.’ Total length 3:5 inches, culmen 0:4,
wing 1:9, tail 1:6, tarsus 06. g, 21. 4.99. Wem R. (Ansorge).
Ansorge’s Olive-backed Waxbill inhabits the Uganda
district.
The type was discovered by Dr. Ansorge, and all that is
known regarding the species is what Dr. Hartert writes :
* One male in a wretched condition—the head smashed—was
shot on the Wemi River, in Toru, on April 21, 1899.”
Chlorestrilda capistrata.
Pytelia capistrata, Hartl. J. f. O. 1861, p. 259 W. Africa.
Estrilda capistrata, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 419 (1896).
Cryptospiza capistrata, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 175 (1904).
Amadina sharpei, Nicholson, P. Z. S. 1878, p. 130, pl. 10 Abeokuta.
Pytelia sharpei, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 803 (1890).
Adult. Head, neck and under surface of the body pale leaden grey,
fading almost into white on sides of the head and front of the forehead ;
chin and upper half of the throat black, also a black band behind the ear-
(December, 1904. 12
178 URZGINTHUS
coverts; back, wing-coverts, edges of the quills, upper tail-coverts and the
tail above deep olive tinted yellow; under surface of the tail and the greater
portion of the quills dusky brown; under wing-coverts whitish ash, with the
edge of the pinion deep yellow, flanks strongly washed with the same shade
of yellow. ‘Iris brown; bill black; tarsi and feet slaty black.” Total
length 4:6 inches, culmen 0:4, wing 2°3, tail 1:9, tarsus 0°65. g, 22. 5. 01.
Krachi (Alexander).
Hartlaub’s Olive-backed Waxbill ranges from Senegambia
to the Albert Nyanza.
The species is known, I believe, by seven specimens only ;
one from the Gambia, in the British Museum, the type dis-
covered by Beaudouin at Bissao; two collected by Mr. Boyd
Alexander and Mr. Klose at Krachi on the Volta River; the
type of Amadina sharpei, Nicholson, from Abeokuta, and a
male and female obtained by Emin at Meswa and Buguera,
on the western side of the Albert Nyanza.
Genus X. URAIGINTHUS.
Bill stout, as deep as broad at the nostrils, swollen at the base and
sharply pointed ; culmen rounded, curved, and ending at the base in a right
angle on the forehead; edges of upper mandible festooned; nostrils basal
and hidden by the frontal feathers. Wing rounded; primaries 1 small,
narrow and pointed, 2 and 5 of equal length, 3 and 4 longest. Tail strongly
graduated, and longer than the wing. ‘Tarsi, feet and claws moderate.
Plumage with some blue and no red; upper tail-coverts blue.
Type.
Ureginthus, Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p.171 (1851) . . . . JU. bengalus.
Maripoza, Reichenb. Singy. p.6 (1863) . .. . . . U. bengalus.
Granatina, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 403 (1890) . . . U.granatinus.
The genus is confined to Tropical and South Africa. The type species is
well known in England as the Cordon-bleu, so I have adopted that name for
all the members of the genus.
aC
URAZGINTHUS GRANATINUS 179
KEY TO THE SPECIES.
a. Rump and upper tail-coverts dark cobalt blue.
a1. Breast cinnamon.
a2, Har-coverts lilac; upper throat black. . granatinus, 3 ad.
b2. Ear-coyerts notlilac; upper throat whitish granatinus, ? and 3 juv.
b1. Breast cobalt in adult males; cinnamon
with white spots in females and young birds. ianthinogaster.
b. Rump and upper tail-coverts pale verditer blue.
ci. Sexes alike in plumage ; no red on head.
c2. Crown brown.
Coe arkerweeeey fe) + 2 1. - «7 - angolensis, hee
GeeePalere es 6 se sl sl Ue OMOTENSiS.
d?, Entire head, excepting the nape, verditer
blucgaeemes Gack cs es ~~!) Cyanocephalus.
d+, Sexes differ in the males only having a patch
of crimson on the ear-coverts . . . . . bengalus. |?
Ureginthus granatinus.
Fringilla granatina, Linn. S. N. i. p. 319 (1766).
Ureginthus granatinus, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 210 (1904).
Granatina granatina, Sharpe, B. M. xiii. p. 403 (1890) ; Butler, Foreign
Finches in Captivity, p. 122, pl. 24 (1894); Shelley, B. Afr. I.
No. 395 (1896).
Adult male. Forehead, feathers over the eyes, rump, upper and under
tail-coverts cobalt blue; crown and mantle bright cinnamon ; wings nearly
uniform brown, the feathers having narrow rufous shaded edges ; under
wing-coverts and inner margins of the quills whitish ; tail-feathers black,
with obscure bars and a slight edging of blue; sides of head below and
behind the eye bright lilac; in front of eyes, chin, centre of breast and the
thighs black; remainder of neck and body bright cinnamon. “Iris red;
bare skin round the eye reddish; bill red at tip, purple at base; legs and
feet purplish” (Stark). Total length 5:6 inches, culmen 0-4, wing 2:3,
tail 3-0, tarsus 0°65. ¢g, 5.71. Griqualand (Atmore).
Adult female. Differs from the male in being much paler and having no
black on the throat; crown and back of neck sandy rufous; mantle ashy
brown ; under tail-coverts buff, like the under parts generally. Wing 2°25.
9, 12. 7. 66. Damaraland (Andersson).
Immature male. Similar to the adult female, from which it differs in the
chin and upper throat being black ; crown ashy brown like the mantle, and
mottled with a few bright cinnamon feathers. Makalaka (Bradshaw).
180 URAZGINTHUS GRANATINUS
The Violet-eared Cordon-bleu inhabits Southern Africa
from south of the Quanza and Zambesi to the Orange River.
This Waxbill has been procured by Anchieta and Mocquerys
at Benguela, which is the most northern range known to me
for the species, and at Huilla in Mossamedes by Antunes.
Andersson found it not uncommon in Damaraland, but more
abundant further north and at Lake Ngami. Mr. Fleck like-
wise mentions it as generally distributed over these districts
and the Kalahari.
Stark writes: ‘“ These beautiful Waxbills appear never
to congregate in large flocks but are either met with in small
parties of five or six, or more usually in pairs. They keep
much to localities covered with low bushes, and especially with
scattered mimosas, and generally feed on the ground between
the bushes, often on bare spots, on grass and other small seeds.
A nest taken in June, in the Northern Transvaal, was built
about four feet off the ground, in a thorny bush. It is round
in shape, with a side entrance, and is loosely constructed of dry
grass lined with a few feathers. The eggs, three in number,
are pure white, and measure 0°72 x 0°50. It is somewhat
curious that this delicate-looking little bird should breed in
mid-winter, when the nights are decidedly cold, but I have
frequently noticed the seeming indifference of many of the
South African small birds—including some of the Sunbirds
—to temperature. Many breed in mid-winter, even on the
bleak mountains of Western Cape Colony. Not unfrequently
the same species will nest again in the height of summer.”
Mr. Ayres met with the species in the Rustenburg and
Mariqua districts, but found it more abundant near the
Limpopo, and noticed it ‘frequenting low mimosa bushes;
generally found in pairs or small family parties, but, I think,
not ranging northward of the Tatin River.” My friend, the late
T. E. Buckley, has recorded it as common in small flocks in the
UR.EGINTHUS IANTHINOGASTER 181
Matabele country. Frank Oates procured a specimen at Tati,
and Serpo Pinto met with it in Central Africa at Luschuma,
some fifty miles west of the Victoria Falls of the Zambesi.
Ureginthus ianthinogaster.
Ureginthus ianthinogaster, Reichen. Orn. Centralbl. 1879, p. 114; id.
J. f. O. 1879, p. 326, pl. 2, figs. 1, 2 Massa; id. Vog. Afr. ili. p. 211
(1904).
Granatina ianthinogastra, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 404 (1890) ; Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 396 (1896) ; Grant, Ibis, 1904, p. 258 Oda, Mirti.
Granatina hawkeri, Phillips, Bull. B. O. C. viii. p. 23 (1898) Somali.
Adult male. Head and neck cinnamon, with the sides of the forehead
and the cheeks ultramarine blue; mantle and wings brown, washed with
cinnamon towards the edges of the feathers; rump and upper tail-coverts
cobalt blue; tail brownish black; breast and under tail-coverts cobalt blue,
mottled on the front and sides of the chest with cinnamon, and thus the
blue of the lower throat is sometimes detached into a collar. ‘Iris and
bill red; legs black.’ Total length 4:8 inches, culmen 0:4, wing 2:2, tail
9:5, tarsus 06. g, 13.12.00. Moulou R. (Pease).
Adult female. Differs in the sides of the head being cinnamon, with a
narrow band of pale lilac blue feathers round the eye; entire throat like the
neck uniform cinnamon, this colour, extending over the chest and flanks,
which are spotted, with white tips to the feathers, fades into white on the
abdomen and under tail-coverts; thighs dark brown. “Iris and bill red ;
legs black.” Wing 2-2. ¢, 10. 3.01. Arbawun (Pease).
Immature. Differs from the last in having the bill black; the feathers
round the eye isabelline, and the under parts less spotted. ¢, 13. 12. 00.
Moulou R. (Pease).
The Ianthe Cordon-bleu ranges over Eastern Africa from
Ugogo into Shoa and Abyssinia.
It appears to be fairly abundant throughout this range
eastward of 35° E. long. and to closely resemble U. granatina
in its habits, and the eggs are probably alike.
Fischer discovered the species at Massa on the Tana River
and collected specimens at the Ronga and Pangani Rivers, at
Loeru, Nguruka, in Arusha and Masailand, and at Barawa on
182 URZGINTHUS ANGOLENSIS
the South Somali coast. Dr. Ansorze met with it in Ukamba;
Mr. Jackson at Lake Naiwasha; Mr. Neumann on Mount
Kavinjiro, near Neguruka, and at Sero in North-west Masai-
land. In the British Museum there are specimens collected
by Lord Delamere at Lake Nakuro and the Molo River.
Granatina hawkert was described by Mr. Lort Phillips from
three specimeus, the type procured by himself at Bari, one of
Mr. Hawker’s from Daboloc, and the third, Mr. Peel’s, from
Lohello. He mentions it as being not uncommon, in small
flocks, throughout the tableland. Mr. Hawker, likewise, found
it common, very tame, and generally to be seen in small flocks
feeding on the ground around the old zarebas. Drs. G. Elliot
and Donaldson Smith have also procured a fair series from
this country. In its more northern range Lord Lovat shot a
pair, in December, at Hargeisa in Northern Somaliland, and a
month later in Southern Abyssinia, near Laga Hardim and
Hawash, and observes: ‘‘ Seldom seen in such large flocks as
most of the other small Finches.” Mr. Pease also records it
as abundant in the bushy lowlands of South Abyssinia, Mr.
Degen has obtained specimens at Mirti and Oda, and Dr.
Ragazzi has procured two others in Shoa.
Ureginthus angolensis.
Fringilla angolensis, Linn. 8. N. (x.) p. 182 (1758); (xii.) i. p. 323 (1766)
Angola.
Ureginthus bengalus angolensis, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 209 (1904).
Hstrilda angolensis, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 402 (1890).
Granatina angolensis, Shelley, B. Afr. 1. No. 397 (1896).
Loxia cyanogastra, Daud. Traité, p. 436 (1800).
Subspecies a.
Ureginthus bengalus damarensis, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 209 (1904)
Damara, Lake Ngami.
ai
UR-EGINTHUS ANGOLENSIS 183
Adults. Similar in plumage to the female of U. bengalus. ‘Iris red;
bill purple ; legs brown” (T. E. Buckley). Total length 5:1 inches, culmen
0:4, wing 2:1, tail 2-5, tarsus 0°55. ¢,19.3.78. Wenen (W. Lucas).
U. bengalus damarensis is said to differ from U. angolensis in being paler
(Reichenow).
The Angola Cordon-bleu ranges southward from Angola
and Nyasaland into Natal, but is absent from Namaqualand
and Cape Colony.
Dr. Reichenow separates the birds from German South-
west Africa as a pale subspecies, for which he proposes the
name U. bengalus damarensis, and refers to this form Anders-
son’s specimens from Ondonga and Elephant Vley, and Mr.
Fleck’s from Lake Ngami and the Okavango River. The hot,
dry climate of this part of Africa has the effect of bleaching
the plumage of most birds living there, whether they belong to
resident forms or to migratory species, and it appears to me
questionable if the paler Damara specimens deserve to be
separated subspecifically.
To U. angolensis Dr. Reichenow refers the specimens
collected by Schiitt at Malandje in Angola, in which country
also occurs U. bengalus. The present species has been obtained
by Anchieta at Biballa in Mossamedes, where it is known to
the natives as the ‘ Kanexe,” and to the colonists as the
** Peito-celesto.”’
From Damaraland Andersson writes: ‘I have heard occa-
sionally of immense gatherings of these birds; but usually
they are found in small flocks seeking on the ground for
their food, which consists almost entirely of the seeds of
grass. On February 2, 1867, I found in Ondonga a nest of
this species in a palm bush about six feet from the ground;
it was constructed of grass, and had no internal lining;
the eggs were five in number.” The eggs are, according to
Stark, pure white, rather rounded, and measuring on the
average 0:70 x 0°55.
184 URZGINTHUS ANGOLENSIS
I do not find the species recorded from Namaqualand and
Cape Colony. Sir Andrew Smith met with it between Kurri-
chane and the Tropic of Capricorn. In Natal Captain Savile
Reid found it in considerable numbers in the bush near Lady-
smith, in August, also at Colenso and Blaauw Krantz, in
November, but did not observe it in the Newcastle district.
Mr. Arnold procured it at Weenen, Mr. Ayres found it abun-
dant amongst the bush on the banks of the Tugela, and the
Messrs. Woodward obtained specimens at Eschowe in Zulu-
land. Stark writes: ‘“ These beautiful little Waxbills are
usually met with in small parties, but occasionally in autumn,
after the young have flown, in very large flocks. They prefer
localities which are partly open, partly overgrown with scrub
or low trees, and are specially fond of scattered mimosa bushes,
in which they can take refuge, if disturbed when feeding on
the ground on their favourite grass-seeds. When frightened
they rise with a shrill twittering to take shelter in the nearest
bushes. In spring both male and female sing not unpleasantly.
Although the adults appear to subsist entirely on grass-seeds,
the young, before they leave the nest, are fed on small grubs
and insects. ‘The nest is invariably built in a bush, often in a
low mimosa, and is generally placed in a fork at a height of
from three to eight or nine feet. At first sight it looks like
a ball of dried grass carelessly thrown into a bush; on investi-
gation a small side entrance, nearly concealed by the projecting
ends of grass-stalks, may be found leading to the interior,
which is smoothly and warmly lined with finer dried grass and
feathers.”
Mr. Haagner regards it as scarce at Johannesburg, but
Buckley found it very common through the Transvaal into
the Matabele country, and Mr. Ayres met with it in flights
in the Rustenberg district and northward at the Quae Quae
and Umfuli Rivers. Oates procured it at Tati, and Mr.
URAGINTHUS ANGOLENSIS 185
Cavendish at Mapicuti, near Sofala Bay. Mr. Guy Marshall
writes: ‘‘ Though common along the Umfuli, this Waxbill
is scarce near Salisbury, usually occurring in pairs. I have
‘not found its nest in Mashonaland, but in Natal it builds
in mimosa bushes, making a rough unlined nest of fine grass,
with an entrance at the side. An interesting fact is that the
nest is almost invariably placed in close proximity to, or even
touching, one or more of the hanging nests of a powerful
social wasp (Belenogaster rufipennis), as though the birds were
aware that these would form an admirable protection against
many enemies.” ‘I'he selection made by small birds of the
proximity to wasps’ nests for the protection of their own was
first recorded, I believe, by Fischer in a letter from Zanzibar,
March, 1878, published J. f. O., 1878, p. 281, in which he
specially refers to U. bengalus ; Mr. Jackson also remarked this
habit in Spermestes scutatus.
At the Zambesi the present species has been met with by
Sir John Kirk, and Mr. Boyd Alexander writes: ‘‘ Common,
and generally seen in pairs. On January 17 we found a nest
almost ready for eggs among the small branches of an acacia
bush and about fifteen feet up. It was loosely constructed of
dry grass and presented a somewhat untidy appearance.” In
British Central Africa Mr. Percival found it numerous in
December, in company with other small Waxbills, in the
Shiré district. Others have been collected at Zomba, Mpimbi,
on Mount Mlosa, and the Nyika Plateau, by Mr. Alexander
Whyte, at Lake Shirwa by Sir Alfred Sharpe, and at Monkey
Bay, on the west of Nyasa Lake, by Dr. P. Rendall.
From Lake Nyasa northward it is replaced by the very
nearly allied form U. bengalus, which is scarcely more than
a subspecies, being distinguishable by the colouring of the
head in the adult males only.
186 URZGINTHUS CYANOCEPHALUS
Ureginthus cyanocephalus.
Estrilda cyanocephala, Richmond, Auk. 1897, p. 157 (1897) User.
Ureginthus cyanocephalus, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 210 (1904).
Type. Similar to U. angolensis, but differing in the forehead and crown
being verditer blue like the sides of the head. ‘‘ Whole head, breast, sides
of body, rump, upper tail-coverts and tail Nile blue, somewhat darker
on the inner webs of the tail-feathers ; nape, back, scapulars, wing-coverts,
and sides of neck wood brown; wings ashy brown, edged with wood brown ;
lower breast, abdomen, under tail-coverts, thighs, axillaries, and under wing-
coyerts cinnamon buff; edge of wing Nile blue. Bill and irides red. Wing
2:08 inches, tail 2°14, tarsus 58, culmen, -36”’ (Richmond). ¢, 12.1. 89.
Useri River (Abbott).
The Blue-crowned Cordon-bleu inhabits the Kilimanjaro
district. The type was discovered by Dr. W. L. Abbott at the
Useri River, which flows from the east flank of Mount Kili-
manjaro and is apparently a very local form, being known up
to the present time by the two typical specimens only. Dr.
Richmond writes: ‘‘ This species is closely related to H. ango-
lensis, but the entire head is blue; the brown on the upper
surface and wings is darker, and the abdomen and under tail-
coverts are of a deeper colour. A second specimen in the
collection, also an adult male, was collected on the plains of
Kilimanjaro, October 5, 1888.”
Ureginthus bengalus.
Fringilla bengalus, Linn. S. N. (x.) p. 182 (1858) ; (xii.) i. p. 323 (1766)
“« Bengala”’ (= Benguela).
Ureginthus bengalus, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 207 (1904).
Kstrilda mariposa, Less, Traité, p. 444 (1831).
Estrelda pheenicotis, Swains. B. W. Afr. i. p. 192, pl. 14 (1837) ;
Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 400 (1890); Butler, Foreign Finches in
Captivity, p. 126, pl. 25, figs. 1, 2 (1894); Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers.
p. 128 (1899) egg; Flower, P. Z. S. 1900, p. 957 White Nile ;
Z|
URZGINTHUS BENGALUS 187
Hartert, Noy. Zool. 1901, p. 341 Niger ; Grant, Ibis, 1904, p. 258
Harrar, Manniballa, Dedota.
Granatina pheenicotis, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 398 (1896).
Adult male. Above light drab brown; lower back and upper tail-coverts
turquoise blue ; tail rather darker blue; wings with the coverts and edges
of quills like the back, remainder of quills more dusky brown; under wing-
coverts and inner edges of quills of a paler shade of brown than the mantle ;
sides of forehead and head, chin, throat and sides of body turquoise blue,
with a large patch of crimson on the ear-coverts; centre of breast, thighs
and under tail-coverts pale drab, of the same shade as the under wing-
coverts. ‘‘ Iris yellowish ; bill orange red, with the tip and the cutting edges
black.” Total length 4:5 inches, culmen 0:4, wing 2:0, tail 2:1, tarsus 0°55.
3, 27. 4. 01. Gambaga (Alexander).
Adult female. Similar to the male, but differs in having the sides of the
head browner, with no patch of red. Total length 4:7 inches, culmen 0:4,
wing 2:0, tail 2:0, tarsus 0°55. 2, 27.4.01. Gambaga (Alexander).
The Ruby-cheeked Cordon-bleu inhabits Tropical Africa
between 17° N. lat. and 10° 8. lat.
From Senegambia probably came the type of Estrelda
phemicotis, which name has been wrongly but most frequently
used by English ornithologists. I made some remarks on this
subject (Ibis, 1886, p. 336), but objected to the use of bengalus,
Linn., as confusing, the species not being a native of Bengal,
which objection might not be admitted at the present day ;
there was, however, no justice in setting aside both Fringilla
bengalus, Linn., 1776, and Hstrelda mariposa, Less, 1881, for
Estrelda phenicea, Swains., 1837.
Marche and De Compiégne have collected specimens at
Dakar, Joal and Bathurst. At the Gambia Dr. Rendall took
a nest containing seven white eggs; this nest was built in the
long grass and was a slight structure. In the same district
Mr. Budgett found it very abundant on MCarthy Island.
Verreaux received it from Casamanse, and specimens have
been procured at Bissao by Baudouin and Fea.
188 URZGINTHUS BENGALUS
In the Gold Coast district Mr. Boyd Alexander found the
species plentiful, and procured specimens at Gomieri and as far
inland as Gambaga, where it had previously been met with
by Capt. Giffard. Drs. Reichenow and Lithder found it on
the Accra plains, and in Togoland it has been obtained near
Krachi and Mangu. A little further down the coast, at Abeo-
kuta, Mr. Robin procured the species. In the Niger district
specimens have been collected by Falkenstemm at Bonny on
the coast, and on the Benue branch of the river by Forbes
at Loko, and according to Dr. Hartert it is plentiful in this
country. It has also been recorded from Hastern Camaroons
(Carnap). Hartlaub has mentioned a specimen procured by
Gugon in Gaboon, and in the Congo district Falkenstein met
with it during his visit to Chinchonxo on the Loango coast,
Sperling, near the mouth of the river, Bohndorff, far inland, at
Kassongo on the Lualaba branch, and Storms obtained it during
his Tanganyika expedition. Prof. Barboza du Bocage mentions
it from as far south as Loanda, and makes the following very
interesting remark that the country ‘‘ Bengala”’ of Brisson and
Linnzeus was intended for Benguela. ‘‘ Brisson writes: ‘ On le
trouve dans le Royaume de Bengala. Du cabinet de M. de
Réaumur.’ Nothing is more easy than to have substituted
Bengala for Benguela. In fact, our African colony of
Benguela has long been a central market for small singing
birds, which are brought here regularly from the coast and
the interior.”
In Eastern Africa, the most southern locality yet recorded
for this species is the Rovuma River, where the late Joseph
Thomson procured a female specimen; it has also been
recorded from Undis and New Heligoland (Fiilleborn). It is
apparently abundant and generally distributed over German
and British East Africa. Bohm procured specimens at Kakoma
and in the Ugogo country, and found it in pairs or family
URAGINTHUS BENGALUS 189
parties, frequenting alike the bushy country by the water-side,
the dry grassy plains and the outskirts of villages, and
observed it once soar in the air. Fischer remarks that, like
many of the other small African birds, they frequently breed in
the proximity of wasps’ nests, and amongst the homes so placed
he found four of the present species, three of the Sunbirds, and
one of Spermestes scutatus. He also observed a pair of these
birds breeding in a deserted nest of Hyphantornis bojeri. The
nest and eggs are like those of U. angolensis, which I have
described. In Ugogo, according to Dr. Pruen, these as well
as other small Finches are known to the native by the name
* Sunha,” and in like manner at Formosa Bay, the Suaheli
* is of the same comprehensive character, as
name “ Kissiji’
we are informed by Fischer.
The species has not been recorded from the western shores
of Victoria Nyanza, but, to the north of that great lake, speci-
mens have been collected by Dr. Ansorge in Unyoro; by Emin
at Lado, where it is resident, living mostly in pairs, and extend-
ing northward down the Nile, having been recorded by Capt.
Stanley Flower as numerous, in April, among the bushes at
Jebel Ahmeda Agar; by Mr. Hawker at Fashoda, where he
found it very common and tame, and by Mr. Witherby at Kaka.
Mr. A. L. Butler writes to me: “ Common in the bush from
Doka to Galabat (Gedarel-Galabat road), May, 1901, but not
met with far from water. Occurs up the Blue Nile from the
Rahab and Dinder Rivers on the Abyssinian frontier to Wad
Medain, and is also plentiful on the White Nile from Jebel Ain
to El Kawa. At Jebel Ain, on November 15, 1902, I put a hen
bird off her nest. The nest was oval horizontally, with the
entrance at one end, and was composed entirely of fine grass,
and well hidden at the base of a thorn bush by a thick growth
of the same yellow grass as the nest was composed of. The
eggs, four in number and pure white, would be hard to dis-
190 ESTRILDA
tinguish from those of many of the other small Weavers.” The
nests found by Heuglin were artistic, loose structures of dry
grass, placed in bushes at four to eight feet from the ground,
and contained three to six eggs. He found the species ranging
to as far north as the Takah district, and in the mountains up
to 7,000 feet. Dr. Blanford writes: ‘Common on the high-
lands, less so at a lower elevation, but seen not infrequently in
the Anseba Valley, and even as low as Ailet (1,200 feet above
the sea).”
Hartmann met with a large flock of these birds on the Blue
Nile, and according to Ragazzi it is common in Shoa. To
the east, specimens have been collected by Lord Lovat at Lake
Harrar Meyer and Laga Harding, by Mr. Harrison at Tadecha-
mulka, and according to Mr. Pease it is widely distributed
over this district.
Its occurrence in Central Somaliland is known to me by the
two specimens collected by Dr. Donaldson Smith at Luku and
Sheik Husein.
Regarding a species from Kibwesi, near the northern base
of Mount Kilimanjaro, Mr. Jackson writes: “This pretty
little bird is found everywhere in the country. Its nest is
made of dry grass, and is found in various positions, such as in
a low bush, in a mimosa or acacia tree, thirty feet from the
ground, in the thatch of a native hut, or in the deserted nest
of the common Yellow Weaver-bird.”
Genus XI. HSTRILDA.
Very similar in structure to Ureginthus, with the second primary shorter
than the fifth, but differs in the tail not being longer than the wing, and in
the upper tail-coverts never being blue, but always red, unless there is
a crimson band through the eye in adults. Sexes generally alike in plumage.
Type.
Estrilda, Swains. Zool. Journ. iii. p. 349 (1827) . . . #. astrild.
Habropyga, Cab. Arch. f. Naturgesch. xiii. p. 331 (1847). Z. astrild.
Neisna, Bp. Consp. i. p. 460 (1850) . , .,. . . . H. subflava.
ESTRILDA 191
Melpoda, Reichenb. Singv. p. 26 (1863) . . . . . . H.melpoda.
Brunhilda, Reichenb.i.c.p.48. .. ... . . . H.erythronota.
Mormolycea, Reichenb. ¢.c.p.67 . . .. . . . . HE. larvata.
Haplopyga (laps. cal.), Heugl. Orn. N. O. Afr. App.
p. exxxvii. (1873) . Pee tek fae ue casera:
The members of this genus, with the exception of H. rufibarba, which
inhabits Southern Arabia, are confined to Tropical and South Africa. I have
distinguished in my key thirty-six forms; of these the first nine might
perhaps be united in H. astrild ; EH. marwitzi to HE. roseicrissa ; to EH. perreini
the four forms following in my key. As local species I should recognise
E. clarkei as the southern representative of H. subflava; E. elize as the
Fernando Po representative of H. nonnula; and H. delamerei as the
northern representative of H. erythronota. H. charmosyna is the oldest
name for HZ. nigrimentum, Salvadori.
KEY TO THE SPECIES AND MINOR DIVISIONS.
a. A crimson band through the eye in adult males.
a1, Upper parts distinctly barred ; bill of one colour; head
alike in both sexes; red eye-band absent only in young
birds.
a?, Under tail-coverts black; upper tail-coverts barred ;
bill red.
a’. Less red on plumage; no crimson shade on mantle.
a*. Adult males, with a sharply defined vermilion
band down the centre of lower breast.
a®. Sides of head and upper throat less pure white
(South Africa and St. Helena).
a®. Rarely any trace of red on upper tail-
coverts.
a7. Darker; upper parts more dusky brown. cavendishi.
b7, Paler; upper parts more earthy brown . astrild.
b&. Some crimson on upper tail-coverts or base
|
of tail.
c’. Upper parts paler ; less red on upper tail-
covertsandtail . .... . =. . . damarensis. !
d?,. Upper parts darker ; more red on upper
tail-coverts and tail. .. . . . . . . sancte-helene.
65, Sides of head and upper throat pure white. . minor.
b*. Sexes alike in colouring; breast more pink, with
no bright vermilion; sides of head and upper
throat pure white or tinted with pink.
192 ESTRILDA
c>, More rosy shade on the neck and breast
d®. Less rosy shade on the neck and breast.
c®. Upper parts darker and browner .
d®, Upper parts paler and greyer c
b®, More red on plumage ; a crimson shade on siamo,
b?. Under tail-coverts not black ; upper tail-coverts not
barred.
c3, Upper
whitish.
c*. Bill red
d*. Bill black :
ds, Upper tail-coverts red ; bill Wee some eal on
wings ‘
b1, Upper parts wuatform alive nea a tne rump eae
bill red, with the culmen and keel black; under parts
mostly yellow or orange red.
c?, A crimson band through the eye; abdomen and
under tail-coverts orange red.
e®, Throat and breast strongly shaded with orange
red.
fs. Throat aed breast oldes yellow sis peaecelyt any
orange.
d?. No crimson beni amauel the eye;
abdomen and under tail- coverts buff.
g®. Centre of breast and abdomen orange shaded buff .
h®. Centre of breast and abdomen lemon shaded buff .
b. No crimson band through the eye; rump red; no olive
shade on the mantle.
ct. Sides of head with an orange red patch .
dt. No red patch on sides of head.
e?, Neither crown nor sides of head black.
a8, Upper parts not mostly lavender grey.
e*. Under parts more ashy white, with little or no
yellow shade.
e5>, Topofhead grey . .
f°. Top of head brown like the back.
e®, Upper parts paler, less rufous brown ; flanks
paler grey .
f®. Upper parts Saree more Shia cae
flanks darker grey :
f*. Under parts strongly washed with xellone
q®. Sides of head grey; under tail-coverts golden
brown .
tail-coverts black ; under tail-coverts
ene oF peenet
peasei, ~ Or
occidentalis, 2.
Sousa.
rubriventris. 2 » -
cinerea. * © &
rufibarba. 2.
rhodopyga. :
. subflava g ad. 2 09
clarkei 3 ad. 2 «
subflava 2? .2 ¢
clarket 2...
melpoda. 2 } 2
paludicola. 2 \«
roseicrissa. 2 )4
marwitzt.
poliopareia. 2 / 6
ESTRILDA
h®. Sides of head pale yellowish brown; under
tail-coverts sandy buff
k8. Upper parts mostly lavender grey.
g*. Tail and under tail-coverts red pike
h*, Tail black; under tail-coverts black or dusky
grey.
75, Abdomen and under tail-coverts slightly
blacker.
g®. Less or no crimson on flanks
hs.
5,
More crimson on flanks
Abdomen and under tail-coverts slightly prayer,
7®, Upper tail-coverts a shade darker; under
tail-coverts slightly more dusky <
. Upper tail-coverts a shade paler ; under
tail-coverts slightly greyer .
f?. Crown or sides of head entirely black in Gate
18, Upper parts not distinctly barred.
i+, Some tiny white spots on sides of breast ;
of head and the upper throat black.
15, Paler ; black on under parts confined to upper
throat, centre of abdomen and under tail-
coverts ; crown ashy grey.
. General plumage lavender grey
aes General plumage vinous pink . .
m5, Darker; entire throat black; breast lack,
with the exception of the front and sides,
which are vinous red . :
k*, No white spots on the breast.
n®, Upper half of head black, or entire head sepia
brown like the back ;
. Head, neck and mantle anih brown: mde
parts washed with brown ‘
m%, Upper parts very distinctly barred.
14, Entire upper half of head black ;
the flanks.
p®. A red patch on each side of culmen; under
tail-coverts whitish.
ae Under parts mostly pure white .
. Under parts white, tinted with grey.
ae mandible carte black ; under tail-
coverts blackish . :
m*, Sides of head black; crown frowns ach
r®, Centre of breast, thighs and under tail-coverts
black.
[December, 1904,
sides
some red on
193
ochrogaster. =
cerulescens.
perreini.
thomensis. 2
poliogaster. 2
incana.
nigricollis.
vinacea.
larvata.
kandti.
nonnula, Juv.
nonnula, ad. 2 :
eliz@. 2:2
atricapilla. = :
194 ESTRILDA ASTRILD
p*. Slightly darker ; grey of neck not inclining
to white next to the black ear-coverts ; dark
and pale bars on wings contrasting less
strongly,” cee eres s eet ae
q®. Slightly paler and pinker; grey of neck
fading into a whitish margin next to the
black ear-coverts; bars on wings black and
and white more sharply contrasting . . . delamerei. 2 7}
s>. Breast more uniform rosy buff with no black
on abdomen, thighs, nor under tail-coverts ; a
more distinct whitish band margins the black
ear-coverts; throat rosy white with only a
erythronota.
few black feathers on the chin. . . . . . charmosyna. 2
Estrilda astrild.
Loxia astrild, Linn. 8. N. (x.) p. 173 (1858) ; id. (xii.) i. p. 303 (1766).
Estrilda astrild, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 391 (1890); Butler, Foreign
Finches in Captivity, p. 134, pl. 26, fig. 2 (1894); Ridgway, Proc.
U.S. Mus. 1895, p. 518, Amirante Isl. ; Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 399
(1896) ; Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 128 (1899) egg; Whitehead, Ibis,
1903, p. 224 Orange R. ; Shortridge, Ibis, 1904, p. 177 Pondoland ;
Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 178 (1904); Clarke, Ibis, 1904, p. 524.
Natal.
Subspecies a.
Kstrilda cavendishi, Sharpe, Ibis, 1900, p. 110 Mapicuti.
Kstrilda astrild cavendishi, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 179 (1904).
Subspecies b.
Estrila astrild damarensis, Reichen. Orn. Monatsb. 1902, p. 173; id. Vég.
Afr. iii. p. 180 (1904) Namaqua to Mossamedes.
Subspecies c.
Kstrilda sanctee-helenze, Shelley, Bull. B. O. C. xiii. p. 74 (1903) St.
Helena.
Kstrilda astrild sancte-helene, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 179 (1904).
Adult male. Forehead, crown and back of neck ashy brown, shading into
sandy brown on the back, scapulars, wing-coverts and upper tail-coverts,
the whole, with the exception of the front half of the crown, crossed
with numerous narrow blackish bars; quills and tail dark brown, with very
narrow pale edges to the feathers, and some obscure bars showing mostly on
the inner secondaries and centre tail-feathers; sides of the head with a
sharply defined band of vermilion from the base of the bill, between the
2 7
ra)
ESTRILDA ASTRILD 195
nostril and gape to the upper portion of the ear-coverts and surrounding
the eye; under parts sandy buff, whiter towards the bill, slightly greyer on
the ear-coverts and of a pinkish shade on the throat; lower throat and
sides of body with numerous narrow dusky bars; centre of breast rosy
vermilion ; lower abdomen and under tail-coverts black ; under wing-coverts
and edges of the quills isabelline buff. Iris brown; bill red; tarsi and feet
brown. Total length 4:7 inches, culmen 0:35, wing 2:05; tail 2-4, tarsus
0:55. g, 4.6.81. Newcastle (Butler).
Adult female. Slightly paler, with scarcely any trace of red on the
breast. ?,27.1.74, Ceres. (Shelley).
Type of E. cavendishi. Differs from the Newcastle specimen above
described in the plumage being considerably darker both above and beneath.
Wing 1°8, tail 1-9. 3,15. 9.98. Mapicuti (Cavendish).
E. damarensis. Differs from the female above described in being paler
and in having a slight shade of crimson on the upper tail-coverts. ¢,
16. 4.65. Damaraland (Andersson).
Type of E. sancte-helene. Differs from the Newcastle specimen above
described in having the upper tail-coverts and basal portion of the outer
webs of the tail-feathers strongly washed with crimson. 4. 1. 74. St.
Helena (Shelley).
The various forms of the Common Waxbill inclusively
inhabit Tropical and South Africa southward from Sierre
Leone and Abyssinia, also many of the surrounding islands.
In my key I have distinguished nine named forms; but
out of these I recognise four only as distinct species, H. astrild
(South Africa), HZ. minor (Hast Africa), H. occidentalis (West
and North-east Africa), and H. vubriventris (Gaboon to
Angola).
The Southern Common Waxbill ranges from the Cunene
and Zambesi Rivers over South Africa, occurs on St. Helena,
and has been introduced into the islands of Madagascar,
Réunion, Mauritius, and the Ile Alphonse, one of the Amirante
group.
The Natal, or typical race, is intermediate in shade of
colouring between the single known specimen of L. cavendisht,
obtained by Mr. H. 8S. H. Cavendish, near Sofala Bay, at
196 ESTRILDA ASTRILD
Mapicuti, and paler specimens from Damaraland, the H. astrild
damarensis, Reichenow. The most northern range for L. astrild
is the Zambesi, where it is plentiful, according to Mr. Boyd
Alexander, who procured specimens there of it as well as of
EH. minor.
From this river southward to Cape Colony it is abundant
and very generally distributed. In Mashonaland Mr. Guy
Marshall “ found it sometimes in very large flocks, along rivers
and on cultivated lands.” Frank Oates obtained specimens at
Tati in Matabele. According to ‘‘Sharpe’s ed. Layard’s B. 8.
Afr.,” they congregate in immense flocks throughout Cape
Colony and do considerable damage to the grain crops. Their
little shrill pipmg note may be heard even in the towns. They
are said by Layard to breed in communities, and he was told
that several pairs will at times make use of a single nest, laying
and sitting in it promiscuously, and sometimes three or four
together. ‘The nest,” he writes, “is of a large structure,
composed of straw, grasses, feathers, wool, paper, rags, &Xc.
It is often as large as a stable bucket, round, and with an
entrance in the side. The interior is a mass of feathers, and
the eggs from eight to fourteen in number.” Mr. Atmore
writes: ‘‘ The inside is very warm and comfortable, and what
may be called the frame work of the nest is very nicely con-
trived so that all the ear-ends of the grasses are woven
together to form the pipe where the entrance is. This nest
was in a thicket of brambles and fern about six inches from the
ground. Even after the bird flew out it required a good
search before I could find it. There were twelve eggs in it
(whether more than one lays in a nest, I cannot say, but only
one flew out), they were in all stages of incubation—two not
set, and four or five had the young birds so large I could not
blow them.” Mr. Ayres gives the following further notes:
“‘T found several nests of these birds all built upon the ground,
ESTRILDA ASTRILD 197
generally in some convenient indentation sheltered by a clump
of grass. The little elongated entrance of the nest is placed
rather forward, with the end of it touching the ground. On
the top of the nest is a sort of chamber, in which, the Caffres
assure me, the male bird roosts at night during the incubation
of the female.’’ According to Stark: ‘“ Although several hens
occasionally lay in the same nest, this is, according to my own
experience, by no means always the case. More usually the
nest is constructed by a single cock and hen, who both help in
the building, and who generally sit alternately on the eggs;
but at night, and occasionally by day, together. The eggs laid
by a single hen are from three to five in number. They are
pure white in colour; in shape usually elongated ovals,
averaging 0°6 x 0°35.” The Messrs. Butler, Feilding and
Reid write: ‘ Nests found at Richmond Road, in December,
were tenanted by several birds,” and further, “ the eggs were
of a lovely pink colour before being blown. From one nest
examined by Reid five or six birds were seen to fly. Are they
also polygamous like the Viduas.” A nest I found, on
March 17, 1874, was placed on the ground in a thick tuft of
grass, and contained five white eggs. The nest was larger but
of the same shape as that of our Common Wren, with a well-
hidden aperture, was very thick and composed entirely, outside
and in, of a wiry green grass.
The following notes should refer to LH. astrild damarensis,
Reichen. There are in the British Museum three specimens
from Damaraland collected by Andersson, who found the
species common in the southern districts of Damaraland, as
well as in some parts of Great Namaqualand, and according
to Mr. Fleck, it is generally distributed in large flocks over
these countries and the Lake Ngami district. I do not find
the pale colouring very constant in the three specimens above
mentioned.
198 ESTRILDA MINOR
On St. Helena I shot the type of EH. sancte-helenz,
January 4, 1874. This was the commonest species of wild
bird I saw there. It is imported to Europe in such numbers
from this island that it and its allied forms are known, to
dealers in cage-birds, as the St. Helena Waxbill. According
to Mr. Melliss: “It builds its nest in high trees, generally
preferring the Scotch fir and Botany Bay willow (Acacia longi-
folio), and consequently suffer much by high winds blowing
the nests down. The nest is spherical in form, about seven
inches in diameter, with an almost closed tubular entrance
on one side, and is generally built of grass and feathers, lined
with cotton-wool.” It is very remarkable how varied are the
breeding habits of some of these closely allied forms.
Estrilda minor.
Habropyga minor, Cab. J. f. O. 1878, p. 229 Voi R.
Estrilda minor, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 393 (1890) pt. Melinda,
Pangani, Ugogo.
Estrilda astrild minor, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 180 (1904) pt. B. Africa.
Very similar to Z. astrild in all its plumages, differing only in the cheeks,
chin and upper throat being purer white. Wing 1:9 inches. Melinda
(Kirk).
The Lesser Common Waxbill ranges from the Zambesi
River into Equatorial Africa.
The most southern known range for the species is the
Zambesi River; here, as Mr. Boyd Alexander has proved, is
the junction of its ranges with that of Z. astrild, its southern
representative. In the Shiré Valley it is, according to Mr.
Percival, very common. Mr. Whyte has procured specimens
at Zomba, also on the Milanji Plain, at 4,000 feet; and
according to General Manning, who obtained it on Mount
Moloza, it is known to the natives as the “Chijojola.” Sir
i|
ESTRILDA MINOR 199
John Kirk has collected specimens in the Shiré district, Ugogo,
at Pangani and Melinda, all of which are in the British
Museum. Dr. Stuhlmann informs us that the native name for
the species at Quilimane is ‘‘ Mrie,” and at Zanzibar ‘ Tongo.”
Boéhm obtained specimens on Zanzibar Island, in Ugogo,
at Tabora and Kakoma, and records it as abundant there,
frequenting the bush near habitations. In the middle of
April he found their nests in a banana plantation adjoining a
village ; they were placed amongst the roots and rubbish at
the base of banana stems, constructed of grass, hair, and a
mass of feathers from the village poultry, and contained five
white eggs. According to Fischer, the nests he found
resembled those of Spermestes scutatus, but were more strongly
and neatly constructed, with a shorter and flatter entrance
passage. The eggs are white and measure 0°52 x 0°40. He
also found one of these nests built amongst the thick foliage
at the end of a bough of a mango-tree, some six feet from the
ground. He never met with more than one pair making use
of any nest; but they are sociable and fly about in flocks with
cther species, and he has seen one perched on the same blade
of grass in company with Quelea exthiopica. They were
generally distributed through the country he explored from
Bagamoyo tothe Tana River. The type is a specimen procured
by Hildebrandt at the Voi River, some fifty miles north of
Mombasa. ‘To this form I refer all Lord Delamere’s speci-
mens now in the British Museum, from the Athi River,
Nairobe, Lake Elmenteita, Likipia, and North-east Kenia ;
Mr. Jackson’s specimens from Machako’s, Nyando Valley,
Eldoma Ravine, and from Nandi. He records the species as
abundant, in flocks varying in number from eight to more than
a hundred, and he adds: “It keeps up a constant twitter when
on the wing, but is quiet when feeding, its food consisting of
small grass-seed. It makes a nest of fine grass, very compact,
200 ESTRILDA OCCIDENTALIS
lined with a few feathers. Eggs white. It is partial to the
vicinity of habitations.”
Estrilda occidentalis.
Estrilda occidentalis, Fraser and Jard, Contr. Orn. 1851, p. 156 Fer-
nando Po.
Estrilda astrild occidentalis, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 180 (1904).
Estrilda peasei, Shelley, Bull. B. O. C. xiii. pp. 74, 75 (1903) Abyssinia.
Subspecies a.
Estrilda astrild souse, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 182 St. Thomas Isl.
Estrilda astrild (non Linn.), Bocage, Jorn. Lisb. 1904, p. 81 S¢.
Thomas Isl.
Adult male. Very similar to H. astrild; upper parts rather dark ;
cheeks, ear-coverts and upper throat white; remainder of throat and the
centre of breast, down to the black abdomen, buff, with a pink shade and no
trace of vermilion. ‘Bill waxy scarlet; feet and claws sepia.” Total
length 4:3 inches, culmen 0:3, wing 1:75, tail 1°75, tarsus 0°55. ¢. Bo,
June and August (Kemp.).
Adult female. Like the male. Wing 1:75. Bo, August (Kemp).
Type of E. peasei. Slightly paler above and a little more pink below.
Jeffi Dunsa (Pease).
Type of H. astrild souse. ‘ Similar to EL. astrild minor, with the upper
parts greyer and paler ” (Reichenow).
Fraser’s Waxbill ranges from Sierra Leone southward into
Benguela, and eastward into Abyssinia.
Near Sierra Leone Mr. Kemp has collected twenty-three
specimens in May, June, July and August, showing that the
plumage of the sexes is always alike. He writes: ‘‘ At Bo, in
August and September, these birds were abundant in patches
of a feathery grass called ‘ Foudie’ by the natives, who cul-
tivate it for food. They here assemble in compact little flocks,
with other small Weavers, to feed on the ripened seed, and on
one occasion, with a single cartridge, I killed seven head,
including, besides the present species, specimens of H. subflava,
ESTRILDA OCCIDENTALIS 201
Spermestes cucullatus, Vidua serena, and a small kind of rat.
In September, these and the other Waxbills pair for the breed-
ing season and then cease to be gregarious.” These Waxbills
not having been recorded from anywhere between Sierra
Leone and Fernando Po, shows how much we have yet to learn
regarding the avifauna of Africa.
The species was discovered by Fraser on Fernando Po,
where, according to Mr. Boyd Alexander, it is abundant. In
Camaroons, it has been procured at Jaunde by Mr. Zenker, and
further inland, at the Ja River, Mr. Bates obtained a male and
female in May, 1904. The species is also represented in the
British Museum by a specimen from Gaboon (Du Chaillu), one
from Kibondo (Béhndorff) and another from Benguela obtained
by Mr. Monteiro, who writes: ‘Very abundant in Angola,
particularly to the south: gregarious in flocks of hundreds of
individuals.” Anchieta has obtained the species at Quissange,
and gives “ Maracaxong’”’ as its native name, so to this species
probably belongs a bird procured by Van der Kellen in Mossa-
medes, but I have not seen the specimen, nor have I seen any
Estrilda from St. Thomas Island, so cannot express an opinion
as to the specific merits of H. astrild souse, but presume it
should have been compared in the original description to
H. occidentalis rather than to H. minor. To E. occidentalis
belongs a specimen from the Albert Edward Nyanza (Scott
Elliot), also the specimens in Mr. Jackson’s collection from
Uganda and Toro near Katwe. I therefore presume that the
specimens collected at Lado, Bukoba and Bujambo (Emin)
belong to this species, to which I also refer the North-east
African birds, my H. peasei, represented in the British Museum
by a male and female from Dunsa (Pease), two males from the
Lakes Harrar Meyer and Chercha (Lovat), and one from
Abyssinia (Harris). Probably to this form belongs the
BE. astrild minor, Oustalet, from Somaliland.
202 ESTRILDA RUBRIVENTRIS
Dr. Ragazzi obtained five specimens in Shoa, and it is,
according to Heuglin, a summer visitor in its northern range,
as he met with it from May to October only in Southern
Nubia, Sennar, Abyssinia, and along the White Nile, generally
scattered over the country up to 7,000 feet, in small or large
flocks.
Estrilda rubriventris.
Fringilla rubriventris, Vieill. Enc. Méth. iii. p. 992 (1823).
Kstrilda rubriventris, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 393 (1890).
Kstrilda rufiventris (laps. cal.), Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 400 (1896).
Estrilda astrild angolensis, Reichen. Orn. Monatsb. 1902, p. 173 Angola ;
id. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 180 (1904).
L’Astrild & ventre rouge, Vieill. Ois. Chant. p. 36, pl. 13 (1805) Cage-
bird.
Differs from #. occidentalis in having the mantle, upper tail-coverts,
edges of tail-feathers and most of the under parts washed with rosy carmine.
Wing 1:8. Gaboon (Verreaux).
The Loango Waxbill ranges from Gaboon into Angola.
The species is known to me by six specimens only ; these
are in the British Museum; from Gaboon (Du Chaillu), Lan-
dana (Lucan and Petit) and Quindumbo (Burton); of these,
the specimens from Landana are the most strongly marked.
The species, as I understand it, is apparently limited in range
to a comparatively small area, and is surrounded to the north,
east and south by H. occidentalis, so, as I have not seen the
specimens from Melanje (Mechow) I hesitate to refer them to
the present species, for I find I differ from Dr. Reichenow
with regard to the range of this Waxbill, and I cannot agree
with him in rejecting the name Fringilla rubriventris, Vieill.,
for this species ; the type was a cage-bird figured a L’ Astrild a
ventre rouge, and that figure fairly represents the present,
and no other species.
ESTRILDA CINEREA 203
Dr. Reichenow divides the allied forms of this group into
H. astrild and seven subspecies; I have not differed so greatly
from this arrangement as it may appear at first sight; but by
recognising four of these as good species, I hope to enable
others to appreciate better the relative value of the remaining
named forms, which are less distinctly characterised.
Estrilda cinerea.
Fringilla cinerea, Vieill. N. Dict. xii. p. 176 (1817).
Kstrilda cinerea, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 394 (1890); Butler, Foreign
Finches in Captivity, p. 131, pl. 26, fig. 1 (1894); Shelley, B. Afr. I.
No. 402 (1896) ; Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 128 (1899) egg ; Reichen.
Vog. Afr. iii. p. 182 (1904).
Fringilla troglodytes, Licht. Verz. Doubl. p. 26 (1823) Senegambia.
Astrild nigricauda, Reichenb. Singyv. p. 10. pl. 6, figs. 55, 56 (1863).
Estrelda melanopygia, Heugl. J. f. O. 1864, p. 251.
Estrilda jagoensis, Alexander, Ibis, 1898, pp. 85, 92, 99, 115, 281 Cape
Verde Isl.
Adults. Upper parts drab brown, with a very faint rosy shade and
indistinct narrow darker bars; rump, upper tail-coverts and the tail black,
the three outer pairs of tail-feathers have white outer and terminal edges,
most strongly marked on the outermost feathers; wing-coverts like the
back; quills darker brown, with paler outer edges and white inner edges ;
under coverts tawny buff; a crimson band through the eye; cheeks, ear-
coverts and breast rosy buff, slightly more ashy on the sides of the body,
where the feathers are narrowly barred with indistinct brown lines; centre
of the abdomen washed with crimson; thighs and under tail-coverts nearly
white. ‘Iris brown; bill scarlet; tarsi and feet dark brown.” Total length
3-4 inches, culmen 0:35, wing 1:8 and 1°75, tail 1:5, tarsus 0°. 3g, 2,
5.5.01. Karaga (Alexander).
Immature. Differs in having no red on the plumage ; entire upper half
of head brown with no red eyebrow ; breast and under tail-coverts brownish
buff. ‘Iris pale brown; bill dark yellowish brown; feet dusk brown.”
@, juv., 3. 8.85. Wadelai (Emin).
The Common Black-rumped Waxbill ranges over Tropical
Africa from 5° to 17° N. lat.
Its occurrence in the Cape Verde Islands was first recorded
204 ESTRILDA CINEREA
by Dr. Dohrn, and Mr. Keulemans who accompanied his ex-
pedition to those islands informs me: ‘‘It was met with in
flocks of considerable size along the banks of the streams.
Native names, ‘ Gingerotte’ and ‘ Boca vermillio.’”’ Mr. Boyd
Alexander, who believed the birds of these islands to be dis-
tinct from those of the mainland, named the single specimen
he brought home with him H. jagoensis, and according to his
notes, it frequents the sugar-cane in large flocks, which keep
up a constant twittering while on the wing and reminded him
of the Lesser Redpole. It is locally known as the “ Sugar-
cane bird.” He found it on Santiago, Brava, Sao Vicente and
Boavista. On November 17, while on Sao Nicolau he took a
nest of the species. ‘‘It was placed between the upper stems
of a young orange-tree, domed like a Sparrow’s, and composed _
of very fine freshly plucked grass. The eggs, four in number,
were white and measured 0°6 x 0°45.”
In the British Museum there are specimens from Dakar on
Cape Verde, Gambia, Gold Coast, Niger, Wadelai, Lado and
Fashoda.
In the Gold Coast Colony Ussher procured specimens from
Denkera, and Mr. Alexander met with it at Karaga and Krachi.
Forbes found it on several occasions at Shonga on the Niger,
which is the most southern range yet recorded for the species.
It appears to be entirely replaced on Fernando Po and in
Camaroons by L. occidentalis; but the present species occurs
along the Upper White Nile, in Kordofan, Senaar and Southern
Nubia. According to Mr. Hawker it is never very common
at Fashoda, and Heuglin met with it in North-east Africa
only during the early spring from January to May, when it
appeared to him to live a roving life and was generally in large,
closely packed flocks, at times descending, with harsh piping
notes, to rest on the tufts of high grass or bushes.
THE BIRDS OF AFRICA. PL. XXxXIL.
1.Estrilda rhodopyga.
230 2 vinacea .
ESTRILDA RUFIBARBA 205
Estrilda rufibarba.
Habropyga rufibarba, Cat. Mus. Hein. i. p. 169 (1851) Arabia.
Estrilda rufibarba, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 394 (1890) ; Shelley B. Afr. I.
No. 401 (1896) ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 182 (1904).
Estrelda buccalis, Licht. Nomencel. p. 48 (1854) Arabia.
Adults. Upper parts barred with pale ashy brown and dark brown, the
bars diminishing in width on the crown, the forepart of which and the fore-
head are uniform dark ashy brown; rump and upper tail-coverts jet black ;
tail brownish black, the two outermost pairs of feathers with their outer
edges white, imperfectly barred with dusky brown; primaries and outer
secondaries uniform brown; a crimson band extends back from the upper
mandible round the eye and over the ear-coverts; cheeks, ear-coverts, chin
and upper throat white; remainder of the under parts buff, with narrow
dusky brown bars on the lower throat, chest and flanks. ‘Iris red; bill
reddish black, with the culmen and keel black” (Heuglin). Total length
4 inches, culmen 0:35, wing 1°8, tail 1°9, tarsus 0°55. Lehej (Yerbury).
The Aden Waxbill occurs as a straggler along the east
coast of Abyssinia, and ranges over Southern Arabia.
There is a specimen in the Berlin Museum labelled ‘* Nubia,”’
which belongs to this species, according to Dr. Finsch.
Estrilda rhodopyga. (Plate 32, fig. 1.)
Kstrilda rhodopyga, Sundev. (ify. K. Vet. Akad. Férh. Stockh. 1850,
p. 126 Senaar; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 396 (1890); Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 403 (1896); Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 183 (1904).
Kstrelda rhodoptera, Sundey. (Japs. cal.) Bp. Consp. i. p. 459 (1850).
Habropyga frenata, Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 169 (1851).
Estrelda effrenata, Licht. Nom. Av. p. 48 (1854).
Kstrelda leucotus, Heugl. J. f. O. 1862, p. 29 Keren.
Adult. Forehead, crown and nape ashy brown, passing into sandy brown
on the mantle, and finely barred with dusky brown; lower back and upper
tail-coverts crimson ; tail brownish black, washed with crimson towards the
outer edges of the feathers; the two outer pairs, with the outer webs pale
brown, with indistinct dark bars; wings brown; lesser coverts like the
mantle; greater coverts and inner secondaries broadly edged with crimson ;
under wing-coverts sandy buff; inner edges of the quills whitish; side of
206 ESTRILDA RHODOPYGA
head with a broad crimson band separating the crown from the cheek and
ear-coverts, which are buff like the chin, throat and centre of the breast 5
front and sides of body of a more rufous shade, faintly barred with dusky
brown, and a slight wash of crimson near the thighs; vent and under tail-
coverts darker, especially so in the male, the feathers being dusky black,
barred with sandy-buff and faintly washed with crimson. Ivis red; bill and
legs black. Total length 4 inches, culmen 0:4, wing 1°8, tail 1:8, tarsus
0-45. g,11.11.02; ¢, 1.11.02, Khartoum (A. L. Butler).
Sundevall’s Waxbill inhabits Eastern Africa between 7° S.
lat. and 16° N. lat.
The most southern range known for the species is Ugogo ;
here Mr. Oscar Neumann procured a specimen at Tisso, and
Mr. Werther one at Irangi. Along the southern shore of
Victoria Nyanza Emin obtained specimens at Bussisi, and in
the White Nile district a fine series at Lado and Wadelai.
Further down the Nile Mr. A. L. Butler found it “ fairly
common in the gardens of Khartoum (only noticed in winter
and spring), feeding on grass-seeds, and going about in parties
of seven or eight. A female, shot on November 1, and a
male on the 12th of that month, were apparently breeding.”
In Central Equatorial Africa Mr. Jackson obtained a
specimen at Toro near Katwe, Dr. Ansorge met with it in
Unyoro, and Mr. Neumann at Nguruman. From Somaliland
it was first recorded by M. Oustalet, and has since been
found there by Dr. Donaldson Smith at Webbe Shebeli and
Sheik Husein. Elliot collected five specimens at Hillier, and
Mr. Hawker saw a flock at the native wells of Gebili. In
Southern Abyssinia Lord Lovat met with it at Feyambiro and
the Kassim River, and Mr. Pease collected specimens in this
district in November, December and February, and found them
frequenting the bush in preference to the reed-beds; Dr.
Ragazzi obtained it at Soddé, in Shoa, in August. The type
came from Senaar. In Northern Abyssinia Heuglin met with
the type of his Hstrelda leucotis in the thick bush near Keren,
ESTRILDA SUBFLAVA 207
and observed that there was a specimen of it in the Berlin
Museum labelled ‘“‘ Nubia.” Dr. Blandford saw the species in
flocks at Zoulla, and it has been procured by Mr. Jesse at
Bejook.
Estrilda subflava.
Fringilla subflaya, Vieill. N. Dict. xxx. p. 575 (1819) Senegal.
Estrilda subflava, Shelley, B. Afr. I. p. 404 (1896) ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iil.
p. 186 (1904).
Sporeginthus subflavus, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 324 (1890) ; Butler,
Foreign Finches in Captivity, p. 107, pl. 21, fig. 3 (1894) ; Nehrkorn,
Kat. Hiers. p. 126 (1899) egg.
Fringilla sanguinolenta, Temm. PI. Col. iii. pl. 221, fig. 2 (1823).
Pytelia mitchelli, Reichenb. Singv. p. 24, pl. 18, figs. 161, 162 (1863).
Sporeginthus miniatus, Heugl. J. f. O. 1863, p. 167 Gazelle R.
Estrilda subflava orientalis, Heugl. J. f. O. 1868, p. 11 N. H. Afr.
Adult male. Upper parts brown, with a slight olive shade; rump and
upper tail-coverts scarlet-shaded crimson; tail dark brown, with the outer
web, viewed from beneath, whitish and a white terminal margin to the next
feather ; under wing-coverts and inner edges of quills whitish; a deep
crimson eyebrow from the nostril to above the ear-coverts ; ear-coverts
brown of the same shade as the sides and back of the neck; cheeks and
under parts yellow, with the sides of the body barred with ashy olive and
pale yellow; abdomen and under tail-coverts reddish orange, with which
colour the lower throat and breast is strongly shaded. ‘Iris red ; bill
scarlet, with the culmen and keel black ; feet flesh colour.” Total length
3:8 inches, culmen 0°3, wing 1-7, tail 1-4, tarsus 0-45. g, 1.12. 82. Lado
(Emin).
Adult female. Differs in having no red band on the side of the head ;
less red on the rump and upper tail-coverts; under parts paler buff, slightly
shaded with orange down the centre of the breast. ‘‘ Iris crimson ; bill as
in the male; feet flesh colour.” Wing1:7. ?, 6.5.01. Kaka (Hawker).
The Northern Zebra Waxbill ranges over North Tropical
Africa between about 16° N. lat. and the Equator.
In its most northern known range, St. Louis, at the mouth
of the Senegal River, Laglaise procured a specimen which
is now in the British Museum. It has also been recorded from
208 ESTRILDA SUBFLAVA
the Gambia (Marche) and Casamanse (Verreaux). Near
Sierra Leone Mr. Kemp collected twenty specimens at Jag-
bamah and Bo, “ where it was feeding in company with other
small Weavers on the seed of a feathery grass, but is less
common than H. occidentalis.” It is further represented in the
British Museum by one of Forbes’s specimens from Shongo
on the Niger, fourteen examples from the White Nile district,
and three from Southern Abyssinia.
Mr. Jackson has obtained a richly coloured specimen in
Uganda, and the species appears to be abundant along the Nile
to as far south as Lado, where Emin has collected many
specimens: others have been obtained at the mouth of the
Zeraf River, by Capt. Dunn, and near Fashoda and Kaka,
by Mr. Hawker, who writes: ‘Occurs in small flocks ; I never
noticed it north of Kaka.”
Heuglin obtained the type of his Sporeginthus miniatus at
the Gazelle River; he also met with the species on Req Island,
and in Central Abyssinia on the Dembea Plains, living in small
parties of five to ten, apparently preferring the tops of the
higher trees, and uttering their note during flight. In Southern
Abyssinia it has been procured by Lord Lovat. Dr. Butler,
in his ‘‘ Foreign Finches in Captivity,” quotes from Dr. Russ
the following interesting remarks: ‘ With proper attention
it keeps in good health in the dealers’ cages for years, only it
usually becomes black. It wonderfully soon takes steps to
breed, whether flying at large in a bird room, or in a small
cage. The power of production of this species is astounding ;
the first pair in my bird-room bred seven times in vain, and
only the eighth time, when small fresh ants’ eggs had been
obtained, was a brood of five young ones satisfactorily reared.
A pair belonging to Dr. Rey, of Halle, produced fifty-four
young in the course of one year; however, all died; besides
this, sixty-seven eggs were taken away. The love dance is
ESTRILDA CLARKEI 209
comical ; the song scarcely more than a sparrow-like, yet not
inharmonious, chirp, repeated an innumerable quantity of times
in the early morning during the nesting season.” He further
remarks: ‘‘ Laying three to four, even sometimes seven to
nine, eggs, which are incubated alternately by the male and
female for two hours at a time. Nestling-down whitish yellow.
Expansions of beak yellowish white. Young plumage bright
yellowish grey, to be distinguished by the weak, but clearly
perceptible, reddish yellow colouring of the croup, little beak
shining black; eyes dark brown; feet black brown. ‘The
change of colour begins after three weeks: in five weeks the
feathering below is clear yellowish, upper surface darker
brown ; after eight weeks the yellow becomes deep and
shining, the little bill red, and the superciliary stripe, which
began to appear about the sixth week, is perfected. Then the
bird is fit to propagate its kind. The lively orange red of the
male is first shown in the second year; by the fifth year it has
sometimes extended itself uniformly over the throat, breast
and front of abdomen; males so coloured are, however, rare.”
The eggs are described by Mr. Nehrkorn as pure white and
measuring 0°6 x 0-44.
Estrilda clarkei.
Coccopygia clarkei, Shelley, Bull. B. O. C. xiii. p. 75 (1903) Natal.
Estrilda subflava (non Vieill.), Clarke, Ibis, 1904, p.524 S. Afr. ; Reichen.
Vog. Afr. iii. p. 186 (1904) pt. S. of Hquator.
Adult male. Similar to H. subflava, from which it differs in the entire
throat and centre of the breast being pale yellow, with, at most, a slight
wash of orange on the crop. ‘Iris red brown; bill crimson, the ridge and
gonys black; legs and feet flesh colour” (Stark). Total length 3:8 inches,
culmen 0:3, wing 1:8, tail 1:4, tarsus 0°45. Type, 9,8. 12. 81, Richmond
Road, Natal (Reid); also g, 3. 2. 00, Msara (Delamere).
Adult female. Differs in having no red band on the side of the head ;
less red on the rump and upper tail-coverts; throat and centre of the breast
(December, 1904. 14
210 ESTRILDA CLARKEI
buffy white, with a faint lemon shade on the breast and less orange red
shade on the under tail-coverts. Wing 1:7. ¢?, 15. 9. 81, Newcastle
(Reid).
The Southern Zebra Waxbill ranges from Natal to the
Equator.
In 1881 Professor Barboza du Bocage recorded a specimen
as having been obtained by Welwitsch at Icolo, in Angola,
between the Bengo and Quanza Rivers, otherwise this species
has not been observed from anywhere further west than
Natal.
I have separated this southern form from 0. subflava
(Vieill.) on account of the paler yellow on the under parts, the
breast and cheeks never being washed with orange scarlet.
* An old male,” described by Stark, ‘‘ under surface of body,
below the throat, of a bright scarlet; the flanks barred with
olive and pale red; under tail-coverts deep scarlet; sides of
face red.” Such a bird has, I venture to say, never been bred
in a wild state in South Africa; it undoubtedly belongs to the
more typical northern form.
The Southern Zebra Waxbill is a resident in Natal and the
Transvaal, but has not been recorded from Cape Colony.
Stark writes: ‘These very beautiful little Waxbills differ
somewhat in their habits from the common Hstrilda astrild.
They prefer the borders of streams and marshes, where there
is a thick growth of bushes and reeds, to the more grass lands,
and they are much shyer and more easily alarmed. In Natal,
where they are not uncommon from May to December, I have
generally met with them in flocks of no great size, feeding on
the ground on grass-seeds, but taking refuge in bushes if dis-
turbed. When feeding they keep up a continuous chirping.”
He further writes: ‘‘ The eggs of this species are pure white
and measure on the average 0°52 x 0°40.”
ESTRILDA CLARKEI 211
Capt. Savile Reid writes: “Lieut. Giffard and I met
with a small flock near Newcastle in September, very shy
indeed, and obtained several specimens, both male and female.
I was somewhat surprised at meeting with a large flock also,
frequenting a reed-grown stream at Richmond Road, near
Pietermaritzburg in December. They stuck pertinaciously to
the thick covert, perching, however, on the reeds.” These
were all he met with in Natal. I have named the species after
my friend, Major 8. R. Clarke, who found it to be abundant
in small flocks along the Ingogo River, and his brother took
three clutches of eggs, all out of deserted nests of Pyromelana
orta, in reed-beds near Bronker’s Spruit. Mr. Cavendish pro-
cured the species near Beira on the Mozambique Coast, and
Mr. Boyd Alexander, during his journey up the Zambesi, at
Senna, where it was in company with ZH. astrild, ‘ frequenting
the small waste islands in the river that are overgrown with
tall grass, from which it is difficult to drive them away. The
chattering notes are by no means unpleasant, and are far more
musical than those of H. astrild. In immature males the upper
and under tail-coverts are the first to assume the adult colour-
ation, followed by the feathers of the sides of the chest and
flanks becoming barred. In young birds the bill is_ black,
while the iris is variable from a straw colour to a brown.”
These Waxbills are apparently generally distributed over
Nyasaland, where General Manning found them known to the
natives as the ‘‘ Kajojola.”’ Bohm procured specimens at
Karema, to the east of Lake Tanganyika, and at Qua Mpara
on its western shores, frequenting the grass country and
maize-fields, so that its occurrence at Icolo in Western Angola
is not very surprising.
To this species should belong the specimens obtained in the
Victoria Nyanza district, by Fischer at Kagehi, and by Emin
at Bukoba; for Mr. Jackson procured an example at Witu,
212 ESTRILDA MELPODA
and the most northern range I can suggest for the species
is Mount Kenia, where Lord Delamere shot an adult male
at Msara on the north side of that mountain in February,
1900, which agrees well with the type from Natal; but this
may possibly be a specimen of S. subflava which has not
assumed its full plumage, and if so, it is the only specimen in
the British Museum, from north of the Equator, I could
mistake for H. clarket.
Estrilda melpoda.
Fringilla melpoda, Vieill. N. Dict. xii. p. 177 (1817).
Estrilda melpoda, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 405 (1896); Reichen. J. f. O.
1902, p. 37 Togo ; id. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 186 (1904.)
Sporeginthus melpoda, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 325 (1890); Butler,
Foreign Finches in Captivity, p. 104, pl. 21, figs, 1, 2 (1894).
“ Fringilla lippa, Licht.” Bp. Consp. i. p. 460 (1850).
Adults. Forehead and crown ashy grey; back of neck, mantle, wing-
coverts and outer edges of the quills pale chocolate brown ; rump and upper
tail-coverts crimson ; tail blackish brown, with whitish outer and terminal
edges to the outer three pairs of feathers ; under surface of the wing brown,
with the inner edges of the quills and the coverts tawny buff; sides of head
orange, shaded with crimson on the sides of the forehead and in front of the
eyes; cheeks, throat, breast, thighs and under tail-coverts ‘whitish ash, paler
on the abdomen, which is partly washed with ochreous buff. “Iris light
brown ; bill scarlet ; tarsi and feet deep horny ” (Forbes). Total length 3:7
and 4:0 inches, culmen 0°35, wing 1°8 and 1:7, tail 1-6, tarsus 0°55. ¢, 2,
11.11. 00. Kumassi (Alexander).
Immature. Differs in the orange on the sides of the head being paler
and less bright, and in the crimson being duller and more restricted to the
upper tail-coverts ; chest, abdomen and under tail-coverts tawny buff,
contrasting with the ashy white throat. ¢?, 30. 11. 00. Kintampo
(Alexander).
The Orange-cheeked Waxbill ranges from Senegambia into
Angola.
In the British Museum there is a specimen labelled
“Senegal (Laglaise)”; Marche and De Compiégne collected
ESTRILDA MELPODA 218
others at Daranka and the Gambia. In the latter district Dr.
P. Rendall found its nest, hidden in long grass, lightly con-
structed of that material, and containing seven white eggs ;
these measure 0°52 x 0°4. At Bo, close to Sierra Leone, Mr.
Kemp has collected specimens in February, July and August.
Dr. Buttikofer met with it in Liberia at Oldfield and Schief-
felinsville. During my visit to the Gold Coast with T. E.
Buckley we frequently saw it in small parties, feeding on the
paths, near Cape Coast and Abrobonko; Drs. Reichenow
and Liihder found it abundant on the plains of Accra, but
neither they nor myself ever met with it in the hills. Mr.
Boyd Alexander procured specimens at Kumassi, Kintampo
and Kwabia, and writes: ‘‘The species is plentiful around
Kumassi, consorting together in large flocks. We found a
number of nests attached to the high elephant-grass, which we
cleared away the day after the fort had been relieved.” Inland,
at Gambaga, Capt. Giffard procured a pair. In Togoland, at
the Misahéhe station, Mr. Baumann found it known to the
natives as the ** Airedje.”
W. A. Forbes met with it constantly during his expedition
up the Niger, at Egga, Lukoja and Shonga,. and it is equally
abundant in Camaroons, towards the coast, where specimens
have been obtained by Drs. Reichenow and Liihder at the
Camaroons River, by Dr. Oberholser and by Mr. Bates in the
Efulen province. Du Chaillu collected specimens at Cape
Lopez and along the Camma River, and Marche at Doumé
in the Ogowé district; Lucan and Petit found it at Landana,
Bohndorff at Manyango, and the type of the species came from
Angola, where it has also been met with by Major Mechow.
Dr. Butler, in his interesting work, “ Foreign Finches in
Captivity,” writes: ‘It is one of the most frequently imported
species, 1s very cheap and, unfortunately, like most of the
African Astrilds, is nervous and delicate. For those who
214 ESTRILDA PALUDICOLA
cannot command a high temperature and who yet wish their
African Waxbills to live indoors for more than eight or nine
months, there is only one plan to be adopted. In one upper
corner of a spacious breeding-cage, open only in front, hang
up a box half filled with hay and turn your African Wax-
bills into this; on warm nights you will see these little
Finches crowded together on the top of the box, but in cold
weather they will crouch down inside upon the hay, and so
keep comfortably warm; you will find that, by adopting this
plan, you can keep all the more delicate Waxbills in health
throughout the winter, and at a moderate temperature.”
‘Dr. Russ thus speaks of this Waxbill: ‘ Always smooth and
clean in plumage, sprightly and active, exceedingly docile and
peaceable, singularly shy and nervous; so that whenever
anything unusual appears its shrill cry of warning is uttered ;
although saucy, and in particular very inquisitive.” . . .
*** Laying three to seven round white eggs. Both sexes
always sit simultaneously, keep always close together most
affectionately, never separate, whisk together out of the nest
at every scare, on which account the brood comes to grief
29)
nearly every time.
Estrilda paludicola.
Estrelda paludicola, Heugl. J. f. O. 1863, p. 166; 1868, p. 9, pl. 1, fig. 2
Gazelle R.; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 397 (1890); Shelley, B.
Afr. I, No. 406 (1896) ; Reichen. Vog. Afr, iii. p. 184 (1904).
Habropyga palustris, Heugl. in Peterm. Geogr. Mitth. 1869, p. 418.
Adults. Upper half of head deep grey ; back and sides of neck and the
mantle brown, with a slight rufous shade and very indistinct narrow dark
bars; rump, upper tail-coverts and edges of basal portion of tail-feathers
crimson ; remainder of tail brownish black ; wing, with the coverts and outer
edges of the quills like the back, remainder of quill darker brown, with the
inner edges whitish; under coverts buff; sides of head grey, fading into
ESTRILDA ROSEICRISSA 215
buff on the chin, throat, breast and under tail-coverts; flanks slightly more
ashy, with faint traces of narrow dark bars. ‘Iris and bill coral red; feet
blackish”’ (Heuglin). Total length 4-2 inches, culmen 0:35, wing 1:8, tail 21,
tarsus 0°55. 3, 31. 1. 83, Lado; ¢, 3. 7. 87, Tingasi (Emin).
Heuglin’s Pale Waxbill ranges from the Gazelle River into
Angola.
Heuglin, who discovered the species, found it along the
Gazelle River, on Req Island, in Bongo and Dembo, in
February, March and April, in small flocks frequenting the
high grass and reeds in marshy places. It is an active, noisy
little bird, and its call-note is a low chirp. Specimens have
been collected in Unyoro and Uganda by Dr. Ansorge and
Dr. Stuhlmann; Mr. Jackson has procured three specimens
from the expedition to the Ruwenzori Mountains.
Emin, who met with the species at Lado, and as far west as
Tangasi in the Mombuttu country, informs us that it frequents
the herbage along the banks of streams in parties of five or
six, and has a pleasing soft song resembling that of 1. astrild.
Cabanis refers a specimen in the Berlin Museum, obtained
by Major Mechow at Malange, in Angola, November, 1879, to
this species, and Mr. Pemberton obtained an example in that
country at Balundu, August, 1901.
Estrilda roseicrissa.
Estrilda roseicrissa, Reichen. J. f. O. 1892, pp. 47, 218 Bukoba; Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 407 (1896); Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 184 (1904).
Estrilda marwitzi, Reichen. Orn. Monatsb. 1900, p. 40 Uhele.
Estrilda roseicrissa marwitzi, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 184 (1904).
Adult male. Upper half of the head, back and sides of the neck and the
‘mantle brown, with a slight rufous shade and very indistinct narrow dark
bars; rump, upper tail-coverts and edges of basal portion of tail-feathers
crimson, remainder of tail brownish black; wing, with the coverts and edges
of the quills like the back, remainder of quills dark brown, with whitish inner
edges; under wing-coverts butf; sides of head grey, fading into butf on the
216 ESTRILDA POLIOPARETA
chin and throat; breast and under tail-coverts also buff, the flanks more
ashy, with faint traces of dark bars; lower flanks and lower abdomen bright
pink, forming a broad band. ‘Tris light brown; bill red; feet grey.” Total
length 3-8 inches, culmen 0:35, wing 1°8, tail 1:9, tarsus 0°55. g, 9.8. OL.
Ngonga (Pemberton).
Emin’s Rosy-flanked Waxbill, including H. marwitzi, in-
habits Central Africa between 1° S. lat. and 15° S. lat.
The type, a hen, was discovered by Emin at Bukoba on the
western shore of Victoria Nyanza, and is known to me by the
description, from which I cannot find a character for separating
HH. marwitzi from it. I have taken my description from a male
procured by Mr. Pemberton at Ugonga, in about 14° 30’S. lat.
by 21° H.long., which is the most southern and western locality
known to me for the species. This specimen, which is in the
Tring Museum, was, I understand, named by Dr. Reichenow
FE. roseicrissa, and as it appears to me to agree well with the
description of H. marwitzi, I think it probable that they are
the two sexes of one species. The type of H. marwita was
obtained by Mr. Marwitz at Malangali in the Uhehe country,
and a second specimen by Dr. Filleborn at Kalinga in the
same country.
Estrilda poliopareia.
Estrilda poliopareia, Reichen. Orn. Monatsb. 1902, p. 185 Congo. ; id.
Vog. Afr. iii. p. 185 (1904).
Type. ‘ Very similar to EH. paludicola, but differing in the red of the
upper tail-coverts being paler, more scarlet red ; back and wing-coverts paler
and more ashy ; under parts ochre shaded golden brown, paler on the throat
and crop and darker golden brown on the sides of the body, abdomen and
under tail-coverts; under tail-coverts washed with red; under wing-coverts
pale ochre yellow washed with red. Wing 1:92 inches, tail 1:8.
“From H. ochrogaster it differs in the grey not ochre yellow sides of the
head, the paler red of the upper tail-coverts, and the golden brown under
tail-coverts ”’ (Reichenow).
ESTRILDA OCHROGASTER 217
Reichenow’s Pale Waxbill inhabits the Congo district.
This bird is known only by the type, in the Berlin Museum,
labelled as coming from the Congo, but the collector’s name
is not indicated.
Estrilda ochrogaster.
Estrilda ochrogaster, Salvad. Boll. Mus. Torino, xii. No. 287, p. 4
(1897) Tigré; Reichen. Vig. Afr. iii. p. 185 (1904).
Sporeginthus ochrogaster, Grant, Ibis, 1904, p. 258 L. Tsana.
Sporeginthus margaritee, Weld-Blundell and Lovat, Bull. B. O. C. x. p.
20 (1899) Gelongol ; Grant, Ibis, 1900, p. 130, pl. 3, fig. 1.
Adults. Upper parts brown, with a slight rufous shade and very indis-
tinct narrow dark bars; rump, upper tail-coverts and edges of basal portion
of tail-feathers crimson; remainder of tail brownish black, with a whitish
outer margin; under wing-coverts buff; inner edges of quills whitish;
eyebrow and sides of head pale yellowish brown; chin, throat and breast
sandy buff, shaded with ashy brown on the flanks; a shade of rosy pink on
the sides of the abdomen. ‘Iris brown; bill red; legs blackish.” Total
length 4:5 inches, culmen 0:35, wing 1:9, tail 2:0, tarsus 0°55. 3, 13. 3. 99.
Gelongol (Lovat).
Salvadori’s Buff-breasted Waxbill inhabits Abyssinia.
The most southern range yet known for this species is
Gelongol, in about 8° 30’ §. lat., 37° E. long. Here Lord
Lovat met with a flock of about one hundred, all apparently in
very similar plumage; they were feeding on the ground and he
killed five as they rose, including the type of Sporeginthus
margarite ; and Mr. Dagon has obtained the species at Zegi on
Lake Tsana. It is, however, apparently a rare bird, having
previously been known to science only by the type, which was
discovered by Dr. Muzioli in the Tigré province of Northern
Abyssinia.
The characters of the species are well shown in the figure
in the ‘‘Ibis” for 1900, but the under tail-coverts are rather too
218 ESTRILDA CRULESCENS
pale, and, as Count Salvadori has already remarked, the fore-
chest is a little too bright.
Estrilda cerulescens.
Fringilla cxrulescens, Vieill. N. Dict. xii. p. 176 (1817).
Estrilda czrulescens, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 413 (1896); Reichen, Vog.
Afr, iii. p. 193 (1904).
Lagonosticta cerulescens, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 284 (1890) Sene-
gambia ; Butler, Foreign Finches in Captivity, p. 118, pl. 23 (1894) ;
Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 125 (1899) egq.
Habropyga fimbriata, Reichenb. Singy. pp. 12, 49, pl. 2, figs. 14, 15;
pl. 18, figs. 165, 166 (1863).
Adult. General plumage lavender grey, with the lower back and upper
tail-coverts bright crimson, and the upper surface of the tail strongly washed
with that colour; the grey becomes whiter on the forehead, sides of head,
chin and upper throat, and is strongly shaded with black down the centre of
the breast and on the abdomen; a small black streak through the eye.
“Tris brown; bill black, with a tinge of red on sides of upper mandible
and base of lower one; feet dusky grey.’ Total length 3:5 inches, culmen
0-4, wing 2:0, tail 1-6, tarsus 0°55. g , Senegambia (Verreaux).
The Senegal Lavender Waxbill inhabits Senegambia and
ranges eastward to Gambaga.
The information from field naturalists sqaantane the mem-
bers of this little group of Lavender Waxbills is slight, but
what is known regarding H. incan no doubt would apply
equally well to all the species, excepting, of course, the
country and breeding season; the latter depending upon the
climate. All Finches and most other small birds time their
breeding season so that their young may benefit by the
greatest supply of insect food. The present species lays white
eggs, which measure 0°62 X 0°46, and probably four to six in
a clutch.
Laglaise procured the species near St. Louis, at the mouth
of the Senegal River; Marche and De Compiégne obtained
DE EE
ESTRILDA PERREINI -- 219
specimens at Bathurst; Dr. Rendall had many of these birds
in cages during his residence there; Payés procured it at
Casamanse, and Beaudouin at Bissao. I find no reliable
evidence of its having been found anywhere further along
the coast, for its occurrence in Gaboon, on the authority of
Gujon’s collection having contained a specimen, need not be
considered. It has, however, been met with in the hinter-
land of the Gold Coast, at Gambaga, by Capt. Giffard.
With regard to their habits, I may extract the following
notes from the observations made by Dr. Russ on these birds
in confinement: “ Incessantly restless and brisk, graceful and
ornamental, throughout the whole day in perpetual motion.
Their soft, sibilant call-note and louder flute-like cries sound
pleasing and melodious.” He also remarks that they are liable
to die from the least chill, and adds: “ Duration of the entire
brood up to the flight of the young, barely four weeks.”
Estrilda perreini.
Fringilla perreini, Vieill. N. Dict. Hist. Nat. xii. p. 179 (1817) Congo.
Estrilda perreini, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 415 (1896); Reichen. Vog. Afr.
iii, p. 193 (1904).
Lagonosticta perreini, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 285 (1890) Landana.
Estrelda melanogastra, Swains. B. W. Afr. i. p. 194 (1837).
Subspecies a.
Estrilda thomensis, Sousa, Jorn. Lisb. 1888, p. 155 St. Thomas Isl. ;
Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 416 (1896); Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 193
(1904).
Lagonosticta thomensis, Bocage, Jorn. Lisb. 1904, p. 81 Si. Thomas Isl.
Subspecies b.
Habropyga poliogastra, Reichen. J. f. O. 1886, p. 121 Inhambani.
Estrilda poliogastra, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 418 (1896); id. Ibis, 1891,
pp. 165, 169 Karunguist.
nN
nw
i)
ESTRILDA PERREINI
Subspecies c.
Kstrilda incana, Sundey. (ify. Vet. Akad. Forh. Stockh. 1830, p. 98,
Natal; Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 417 (1896); Woodward, Ibis, 1897,
p. 411 Zulu; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 192 (1904 pt.).
Lagonosticta incana, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 284 (1890).
Habropyga natalensis, Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 170 (1851).
Adults. Crown, mantle, scapulars, wing-coverts and edges of the quills
lavender grey, remainder of quills dusky brown; lower back and upper tail-
coverts crimson, tail entirely dusky black; sides of head and the under parts
paler grey than the mantle; band in front of the eyes, eyelids and chin jet
black; abdomen gradually shading into the dusky black of the thighs and
under tail-coverts ; occasionally there is some crimson on the flanks. Bill
glossy greyish black, generally with a paler mark on the upper mandible ;
tarsi and feet black. Total length 4:15 inches, culmen 0°35, wing 1°9, tail
1:8, tarsus 0°65. g and ¢, Landana (Lucan and Petit).
E. thomensis. ‘Similar to the above, but differs in its more vinous
shade and in having the flanks carmine red like the rump ”’ (Sousa).
E. poliogastra. Differs from ZL. perreini in having the red of the lower
back and upper tail-coverts a shade darker and duller; abdomen and under
tail-coverts slightly paler, the dusky black being confined to the vent and
under tail-coverts. Wing 2:0, tail 2:0. Karunguisi (A. Sharpe).
E. incana. Differs from EH. perreii in having the abdomen and under
tail-coverts paler grey, with a dusky shade confined to the vent and under
tail-coverts. ‘Iris red; bill grey; feet black.” Wing 19, tail1‘9. g and
9 , Durban (T. L. Ayres).
The Black-tailed Lavender Waxbills range from St. Thomas
Island to Loango and the Congo, through Nyasaland to
Inhambane, and occur in Natal and Zululand.
These Waxbills I divide into four subspecies. The St.
Thomas Lavender Waxbill is represented by the type which
is in the Coimbra Museum, nominally from the Island of
St. Thomas, and supposed to have been obtained there in
1885 by Moller; but no mention is made of it in the list
of his collection published in “ L. V. Instituto,” No. 11 (1887) ;
and Mr. Almada Negreiros obtained a second specimen at
Guadalupe. It is known to me by the description only, and
I cannot help doubting its being a good species, as no other
|
ESTRILDA PERREINI 221
example of it has ever been recorded, and it is not impossible
for a specimen to have strayed from the mainland to that
island.
Perrein’s Lavender Waxbill is apparently a rare local form.
In Loango, specimens have been collected by Falkenstein at
Chinchonxo, and at Landana Lucan and Petit obtained
several examples, of which three are in the British Museum
and are very constant in their colouring, with the exception
of the flanks in one of the specimens being mottled with
crimson. The type was procured by Perrein at the Congo.
The Mozambique Lavender Waxbill ranges from Inham-
bane to Lake Tanganyika. The type was obtained by Peters
at Inhambane on the Mozambique coast, just south of the
Tropic of Capricorn. It was next procured by General Man-
ning 15 degrees due north, in the Mambwe country, between
the Lakes Nyasa and Tanganyika, and the only other speci-
men known to me was found by Sir Alfred Sharpe at the
Kalongwesi River, which runs into Lake Moero.
The first specimen from British Central Africa was not in
sufficiently good condition for me to distinguish it from Natal
birds. This form differs from H. perveini and EH. incana in the
red of the lower back and upper tail-coverts being slightly
duller and darker, and is intermediate between the two in
the greyish black colouring of the abdomen and under tail-
coverts. Dr. Reichenow, in his great work “Die Vogel
Afrikas,” includes this form in 7. incana and gives specific
rank to both H. thomensis and H. perreint.
As with, for instance, H. astrild, it is by no means an easy
matter to treat the closely allied forms in a popular manner,
they not being all equally constant, nor all equally restricted
to distinct districts, yet they should not be ignored. The use
of a third name for their recognition is simple. The orni-
thologist, having named his collection, may by comparing one
222 ESTRILDA PERREINI
of his specimens with a type or description, find it belongs
to a race already distinguished, he has then only to add on the
label a third name of the special form to which it belongs,
and can afterwards judge for himself as to the real value
of that name.
These four forms appear to me to be scarcely recognisable.
The Natal Lavender Waxbill inhabits Natal and Zululand.
The type was discovered by Wahlberg in Natal. The sub-
species is not yet known from beyond the limits of Natal and
Zululand, but is represented in Mozambique and Nyasaland
by an extremely nearly allied form, H. poliogastra (Reichen.).
Stark writes: ‘‘I have on several occasions found the nest
of this species near Pinetown in Natal, built both in bushes
and low trees. It is domed, loosely constructed of dry grass,
and lined with feathers. The eggs, from four to six in a
clutch, are laid in December and March, for these birds are
double brooded. ‘They are pure white, and average 0°54 X
0-42. The Grey Waxbill is nearly always in pairs, is very
tame, and feeds on the ground on grass-seeds and small
insects. Its note is a soft chirrup.”
I found a nest with fresh eggs on March 8, close to
Durban. It was placed in a creeper overhanging the foot-
path, and was easily reached from the ground. The Messrs.
Woodward preserved a specimen at Eschowe in Zululand, and
write: ‘‘We found the nest and eggs of Wstrelda incana, it
was built in a small tree in the open land, and was very
loosely made of grass, lined with fowl’s feathers. It contained
six very small white eggs.”
ESTRILDA NIGRICOLLIS 223
Estrilda nigricollis.
Lagonosticta nigricollis, Heugl. J. f. O. 1863, p. 273 Djwr; Sharpe, Cat.
B. M. xiii. p. 286 (1890); Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 435 (1896) ;
Reichen. J. f. O. 1902, p. 37 Togo; Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 191
(1904).
Adults. General plumage leaden grey, rather darker above than beneath ;
rump, upper tail-coverts and outer webs of the tail-feathers crimson;
remainder of the tail black; wings dark brown, strongly washed with grey
above, and beneath dusky brown, with pale inner edges to the quills, and
fading into white on the inner half of the coverts; a narrow margin to the
front of the forehead, sides of head, chin and upper half of the throat jet
black ; remainder of the throat, breast and thighs rather paler grey than the
mantle, and with an obsolete rosy tinge; under tail-coverts dusky black ;
sides of breast with some small white spots, generally in pairs on the
feathers to which they belong. ‘ Ivis brown; eyelids and bill pale greyish
blue, the latter darker on the culmen and apex; legs dark grey.” Total
length 4:4 inches, culmen 0°45, wing 1:9, tail 1°8, tarsus 0°5. g, 28. 8. 82.
Lokoja (Forbes).
Inmature. Above pale brown, with a slight ashy shade on the crown
and mantle, the latter with obsolete bars; upper tail-coverts and tail, with
crimson of a duller shade than in the adults; no black on the head or
neck ; sides of head ashy brown scarcely paler than the crown; breast and *
under tail-coverts buffy brown; a few white spots on the sides of the chest.
9, 24, 2.01. Binduri (Alexander).
The Grey Black-faced Waxbill ranges from the Gold Coast
into the White Nile district.
In its most western known range Capt. Giffard procured
two males in January and August, 1898, at Gambaga, and
Mr. Boyd Alexander writes: ‘‘ Rare, found at Gambaga and
Binduri.” It has also been obtained by Mr. Zech at Kratchi
on the Volta River. Its occurrence in West Africa was first
made known in 1883, by W. A. Forbes procuring the species
at Lokoja in the hills, amongst small bushy trees.
The type was discovered by Heuglin, at Djur in the
Gazelle River district, where he found the species in pairs and
family parties of four or five, frequenting the thick, high grass
224 ESTRILDA VINACEA
in the open country of Wau, Djur and Bongo, apparently
resident, but rarely met with in summer. In their habits they
were shy, and on the least alarm quickly disappeared in the
standing corn. In May the song of the male was loud and
clear.
Estrilda vinacea. (PI. 32. fig. 2.)
Estrelda vinacea, Hartl. Orn. W. Afr. p. 143 (1857) Casamanse ; Reichen,
Vog. Afr. iii. p. 191 (1904).
Lagonosticta vinacea, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 286 (1890); Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 433 (1860).
Adults. Forehead and crown leaden grey, with a few feathers next to the
nostrils black, like the entire sides of the head, chin, and upper half of the
throat; remainder of the plumage mostly vinous pink, darker and inclining
to crimson on the upper tail-coverts and outer edges of the tail-feathers ;
remainder of tail dusky black; primary coverts, primaries, and inner webs
of the secondaries dark brown; lining of wing more dusky, and whitish on
the inner edges of the quills and the coverts; lower neck and breast vinous
pink, tinted with the grey of the basal portion of the feathers, and shading
into dusky black on the centre of the abdomen, the thighs and under tail-
coverts; sides of breast, with minute white spots. Iris brown; bill and feet
grey. Total length 3:9 inches, culmen 0:4, wing 1°85, tail 1:6, tarsus 0°7.
g, 17.11.00. Cage-bird (Hopkinson).
Immature. Forehead and crown ashy brown; back, wings and tail as
in the adult ; sides of head ashy brown, shading into isabelline on the chin
and upper half of the throat; remainder of the under parts tinted with
isabelline, and the centre of the abdomen, thighs and under tail-coverts more
rosy. ¢ and ?, Senegal.
The Vinous Black-faced Waxbill inhabits Senegambia.
The species has been recorded only from Bissao (Leunier)
and from Casamanse (Verreaux), and it is represented in
the British Museum by three males and a female, all of which
were cage-birds. I have figured the species in the hope that it
may draw the attention of field naturalists to this very pretty
and interesting species, of which we know so little. The small
white spots on the sides of the breast is a very unusual
ESTRILDA LARVATA 225
character to find in members of the genus Hstrilda, but is
also present in LY. nigricollis.
Estrilda larvata.
Amadina larvata, Riipp. N. Wirb. Vég. p. 97, pl. 36, fig. 1 (1835)
Semien.
Lagonosticta larvata, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 286 (1890); Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 434 (1896); Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii, p. 191 (1904).
Adult. Upper parts slaty grey, washed with vinous red on the hind
neck ; lower back, upper tail-coverts and edges to the tail-feathers crimson ;
remainder of tail black; wings browner than the back, with the under-
coverts and inner edges of the quills ashy white; entire sides of head, the
chin and throat jet black ; front and sides of the chest vinous red, the latter
part with small white spots; centre of breast, abdomen and under tail-
coverts black. ‘Iris brown ; bill and legs dark slate colour.” Total length
4:5 inches, culmen 0°45, wing 2:1, tail 1:7, tarsus 06. g, 13. 3. 99.
Golongol (Lovat).
Riippell’s Black-throated Waxbill inhabits North-east
Africa.
In its most western range, the species has been procured
by Antinori in the Djur country of the Upper White Nile,
and in Kordofan. Heuglin met with it in Western Abyssinia
in April and June, frequenting beds of bamboos, at elevations
of 3,000 to 5,000 feet; it was shy, active, and silent.
The type was discovered by Riippell in Semien, which is
the most northern range known for the species.
Through the kindness of Col. E. A. Butler I have seen a
good specimen of this rare Weaver from Galabat, where it
was procured by his son on March 13,1899. In Southern
Abyssinia, a year later, Lord Lovat shot a specimen at
Golongol in about 9° N. lat. by 36° HE. long. The egg has
been described by Mr. Kuschel as white and measuring
0°56 X 0-43.
(December, 1904, 15
bo
no
a
ESTRILDA KANDTI
Estrilda kandti.
Estrilda kandti, Reichen. Orn. Monatsb. 1902, p. 184 Kivw Lake ; id.
Vog. Afr. iii. p. 188 (1904).
Type. Upper half of head, wings and tail black; neck, back and
scapulars sepia brown; upper tail-coverts red; under wing-coverts whitish ;
cheeks white ; entire under parts pale sepia brown, with the abdomen paler
and more isabelline; bill black; feet blackish brown. Total length 2°8
inches, culmen 0:3, wing 1:6, tail 0:95, tarsus0°55. ¢ (?) Lake Kivu (Kandt).
Female (?). Head, upper part of body and the wings sepia brown ; upper
tail-coverts red ; entire under parts greyish brown. Bill dusky horn brown.
Lake Kivu (Kandt).
Kandt’s Black-crowned Waxbill inhabits Central Africa
between the Albert Edward Nyanza and Lake Tanganyika.
The species was discovered by Dr. Kandt at Lake Kivu to
the north of Lake Tanganyika. The only two specimens
known were not sexed, and probably represent the adult and
immature plumages.
Estrilda nonnula.
Astrilda nonnula, Hartl. J. f. O. 1883, p. 485 Kudurma ; id. Zool. Jahrb.
1887, p. 321, pl. 13.
Estrilda nonnula, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 400 (1890); Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 409 (1896); Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 188 (1904).
Hypargus tenerrima, Reichen. J. f. O. 1887, pp. 213, 307 Stanley Falls.
Adult male. Upper part of head black; hinder neck, mantle and inner
half of the wing-coverts with alternate bars of black and grey ; lower back
and upper tail-coverts glossy crimson-shaded scarlet; tail entirely black ;
remainder of wings brownish black, with grey bars on the secondaries, and
the under surface, with the axillaries and inner half of the coverts white,
and inner edges of quills more ashy white; cheeks, ear-coverts and under
parts white, shading into grey on the sides of the lower throat, and slightly
tinted with grey on the sides of the body, vent and under tail-coverts ; flanks
mostly rosy crimson ; outside of thighs blackish. ‘Iris brown; bill black,
with a patch on each side of the culmen and the base of the lower mandible
ESTRILDA NONNULA 227
red; feet black.’’ Total length 4:4 inches, culmen 0:35, wing 1:9, tail 1:9,
tarsus 0°6. 3, 27.10.85. Foda (Emin).
Adult female. Differs only in having a slightly greyer shade on the under
parts. Wing19. 9, Yambuya (Jameson).
Immature. Differs in the bill being entively black; back of neck and
the mantle slaty brown, with scarcely any trace of bars; flanks tinted
with brown, and with no red. ‘Iris brown ; bill dusky black; feet black.”
?, 27. 10. 85. Foda (Emin),
Hartlaub’s Black-crowned Waxbill ranges over Kquatorial
Africa from Camaroons into the Upper Congo, and eastward
to Nandi on the Kquator in about 35° 30’ EH. long.
In Camaroons both this species and its near ally, 4. atricu-
pula, occur, the latter towards the coast, and is probably
entirely replaced inland by this more highland form, which
has been met with by Dr. Preuss at Buea and by Mr. Zenker
at Jaunde. Mr. Sjéstedt found it at Bibundi only, but here
it was abundant and in large flocks, frequenting the grass-
lands and perching on the scattered small trees and bushes,
or seeking seeds on the ground.
In the Upper Congo district Jameson procured three
specimens at Yambuya, and Bohndorff the type of Habropyga
tenerrima, Reichen., at Stanley Falls. Between this and the
Victoria Nyanza it has been met with by Mr. Scott Elliot
at the Albert Edward Nyanza, and by Emin at Bokober and
as far south as Karagwe. ‘The most eastern range yet known
for the species is Nandi, where Mr. Jackson collected five
examples in the forest, at an elevation of 6,000 to 6,500 feet.
Emin found the species in the Unyoro, Uganda, and
Mombuttu countries, and discovered the type at Kudurma.
According to his notes (J. f. O. 1889, pp. 46-49), the species
selects wooded localities interspersed with glades in preference
to the grassy plains or the rank vegetation of the river-banks,
and is mostly seen in family parties of six or seven, flitting
from bush to bush, or creeping through the foliage, descending
228 ESTRILDA ELIZ
at times to the ground to feed on seeds, ants and other small
insects. They were tame and abundant throughout the year
from Uganda to the Mombuttu country, at an elevation of from
3,000 to 4,000 feet. The breeding season is usually about
April, but in October, 1877, a whole colony began nesting in
the trees close to his house. The nest, of an oval form, with
a small round hole at the side, is strongly constructed of fresh
grass, and concealed among the leafy boughs, with the inside
deep and lined with vegetable down and feathers. The eggs
were pure white and varied from four to six in number.
Besides these breeding nests they construct others, apparently
for the males to roost in, and he observed the same habit in
Philetairus arnaudi. They took eleven days to hatch their
eggs,and the young remained eight or nine days in the nest.
In the centre of the colony he found a pair of Spermestes
cucullatus nesting. Dr. Stuhlmann has procured specimens in
Uganda, and Dr. Ansorge a fine series from Unyoro and Kam-
pala, proving that J. nonnula, Hartl., was described from an
immature bird and Hubropyga tenerrima, Reichen., from the
adult.
Estrilda elize.
Estrilda elizee, Alexander, Ibis, 1903, p. 354 Fernando Po.
Type. Very similar to H. nonnula, differing only in having the entire
under parts tinted with grey and the under tail-coverts pale leaden grey.
Total length 3:8 inches, culmen 0:4, wing 1°9, tail 1:7, tarsus 0°65. ¢,
14. 12. 02. Moka (Alexander).
Immature. Head, neck and mantle uniform greyish brown ; entire breast
and under tail-coverts washed with pale brown. Bill black, tarsi and feet
blackish.
The Fernando Po Black-crowned Waxbill is confined to the
island of Fernando Po.
I look upon this species as a local, island, representative
ESTRILDA ATRICAPILLA 229
of the very closely allied, continental, H. nonnula. The fine
series collected by Mr. Boyd Alexander show that the difference
between it and H. nonnula, although extremely slight, are con-
stant. The species was discovered on the southern side of the
island, in the Moka Valley, frequenting the long grass, and
was named in honour of Lady Eliza Alexander.
Estrilda atricapilla.
Kstrelda atricapilla, J. and HE. Verr. Rev. et Mag. Zool. 1851, p. 421
Gaboon ; Sharpe, Cat. B, M. xiii. p. 399 (1890); Shelley, B. Afr. I.
No. 408 (1896); Reichen. Vg. Afr, iii. p. 188 (1904).
Adult. Upper part of the head black; back of neck, mantle and inner
half of the wing-coverts with alternate narrow bars of grey and black; lower
back and upper tail-coverts glossy crimson-shaded scarlet; tail entirely
black ; remainder of the wing brownish black, the inner secondaries with
grey bars, under surface, with the axillaries and inner half of the coverts
white, and the inner edges of the quills more ashy white; cheeks, ear-
coverts, chin and upper throat greyish white, shading into leaden grey on the
sides of the neck, lower throat and chest; abdomen, thighs and under tail-
coverts dusky black; flanks glossy crimson-shaded scarlet. Iris brown;
bill black, with the base of the lower mandible scarlet; tarsi and feet
blackish. Total length 4 inches, culmen 0°35, wing 1°75, tail 1°75, tarsus
0-5. Gaboon (Ansell).
Immature. Differs in having the under parts more ashy grey, with
obsolete narrow blackish bars, shading into brownish black on the under
tail-coverts ; little or no red on the sides of the body. Wing 1:8. 9,
Gaboon (Verreaux).
Verreaux’s Black-crowned Waxbill inhabits the lowlands of
Camaroons and Gaboon.
In the British Museum there is one specimen from Cama-
roons and five from Gaboon. In Camaroons, towards the
coast, the species is recorded as abundant by Dr. Reichenow,
and is apparently replaced in the highlands by the white-
breasted 1. nonnula. Gaboon appears to be the metropolis of
the present species, from whence Verreaux procured the type,
230 ESTRILDA ERYTHRONOTA
and my late friend Du Chaillu, whose collection was not
properly valued by the English nation, obtained a fine
series at Cape Lopez as well as at the Camma and Muni
Rivers. Marche and De Compitgne found it in the Ogowé
district.
Estrilda erythronota.
Fringilla erythronotos, Vieill. N. Dict. xii. p. 182 (1817) Caffraria.
Estrilda erythronota, Gray and Mitch. Gen. B. ii. p. 368, pl. 90, fig. 1
(1849); Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 397 (1890); Shelley, B. Afr. I.
No. 410 (1896) ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iti. p. 189 (1904) pt. S. Afr.
Estrelda lipiniana, Smith, Rep. Exped. Centr. Afr. App. p. 49 (1836)
Kurrichaine.
Adults. Upper parts ashy grey, with a slight crimson shade on the
mantle; lower back and upper tail-coverts crimson; entire tail black;
hinder half of crown, back of neck, mantle and lesser wing-coverts with
narrow blackish bars; remainder of wing-coverts and the inner secondaries
of alternate wider bars of brownish-shaded black and white; outer quills
dark brown, with indistinct bars on the basal half of the outer webs ; inner
edges of quills and the under wing-coverts whitish ; eyebrow, sides of head
and upper throat jet black; remainder of throat crimson-shaded grey, with
narrow dusky bars; front and sides of breast crimson; centre of breast,
abdomen, thighs and under tail-coverts black. ‘Iris deep crimson; bill
dark slate colour; legs black’’ (Oates). Total length 4:3 inches, culmen
0:4, wing 2:1, tail 2:3, tarsus 0:55. 3g, 11. 11. 76, and 9, 14. 7. 66.
Damaraland (Andersson).
Vieillot’'s Black-faced Waxbill ranges over South Africa
generally to the north of 28° S. lat.
The species appears to be most abundant in German South-
west Africa, for according to Andersson’s and Mr. Fleck’s
notes, it occurs in large flocks in Damaraland, Great Nama-
qualand, the Lake Ngami district and the Kalahari. In
Bechuanaland Sir Andrew Smith found his #H. lipiniana
inhabiting the country to the north and east of Kurrichaine,
and this is the most southern range positively known for the
KSTRILDA DELAMEREI 231
species. Mr. Haagner records it as common at Modder-
fontein, within ten miles of Johannesberg.
With regard to the habits, Stark writes: ‘‘ Very like those
of the common JL. astrild. In the Transvaal during winter
these pretty little birds feed on the ground in small flocks,
generally near bushes, to which they fly if disturbed. Their
food consists almost entirely of grass-seeds. They have a low,
gentle, twittering note, frequently repeated when they are
searching for food and also as they take flight. Towards
spring the flocks break up and they remain in pairs until the
following autumn.”
Mr. T. Ayres met with the species along the banks of the
Limpopo, but it was by no means plentiful there. Dr.
Bradshaw found it to the north of that river, and Frank Oates
at Tati in the Matabele country; but it has not yet been
recorded from the Zambesi nor from British Central Africa.
Estrilda delamerei.
Estrilda delamerei, Sharpe, Bull. B. O. C. x. p. 102 (1900) Athi R.
Type. Similar to H. erythronota, with the same amount of black on the
throat, breast, thighs and under tail-coverts; but differs in being slightly
paler, a more distinct pale marginal band behind the ear-coverts, and the
bars on the wings more sharply defined clear black and white. In the two
latter characters it most nearly resembles H. charmosyna. ‘‘ Iris red; bill
and legs black.” Total length 4:7 inches, culmen 0:35, wing 2:1, tail 2:3,
tarsus 0°6. 8.11.99. Athi R. (Delamere).
Delamere’s Black-faced Waxbill inhabits Ugogo and the
Victoria Nyanza district.
Emin has procured specimens at Matangisi and Irindi in
Ugogo, and at Bussissi, which is situated on the southern
shore of the Victoria Nyanza; Fischer met with it at
Ngaruka, Mr. Neumann at Mori Bay in Kavirondo, and Dr,
232 ESTRILDA CHARMOSYNA
Ansorge at Usoga. Lord Delamere discovered the type at the
Athi River, and two specimens were collected for Mr. Jackson
at Ankole during the expedition to the Ruwenzori Moun-
tains, which are the only examples recorded from north of
the Equator. The known range of this species and its nearest
ally, 1. erythonota, is separated by over 700 miles.
Estrilda charmosyna.
Habropyga charmosyna, Reichen. Orn. Centralbl. 1881, p. 78; id.J.f. O.
1881, p. 333 Berbera.
Estrilda charmosyna, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 399 (1890); Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 411 (1896); Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 190 (1904)
pt. Somaliland.
Estrilda nigrimentum, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Genoy. 1888, p. 281 Shoa ;
Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 399 (1890); Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 412
(1896) ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 190 (1904).
Adult. Similar to EH. erythronota in style of plumage, but differing in
the crown, mantle, neck, throat and under parts being paler and more pink;
black of under parts restricted to a few feathers on the chin; centre of
breast, abdomen, thighs and under tail-coverts pinkish buff; a rather
strongly marked white marginal band behind the ear-coverts. “ Tris brown;
bill and legs black.’’ Total length 5 inches, culmen 0:35, wing 2:2, tail 2:5,
tarsus 0°55. 14. 11. 97, Hargeisa (Hawker).
The Somali Black-faced Waxbill inhabits Somaliland,
Southern Abyssinia and Shoa.
The type was discovered by Abden Gindi at Berbera on
the Somali coast. This specimen is not in such full plumage
as the type of H. nigrimentum, which came from Shoa, but I
see no reason to suppose them to be separable as local forms.
The species has been procured by Dr. Donaldson Smith at
Bussarler in Western Somaliland, by Mr. Hawker at Har-
geisa and Jifa Medir, by Erlanger in Arussi Gallaland, by
Mr. Harrison at Tadechamulka, by Mr. Pease at Owaramulka,
and the type of FL. nigrimentum by Dr. Ragazzi at Farré in
Shoa.
COCCOPYGIA DUFRESNEI 233
This is all the information I can find regarding the species,
but no doubt in its habits it resembles LH. erythronota as closely
as it does in its plumage.
Genus XII. COCCOPYGIA.
Very similar to Hstrilda, but distinguished by the bill being broader ;
upper mandible blackish, lower one, in adults, pale; culmen broader and
flatter. Wing rounded, longer than tail; primaries 2 shorter than 6. Tail
rounded and extending beyond the outstretched feet, graduation less than
length of culmen. Entire lower back and upper tail-coverts red, no other
red on the plumage.
Type.
Coccopygia, Reichenb. Singv. p.23(1861). . . . . . C. dufresnet.
The genus is confined to Tropical and South Africa and comprises four
species.
KEY TO THE SPECIES.
a. Abdomen and under tail-coverts pale isabelline buff.
a’, Sides of head and the upper throat black dufresnei, 3, ad.
5
b1, Sides of head grey, upper throat white . . . . dufresnei, ?. 22
b, Centre of breast and abdomen yellow.
cl, Sides of head andthe upper throat black. . . . bocagei, 3. % 7%
d‘. Sides of head grey, upper throat white . . . . bocagei, 2. * 7¢
a2. Slightly paler; breast more sulphur yellow . . quartinia, 3, ?.2>26
A
b2, Slightly darker ; breast more rufous buff . . . kzlimensis 3, °.
Coccopygia dufresnei.
Fringilla dufresni, Vieill. N. Dict. xii. p. 181 (1817).
Coccopygia dufresnii, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 305 (1890); Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 391 (1896).
Hstrilda dufresnii, Shortridge, Ibis, 1904, p. 177 Pondoland.
Neisna dufresnei, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 205 (1904).
Fringilla erythronotos, Vieill. N. Dict. xii. p. 242 (1817).
Fringilla melanotis, Temm. Pl. Col. iii. pl. 221, fig. 1 (1823).
Estrilda melanogenys, Sundey. Cify. K. Vet. Ak. Forh. Stockh. 1850,
p- 97 Natal.
Estrelda neisna, Licht. Nomencl. p. 48 (1854) nom. nud.
Sey
234 COCCOPYGIA DUFRESNEI
Adult male. Forehead, crown and back of neck leaden grey ; mantle
olive tinted yellow, slightly mottled with scarlet, and narrow, nearly
obsolete, dusky bars to the feathers; lower back and upper tail-coverts
scarlet ; wing dusky brown, the feathers of the inner half edged with the
same colour as the mantle, the edges of the other feathers narrower and
inclining to brownish buff; inner lining of the wing, with the axillaries and
coverts isabelline ; tail blackish, inclining to dusky on the outer feathers,
which have their end quarter whitish; sides of head below the eye, ear-
coverts, chin and upper throat black, surrounded towards the throat with
white, shading into grey on the sides of the neck, the crop and flanks ;
remainder of the breast and the under tail-coverts isabelline buff. ‘‘ Iris
bright red ; bill, upper mandible black, lower one bright crimson ; tarsi and
feet dusky black” (T. Ayres). Total length 3-9 inches, culmen 0:3, wing 1'8,
tail 1:5, tarsus 0-4. ¢, 10.78. Durban (Gordge).
Adult female. Differs from the last in having no black on the head, the
sides of the head being grey like the crown and fading into white on the
chin, upper and middle throat. Total length 3-7 inches, wing 1:9, tail 1:5.
9, 16.7. 74. Botha’s Hill (T. L. Ayres).
Dufresne’s Waxbill is confined to South Africa, where it
ranges from Cape Colony to the Zambesi.
Its distribution is, as Stark observes, Eastern South
Africa, occurring as far west as the George District, and at
Heidelbere and Swellendam in Western Cape Colony,
becoming more abundant to the east of Port Elizabeth and
Grahamstown. In Natal and the Transvaal it is a resident.
I cannot trace its range further north than the Zambesi, where
Serpo Pinto procured the female specimen described by Prof.
Bocage in his ‘Ornithologie d’Angola.” The species was
included in that work solely upon the authority of Brown’s
* Nouvelles illustrations de Zoologie” (1776).
Layard wrote: “ Heidelberg, Swellendam, and the Kugela
are the only places whence we have received this pretty
species in the western province. Mr. Atmore says that it is
common at George, wherever there is cultivation ; it is restless
in its habits and migratory, appearing in autumn. Mr.
Rickard records it from Uitenhage and Hast London, and it
COCCOPYGIA DUFRESNEI 235
is also found near Grahamstown.” It has not been recorded
from German South-west Africa, but as Stark writes: ‘‘ In
Natal this pretty little species is, when not breeding, usually
met with in small parties of ten or twelve, feeding on the
ground on grass-seeds. When searching for food they keep
close together, and constantly utter a sharp, chirping call-
note. If disturbed they rise simultaneously with a prolonged
‘chirrup’ and fly for a short distance, to settle again on the
ground. This Waxbill breeds in Natal not uncommonly, but
not, so far as I have observed, near the coast. Not far from
Howick, at a height of about 3,000 feet, I have met with their
nests in some numbers. Unlike many of the Waxbills, they
build in tall bushes and young trees, at a height of from six
to ten feet. The nests are rough-looking, oval structures,
with an entrance hole on one side, constructed of fine dry
grass; the flowering ends of the grass being woven together,
the stiff stalks are left projecting in all directions. The
interior is lined with grass-tops, down and feathers. The
eges are very small, pure white in colour, and four to five in
number. When first hatched the young are fed on small
caterpillars.”’
in the British Museum there are six specimens procured
by Andersson at the Knysna in the first four months of the
year, so I should not be justified in calling it an autumn
migrant in Cape Colony as Stark does; there are others from
Grahamstown, Durban, Pinetown, Botha’s Hill, Maritzburg,
Rustenburg, and Lydenburg. In the Rustenburg district of
the Transvaal Mr. Ayres shot a male with the black throat
and ear-coverts on June 12, and met with one or two small
flights in which most were in poor plumage. Dr. Rendall
obtained one in the Barberton district at the end of April.
With the exception of Serpo Pinto’s specimen from the Zambesi,
the species is not known to me from north of the Limpopo.
236 COCCOPYGIA BOCAGEI
Coccopygia bocagei. (Plate 33, fig. 1.)
Coccopygia bocagei, Shelley, Bull. B. O. C. xiii. p. 56 (1903) Huwilla,
Biballa.
Neisna bocagei, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 206 (1904).
Type, adult male. Forehead, crown and back of neck deep leaden grey ;
mantle, wing-coverts and secondaries olive, with numerous well-marked,
narrow dusky brown bars; rump and under tail-coverts crimson-shaded
scarlet; primaries dark brown with narrow olive buff outer edges; tail-
feathers black, with the outer webs of the side ones pale dusky brown,
narrowly barred with blackish brown on the end half; lores, cheeks, ear-
coverts, chin, and upper half of the throat jet black; front half of neck white,
shading into pale ashy grey on the crop and front of the chest, and then
into olive yellow down the flanks, and these coloured feathers have narrow
dusky bars; centre of chest and the abdomen lemon yellow; under tail-
coverts slightly paler. Iris red; upper mandible black, lower one red; tarsi
and feet blackish. Total length 3:2 inches, culmen 0°35, wing 1°8, tail 1-3,
tarsus 0°5. ¢, Huilla (Anchieta).
Adult female. Differs in having the sides of the head grey like the crown,
and the entire throat white. Wing 1:8. Biballa (Anchieta).
Bocage’s Waxbill inhabits Mossamedes.
The types, a male and female, were discovered by Anchieta
at Huilla and Biballa, and through the kindness of my friend,
Prof. Barbaza du Bocage, I have been enabled to describe and
figure these specimens.
Coccopygia quartinea.
Estrelda quartinia, Bp. Consp. i. p. 461 (1850) Abyssinia.
Coccopygia quartinia, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 307 (1890); Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 393 (1896).
Neisna quartinia, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 204 (1904).
Fringilla (Estrelda) flaviventris, Heugl. Syst. Uebers. p. 40 (1856 nom.
nud.) Abyssinia.
Estrelda ernesti II. Heugl. J. f. O. 1862, p. 29 Keren.
? Hstrilda savatieri, Rochbrune, Faun. Sénég. Ois, p. 252, pl. 21, fig. 1
(1884) Senegambia.
Coccopygia salvatieri (Japs. cal.) Shelley, B. Afr. I, No. 394 (1896).
1
/
{
THE BIRDS OF AFRICA. PL. XXXIIL.
| Coccopygia bocagei. S &Q.
2.Lagonosticta elnereovinacea.
COCCOPYGIA QUARTINEA 237
Adults. Similar to the female of C. dufresnei, from which it differs
in having the centre of the breast and abdomen bright sulphur yellow and
the under tail-coverts of a slightly more sandy shade. Iris red; upper
mandible black, lower one red; feet black. Total length 4 inches, culmen
0:35, wing 1:9, tail 1:6, tarsus, 0°55. g, 4. 1.99, Chelungo (Lovat), and 2,
3. 1. 03, Adis Ababa (Pease).
The Quartinea Waxbills inhabits North-east Africa.
The possibility of this species having been met with in
Senegambia rests on the very doubtful authority of M. Roche-
brune, and upon the probability of his Hstielda savatiert being
founded on a specimen of this Waxbill. Heuglin’s specimens
came from Anseba, Tigré, Semien, Gonda and Wologalla, and
finding that the sexes were alike in plumage he gave them the
name Estrelda evnesti, under the impression that the sexes of
C. quartinia (Bp.) differed in the same manner as in (. dufresnet
(Vieill.). He found the species, paired or in flocks, generally
distributed over Northern Abyssinia to nearly 17° N. lat., and
breeding there in January, the nests containing from five to six
white eggs.
In Shoa Dr. Ragazzi found them frequenting the neigh-
bourhood of dwellings. Two of his specimens were immature,
and these are described by Count Salvadori as differing from
the adults in their smaller size ; bill shorter and entirely black ;
red on rump more confined and inclining to orange; tail
shorter. He also remarks that the specimens show some
variation both in size and colouring; in the females the red of
the lower back is less extended and duller, and the yellow of
the abdomen and under tail-coverts less bright. To the east-
ward Lord Lovat found the species very abundant at Che-
lunco in January, and Mr. Pease met with it on the hill-sides
near Adis Ababa. It has also been recorded from Harar and
Arussi Galla (Erlanger).
238 COCCOPYGIA KILIMENSIS
Coccopygia kilimensis.
Coccopygia kilimensis, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 307 (1890) ; Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 392 (1896).
Neisna kilimensis, Reichen. V6g. Afr. iii. p. 205 (1904).
? Coccopygia dufresnii (non Vieill.) Shelley, Ibis, 1893, p. 26 Milanji ;
1897, p. 530 Nyika.
Type. Very similar to C. quartinea; but differs in the mantle being
darker with a browner shade, and the centre of breast, abdomen and under
tail-coverts of a darker, more rufous buff shade. Wing 1:8. Kilimanjaro,
6. 8. 88 (Hunter).
The Kilimanjaro Waxbill ranges over Equatorial and Hast
Africa from the Ruwenzori range of mountains into Nyasaland.
The type was discovered by Mr. Hunter on Kilimanjaro,
and to this species belong Lord Delamere’s specimens in the
British Museum from Nairobe, Waso on the Myro River, and
apparently a young male, with both mandibles black, from
Irrigo on the north-west of Mount Kenya, shot on March 25;
also all Mr. Jackson’s specimens collected at the Hldoma
Ravine, Sotik, Landiani and the Ruwenzori Mountains, which
is the most western range known for the species. I therefore
presume that to this form belong the specimens recorded from
Uluguru (Stuhlmann) and Bukoba (Emin).
I feel more doubtful about those from the Marungu
country (Marwitz) and from Nyasaland (Whyte), for they
appear to me here to encroach upon the probable range of
CQ. bocagei, and the females of these two species are hard to
distinguish. The specimens from Nyasaland, two in number,
were obtained by my friend Mr. Whyte on the Milanji plain
and the Nyika plateau.
HYPARGOS 239
Genus XIII. HYPARGOS.
Similar in general structure to Coccopygia, but the base of the culmen
forms a more acute angle on the forehead. Wing rounded, longest secondary
reaching to the tip of the wing; primaries 4 and 5 longest, 2 shorter than 6,
and broad throughout its length (never the least sulcated toward the end,
as is the case in Lagonosticta and Pytelia). Tail strongly rounded, feathers
of moderate width. In adults, many of the feathers of the under parts
have rounded pale subterminal twin spots, one on each web.
Type.
Hypargos, Reichenb. Singyv. p. 21 (1863) . . . . . H. margaritatus.
The genus is confined to Tropical and South Africa, and comprises
probably only four known species, for we may fairly presume that the
types of Spermophaga margaritata, Strickl., and of Amadina verreauxii, Des
Murs, were domesticated varieties of H. niveiguttatus, as the former was
known to be a cage-bird and the latter was killed with a blow-pipe in Cape
Town, and this form has not been met with since 1849. It also appears
to me evi lent that Pytelia schlegeli, Sharpe, 1870, is identical with Hstrelda
nitidula, Hartl., 1865.
H. harterti, first described as Lagonosticta nitidula, Hartl., 1886, belongs
to Hypargos and is not a Lagonostictu according to my definitions of these
genera.
KEY TO THE SPECIES.
ad. Some pairs of pale rounded spots on the breast or throat Older birds.
at. Spots confined to breast.
a*. No green on plumage.
a, Mantle brown.
a*. Spots on breast shaded with pink. . . . . margaritatus. 2+
b+. Spots on breast pure white . . . . . . . mniveiguttatus. 2.
Des Mantlomed ae warms ec eect oes a). dbkowshin nagers
b2 ie Mantlerercent wae os Ak) ns Fd MICS: ;
61. Spots numerous onthethroat . ... =... =. harterti. 2,
b. Nospotsonthe plumage ........ . . Very young birds.
c1.-Entire plumage greenish . . . . . . . . . . witidulus, juv.
fy eEniresplumagelbrowiea sys - es + = = =. Lartenty, juv.
c
240 HYPARGOS MARGARITATUS
Hypargos margaritatus.
Spermophaga margaritata, Strickl. Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. xiii. p. 418,
pl. 10 (1844).
Hypargos margaritatus, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 443 (1896); Reichen.
Vog. Afr. iii. p. 158 (1904).
Lagonosticta margaritata, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 275 (1890).
Amadina verreauxii, Des Murs, Icon. 1849, pl. 64.
Hypargos verreauxi, Reichenb. Singyv. p. 22, pl. 6, fig. 49 (1863).
Type. ‘The whole of the upper parts are rich ferruginous brown,
except the quills, which are dusky within ; the upper tail-coverts and outer
margins of the rectrices dull vinous red, and their inner webs and apical
portions black. The circuit of the eyes, cheeks, throat and breast pale
claret red, rest of lower parts deep black, spotted next the breast and on the
sides with large pearl-like spots the colour of peach-blossom, of which two
are placed transversely and subterminally on each feather. Total length
4-75 inches, culmen 0:5, wing 2:1, tail 2, tarsus 0°75” (Strickland).
Strickland’s Twin-spot inhabited Cape Town.
The information regarding this species is extremely
unsatisfactory; of the type H. H. Strickland writes: ‘ This
beautiful little bird was purchased at Cape Town, and was
said to have been brought from Madagascar.”’ The specimen
figured in Des Murs’ ‘‘ Iconographie” was shot by Verreaux
with a blow-pipe in a garden in Cape Town. As no others
have been recorded during the last half century, the specimens
known may have belonged to a race of cage-bred birds which
has become extinct.
Hypargos niveiguttatus.
Spermophaga niveiguttata, Peters, J. f. O. 1868, p. 133 Inhambane ;
Dubois, Bull. Mus. H. N. Belg. 1886, p. 148 Tanganyzka.
Hypargos niveiguttatus, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 444 (1896); Reichen.
Vog. Afr. iii. p. 157 (1904).
Lagonosticta niveiguttata, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 274 (1890).
HYPARGOS NIVEIGUTTATUS 241
Adult male. Forehead and crown dusky brown, passing into cinnamon-
shaded brown on the hind neck, back and wings; rump and upper tail-
coverts bright crimson; tail black, strongly washed with crimson on the
outer webs of the feathers; quills, with the exception of the outer edges,
dark brown above and the under side dusky, with their inner edges white ;
under wing-coverts white, with a portion on the pinion dusky ; sides of head
and neck and the entire throat crimson; remainder of the under parts jet
black, thickly marked with large round white twin-spots on the feathers of
the flanks. Bill slaty black; iris brown; tarsi and feet reddish brown.
Total length 4:9 inches, culmen 0:45, wing 2-2, tail 2°0, tarsus 0°65. ¢g,
17. 9. 98. Mapicuti (Cavendish).
Adult female. Differs from the male in haying the sides of the head
dusky brown; chin and throat pale sandy brown, strongly washed on the
middle and lower throat as well as on the sides of the neck with crimson ;
dark portion of breast dusky grey ; the white spots with narrow black edges.
Total length 4:8 inches, culmen 0°45, wing 2:2, tail 2:0, tarsus 0°65. 2,
8. 2.02. Kilimanjaro (Percival).
Variety, probably a cage-bird. Similar to male above described, but
differs in having only six white spots on one side and a single one on the
other side, the centre feathers of the breast have some faintly marked broad
crimson edges. Hast Africa (Leadbeater).
Peters’ Twin-spot ranges over the eastern half of Africa,
from Inhambane to the Equator.
The species was discovered by the late Dr. Peters at
Inhambane, and has since been met with in that locality by
Mr. H. F. Francis, who writes: “It frequents thick under-
growth and apparently finds its food among the leaves on
the ground, as it is generally seen scratching about there.”
Further north, along the Mozambique coast, Mr. Cavendish
found it at Mapicuti, and according to Dr. Stuhlmann it is
known to the natives at Quilimane as the ‘“‘ Natandolia.”
Mr. Boyd Alexander procured a single specimen at Tete
and regarded it as a rare bird along the Zambesi. It is,
however, apparently abundant in Nyasaland, from whence
there are twelve specimens from different places in the British
Museum, and is known in Angoniland, according to Gen
Manning, as the “ Chipalanganga.” In its western range it
(December, 1904. 16
242 HYPARGOS DYBROWSKIIL
has been recorded from the Lualaba River (Bohm), Kibero
(Bohndorff); from nearer the East Coast, at Rovuma River
(Thomson), Lindi, Pare, Arusha (Fischer), Pangani, Melinda
(Kirk), Nguru (Kmin), Marangu (Neumann), Ndi (Hilde-
brandt). The Taita country is the most northern range
known for the species.
Hypargos dybkowskii.
Lagonosticta dybowskii, Oust. Le Naturaliste, 1892, p. 231 Kemo.
Hypargos dybrowskii, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 445 (1896) ; Reichen. Vog.
Afr. iii. p. 160 (1904).
Type. ‘‘ Head, neck and front of breast deep grey, slightly shaded with
olive brown on the top of the head; back and upper tail-coverts rich
carmine ; tail bluish black ; wing brown tinted with olive and marked with
one or two scarcely visible black and white dots; abdomen jet black, with
numerous white dots; under wing-coverts ashy white, mottled with black.
Bill black ; iris red ; legs reddish brown. Total length 4:6 inches, culmen
0:8, wing 2°12, tail 1-6, tarsus 0°68.” (Oustalet).
Dybfowski’s Twin-spot inhabits the Northern Congo
district.
The species is known, I believe, only by the type, which
was discovered by M. Dybtowski on the Upper Komo River
in about 5° 8. lat., 20° E. long.
Hypargos nitiduius.
Hstrelda nitidula, Hartl. Ibis, 1865, p. 269 Natal.
Hypargos nitidulus, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 447 (1896); Reichen. Vog.
Afr. ili, p. 159 (1904).
Pytelia nitidula, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 305 (1890) Natad.
Amadina hartlaubi, Bianc. Spec. Zool. Mosamb. xviii. p. 324, pl. 4, fig.
2 (1867) Mozambique.
Pytelia schlegeli, Sharpe, Ibis, 1870, p. 482, pl. 14, figs. 2, 3 Fantee ; id.
Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 304 (1890) ; Reichen. J. f. O. 1902, 37 Togo.
Hypargos schlegeli, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 446 (1896); Reichen. Vog.
Afr. iii. p. 159 (1904).
HYPARGOS NITIDULUS 245
Adult male. Upper parts, including the wing-coverts, outer webs of
quills and the tail, yellowish green; upper tail-coverts washed with reddish
orange, remainder of quills and primary-coverts brown, with the inner
edges of quills whitish; under wing-coverts pale dusky ash, slightly washed
with greenish yellow; under surface of tail black with broad paler ends;
entire sides of head and the chin vermilion ; throat greener, strongly washed
with vermilion; feathers of the chest and front of abdomen dusky ash, with
broad black ends enclosing a rather large round white subterminal spot on
each web; remainder of abdomen and the under tail-coverts yellowish
green. ‘Tris red; bill crimson, with the culmen and basal portion violet
black ; feet brownish flesh colour.” Total length 4:2 inches, culmen 0°45,
wing 2:0, tail 1-3, tarsus 0°6. g, August, Bo (Kemp).
Adult female. Differs in having the upper tail-coverts only slightly
yellower than the mantle; sides of head and a broad chin-patch sandy buff,
faintly washed with red ; remainder of throat green, with a wash of yellow
strongest on the crop.
Immature. Upper parts more uniform green, sometimes with a dusky
shade towards the crown; the sandy butf on the sides of the head and the
chin with no trace of red; remainder of the under parts ashy, and with
the exception of nestling, mottled, with white-spotted black end to some of
the feathers on the sides of the breast. Culmen 0-4, wing 1:95 and 2:05,
tarsus 0:6. Natal (Gordge), Yambuya (Jameson) and Hfulen, ?, 19. 4. 02,
(Bates).
The Green-backed Twin-spot ranges southward from Sierra
Leone and Mombasa into Natal.
The most northern range known for the species is Sierra
Leone, where the late Sir H. Sabine procured a specimen, and
in the same district Mr. Kemp has collected at Bo, in July and
August, three males and a female. ‘The protective colouring,
or its shyness, may account for the apparent scarcity of this
widely distributed species. In Liberia a few specimens have
been obtained at Robertsport, Junk River and Cape Mount.
The types of Pytelia schlegeli, apparently an adult male and a
very young bird, figured “ Ibis,” 1870, pl. 14, were collected by
the late Governor Nagtglas, in Fantee, in which country it has
also been procured by Haynes at Accra. Specimens have been
collected in Togoland by Mr. Baumann at the Misahcéhe Station;
in Camaroons, at Barombi by Mr. Zeuner, and towards the
244 HYPARGOS HARTERTI
eastern boundary of that country, at the Ja River, by Mr.
Bates. Marche met with it at Doumé in the Ogowé district,
and up the Congo Jameson obtained two specimens at Yam-
buya; but I do not find it recorded from further south in
Western Africa.
In Southern Equatorial Africa Emin procured it at Bukoba,
and Mr. Percival an adult specimen from Mombasa. The type
of Amadina hartlaudi was obtained in Mozambique by Fornasini,
and the type of the species was discovered by Mr. T. Ayres in
Natal. In this colony Mr. Gordge procured at Durban the
only specimen he met with, and believed it to be a young male.
Hypargos harterti.
Hypargos harterti, Shelley, Bull. B. O. C. xiv. p. 30 (1903).
Lagonosticta nitidula (non. Hartl. 1865), Hartl. Bull. Mus. Nat. Belg.
1886, p. 145, pl. 4. figs. 1, 2 Tanganyika; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii.
p. 279 (1890); Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 432 (1896); Reichen. Vég.
Afr. iii. p. 195 (1904).
Adult male. Forehead and crown ashy grey; remainder of the upper
parts brown, with the upper tail-coverts darker, and the tail entirely brownish
black; under wing-coverts sandy buff, and the inner edges of the quills
whitish; sides of head, throat, front and sides of body ashy grey, fading
into buff on the remainder of the body and the under tail-coverts ; sides of
forehead and head, throat and crop strongly washed with crimson-shaded
pink ; lower throat and fore-chest with small, rounded, white twin-spots on
each of the feathers. ‘Iris brown; bill purplish red; feet grey.” Total
length 4:1 inches, culmen 0:4, wing 1:9, tail 1:7, tarsus 0°6. g, 21. 5. 01.
Sagua, on Quanza River (C. H. Pemberton).
Immature. Uniform light brown, paler beneath; no white spots, but the
throat is slightly mottled with a wash of vinous red.
The Brown Twin-spot ranges from Lake Tanganyika to the
Quanza and Zambesi Rivers.
The types, an adult male and an immature bird, were dis-
covered by Storms during his expedition to Lake Tanganyika.
LAGONOSTICTA 245
In the Tring Museum there is a full plumaged male, shot by
Mr. C. H. Pemberton at Sagua, on the Quanza River, and Dr.
W. L. Sclater has obtained a specimen at the Victoria Falls
of the Zambesi.
Genus XIV. LAGONOSTICTA.
Bill conical, deeper than broad at the nostrils; basal half very slightly
swollen, the sides being almost straight; nostrils rounded and covered
by the frontal feathers. Wings rounded; primaries 1 narrow and pointed,
shorter than the culmen; 2 with the end third very narrow, the inner
web of this portion being generally distinctly cut away as in Pytelia; 4
and 5 longest; 2 shorter than 6. ‘Tail fan-shape, with the feathers broad.
Tarsi and feet moderate. Plumage, with the upper tail-coverts and portion
of tail, red; some red on the breast, at least in adult males, and generally
with small white spots on the chest; sexes usually differ somewhat in
plumage.
Type.
Lagonosticta, Cab. Mus. i. p.171 (1851) . . . . . JZ. rubricata.
Rhodopyga, Heugl. J. f.O0.1868,p.18. . . . . . UL. rhodopsis.
Lichnidospiza, Heugl. Orn. N. O. Afr. App. p. exxxvil.
(1871). ee nc Nee te He hs LL. melanogastra.
The genus is confined to Tropical and South Africa, and according to my
key comprises thirteen species; but ZL. rhodopsis is known apparently by
immature birds only, which, as Dr. Reichenow suggests, are probably young
of L. brunneiceps.
I have separated the southern representative of DL. brunneiceps, L.
rendalli ; these and L. senegala form a closely allied group, each with a very
well-defined range, so I should hesitate to call them subspecies.
KEY TO THE SPECIES.
a. Under tail-coverts black.
a1, Entire head and neck slaty grey like the mantle . . cinereovinacea.
b1. Some red on the head or neck.
a?, Entire keel of lower mandible blackish.
a®. Basal half of lower mandible (with the excep-
tion of the keel) pale.
a*. A broad jet black band down the centre of
Chesiiawe meen Mita e nd ci. tk MRCLUNOgastTa 4G. ad.
2 {
a a
246 LAGONOSTICTA CINEREOVINACEA
b+. No jet black band down the centre of
GOGH o- ao 3 . . « . melanogastra 2, and juv.
b%, Entire bill Satine Bleciieht
c+, Billlarger; culmen about 045 . . . . . polionota. 2y o
d*, Bill smaller; culmen about 0:35.
a>. Mantle more olive shaded brown, with no
trace of red.
a*, Crown and back of neck tinged with red rhodopareia, ad. > 4 ©
b&, Crown and back of neck not tinged with
red.
a’. Red, on under parts less pink . . . rhodopareia, juv.
b7 Red, on under parts more pink. . congicd. » <-\
b>. Mantle more cinnamon brown, often eect
with red like the crown and back of neck jamesoni. 2» <2
b?, Entire basal half of lower mandible pale.
c®, Upper mandible entirely blackish ; no red shade
on crown, hind neck, or mantle. . rubricata. ~ 5
. Upper mandible pale, with the oglaen paces
crown and back of neck tinged with red. . . landane. 2 4
b. Under tail-coverts pale.
cl. Bill pale, with the culmen, keel and cutting edges
black.
c?, Redon plumage more scarlet ; breast with or with-
out round white spots. Females mostly brown ; |
red confined to front of eyes, upper tail-coverts
and tail.
e’. Nape and the entire crown red. . . . . . senegala, g,ad. 2¢ |
f*. Nape and generally part of crown brown.
e+. More red on hind-neck, mantle and breast brunneiceps, g ,ad. 24
j*. less red on hind-neck, mantle and breast rendalli,f,ad. 21
d?, Red on plumage more pink; breast with white
a
spots inclining to bars. . . . = G3. TUfOpiCto Moab
d+, Bill blackish, with only base of lower raendible pale,
plumage dusky ash with no white spots . . . . rhodopsis. 26%
Lagonosticta cinereovinacea. (Pl. 33, fig. 2.)
Lagonosticta cinereovinacea, Sousa, Jorn. Lisb. 1889, p. 49 Quimdumbo. |
Estrilda cinereovinacea, Shelley, B. Afr. I. p. 414 (1896); Reichen.
Vég. Afr. iii, p. 192 (1904).
3
Adult male. Tntire head, neck, mantle, middle back and lesser wing-
coyerts deep slaty grey; remainder of the wings browner, with a few
LAGONOSTICTA MELANOGASTRA 247
indistinct narrow dusky bars on some of the greater coverts and inner
secondaries ; under surface of wing with a silvery gloss and whitish edges
to the coverts; rump and upper tail-coverts deep crimson ; tail brownish
black, with numerous obsolete narrow bars, visible in certain lights; a
broad track down the centre of the chest, abdomen and the under tail-
coverts jet black; sides of body deep vinous-shaded crimson. “Iris red ;
eyelids paler red; bill violet-shaded black; tarsi and feet dusky rufous.”
Total length 5 inches, culmen 0-4, wing 2:1, tail 1:9, tarsus 0°65. 9¢,
1.93. Galanga (Anchieta).
Type, female. Similar, but with the irides brown. ¢?, Quindumbo
(Anchieta).
The Ashy-vinous Fire-finch inhabits Angola and Benguela.
In the Tring Museum there is a specimen of this rare
species obtained by Mr. Pemberton at Bailundu in July. This
is the only record I find of its occurring in Angola; the other
specimens known to me were collected by Anchieta, the type,
a female from Quindumbo and a male from Galanga, and was
known by the natives at the former place as the “‘ Ocequenua”’
and at the latter as the “ Xemico.” Through the kindness
of my friend, Prof. Barbasa du Bocage, I have been able
to describe both of Anchieta’s specimens and have figured the
male. This is a true Lagonosticta, in which genus it was
originally placed.
Lagonosticta melanogastra.
Lagonosticta melanogastra, Heugl. J. f. O. 1863, p. 273 Djur ; Hartert,
Noy. Zool. 1901, p. 341 Niger.
Habropyga rara, Antin. Cat. p. 72 (1864).
Lagonosticta rara, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 282 (1890); Shelley, B.
Afr. I. No. 423 (1896) ; Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 201 (1904).
Habropyga hypomelas, Heugl. J. f. O. 1864, p. 252 Djur.
Rhodopyga hypomelas, Heugl. J. f. O. 1868, pl. i, fig. 4.
Habropyga hypomelzena, Heugl. Orn. N. O. Afr. p. 611 (1870).
Habropyga cenochroa, Hartl. J. f. O. 1882, p. 322 Obbo.
Adult male. Mostly crimson, the head, neck, back, scapular, lesser
wing-coverts, edges of greater-coverts, upper tail-coverts, edges of tail-
248 LAGONOSTICTA MELANOGASTRA
feathers, front and sides of breast being of that colour; primary-coverts and
quills dark brown, washed with crimson on the outer margins of the inner
secondaries; under wing-coverts and inner margins of quills whitish ;
remainder of tail and chest, abdomen, thighs and under tail-coverts black ;
no white spots on the breast. ‘Iris olive brown ; eyelids pale pink, portion
of bill rosy red; upper mandible blackish; feet dark grey. Total length
4 inches, culmen 0°45, wing 1:9, tail 1:9, tarsus 0°55. g , Lokoja (Forbes).
Adult female. Differs in having much less red; head and neck greyish
ash, with a patch of dark crimson in front of eye; chin and throat ashy
buff, with rosy red towards the crop; mantle ashy brown, slightly shaded
with crimson; wings brown, with scarcely any crimson on the edges of the
feathers ; crop, front and sides of breast rosy pink; centre of chest tawny
buff, shading into black on the abdomen and under tail-coverts. Ivis reddish ;
upper mandible black, lower one rosy red, with the keel and tip black; feet
dusky; wing 1:9. Tingasi (Emin).
Immature. No red on the head, mantle and wings ; under parts nearly
uniform pale brown, with a slight shade of pink towards the crop. Portion
of upper and under mandible pale. ¢, 27. 8.82. Lokoja (Forbes).
Heuglin’s Black-bellied Fire-finch ranges from the Niger
into North-east Africa.
The late W. A. Forbes collected two specimens at Lokoga
on the Niger, one an immature bird in August, the other an
adult male out of a pair in September. These are in the
British Museum, where there are also two obtained by Emin at
Tingasi to the west of the Upper White Nile. In this latter
district it is apparently most abundant, having been met with
there by Emin, at Lado, Foda and Obbo; the type was dis-
covered by Heuglin in the Djur country and was christened
by him Lagonosticta melanogastra in 1863; in June of the
following year he renamed it H. hypermelas, under the false
impression that Hstrilda melanocephala, Swains., which was
previously named Fringilla perrein by Vieillot, belonged to
the same genus.
Heuglin also met with the species at Wau, Bongo and
Dombo, in pairs or family parties, frequenting the bush and
coarse grass. They did not mix with other Finches, and being
LAGONOSTICTA POLIONOTA 249
by nature woodland birds, were not frequently seen. Antinori
procured his specimens in Kordofan and Sennar, including the
type of Habropyga rara.
Lagonosticta polionota.
Lagonosticta polionota, Shelley, Ibis, 1872, p. 141 Cape Coast Castle ;
Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 280, pl. 11, fig. 2 (1890); Shelley, B. Afr. I.
No. 422 (1896) ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 200 (1904).
Adult male. Centre of forehead, crown and back of neck slate grey, with
a very faint crimson shade; back and wings slightly browner; upper tail-
coyerts and basal half of outer webs of tail-feathers crimson, remainder of
tail black; under wing-coverts and the inner margins of quill whitish ;
remainder of head, front of neck, fore-chest and flanks crimson, with a few
white spots on the sides of the chest; sides of head shading gradually into
the deep grey of the neck; lower breast, thighs and under tail-coverts black,
fading into dusky ash towards the lower chest. Iris dark brown; bill deep
blue grey ; tarsi and feet slaty brown. Total length 3:8 inches, culmen 0°5,
wing 1:9, tail 1°6, tarsus 0°55. Type, 3,6. 3. 72. Cape Coast Castle
(Shelley).
Adult female. Differs in having less red on sides of head and under
parts ; sides of head ashy like the crown, with a rosy tinge and strongly
washed with crimson in front of eye; throat and middle breast sandy buff,
with broad rosy edges to the feathers of the upper throat; remainder of
throat, chest and flanks rosy red, with an underlying ashy shade on the
base of the feathers; abdomen and under tail-coverts as in the male. Wing
1:9. Bo, August (Kemp).
The Fantee Fire-finch ranges from Sierra Leone to the
Niger.
The occurrence of this species so far north as Sierra Leone
was first made known by Mr. Kemp, who has collected a large
series at Tungie Bridge in June, and at Bo from March to
September. He writes: “These Fire-finches are called by
the Creoles here ‘Thunder-birds.’ They live in pairs, but
some four to ten will meet to feed on any bare ground, such as
paths, and a very favourite spot of theirs was in our compound
at Bo, where the herbage had been closely cut and exposed the
250 LAGONOSTICTA RHODOPAREIA
scattered grass-seeds on the earth. ‘They were shy, and quickly
concealed themselves on our approach, both sexes uttering
a peculiar low plaintive song or call-note.” The species was
not previously known from further west than the Gold Coast.
The typical specimens, three in number, I shot out of small
flocks close to Cape Coast Castle on March 6, when they were
in full plumage. Here the species is nearly as abundant as
L. rufopicta, which it resembles in its habits, both being met
with in small parties frequenting the thick bush, where they
are often to be seen feeding in the paths.
Ussher also procured the species in Fantee, and Dr. Biittner
one at Bismarckburg in Togoland. Dr. Hartert found these
Fire-finches abundant at the Niger and obtained a specimen at
Loko in May.
Lagonosticta rhodopareia. (Pl. 34, fig. 1.)
Lagonosticta rhodopareia, Heugl. J. f. O. 1868, p. 16 Keren; Sharpe.
Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 282 (1890); Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 424 (1896) ;
Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 200 (1904).
Adult male. Front and sides of forehead crimson; crown and back of
neck slate colour, distinctly tinged with crimson ; back and wings dark brown;
upper tail-coverts and sides of basal half of tail-feathers crimson, with the
remainder of the tail black; sides of head and neck, throat, chest and flank
crimson, with a few white spots on sides of chest; centre of lower half of
breast, thighs and under tail-coverts black. ‘‘ Iris brown; bill dark slate
colour ; legs black.’”’ Total length 4:2 inches, culmen 0°35, wing 1°96, tail 1:8,
tarsus 0°55. g, 30.11.99. Nairobe (Delamere).
Female. Differs from the adult male and resembles ZL. congica in having
the crown, ear-coverts, back and sides of neck dusky grey, with no red shades.
It differs from LZ. congica in having the head in front of the eyes and the
forehead ruby crimson ; chin, throat, chest and flanks buffy brown, strongly
washed with crimson. ‘Iris brown; bill dark slate colour; legs black.”
9, 24.1.00. Gessima R. (Delamere).
The Rosy Black-bellied Fire-finch ranges from Nyasaland
to Bogos.
“Joldazlo eysqhgZ
eidedopoys eyorqsouose 7]
ADXX Id VOIGHY 4O SCHIA AHL
LAGONOSTICTA CONGICA 251
This is apparently the most abundant of the Fire-finches in
Nyasaland, for Mr. Alexander Whyte procured specimens at
Zomba in February, and from June to November, and others
on the Nyika plateau and on Mount Mlosa. There is a speci-
men from Dar-es-Saam (Kirk) in the British Museum. Hilde-
brandt met with it at Mombasa and in Ukamba, and Mr.
Jackson observed it for the first time at Nandi, July, 1896,
and just two years later found it “ plentiful in the vicinity of
the Ichaka River,” and procured it at Kakamega in Kavirondo.
Lord Delamere collected specimens at Nairobe and the Gessima
River, which are now in the British Museum.
The type was discovered by Heuglin at Keren, the most
northern range known for these Fire-finches ; here he found
them in the highlands between 4,000 and 5,000 feet, living
in pairs, and he also observed them in the warmer valleys
of Gallaland.
Lagonosticta congica.
Lagonosticta congica, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 280, pl. 11, fig. 3 (1890)
pt. Kassongo ; Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 421 (1896) ; Reichen. Vég. Afr.
iii. p. 199 (1904).
Type. Forehead, crown and back of head dusky grey, with no red shade,
back and wings dark brown; upper tail-coverts and sides of basal half of
tail-feathers crimson, remainder of tail black ; under wing-coverts and inner
margins to the quills buff; sides of head and neck ashy grey, shading into
rosy pink on sides of forehead, front of eyes, cheeks and throat; the ear-
coverts faintly tinted with that colour; chin, throat, chest and flanks buffy
brown, strongly washed with rosy pink and shading into black on the
abdomen, thighs and under tail-coverts; a few white spots on the sides of
the chest. ‘‘ Ivis brown; bill and legs blackish ” (Lovat). Total length 4:0
inches, culmen 0:45, wing 1°8, tail 1:5, tarsus 0°55. Kassongo (Bohndorff).
Sharpe’s Black-billed Fire-finch ranges through the Congo
and Upper White Nile districts into Southern Abyssinia.
Dr. Reichenow refers to this species specimens from
252 LAGONOSTICTA JAMESONI
Chinchouxo (Falkenstein) and Leopoldsville (Bohndorf) ;
therefore Falkenstein obtained both this Fire-finch and
L. landane at Chinchouxo.
The species is represented in the British Museum by three
specimens, the type discovered by Bohndorff at Kassongo in
May, and a male and female shot by Lord Lovat in Southern
Abyssinia, at Chercher Lake, January 2, and at Jawaha,
February 23. These specimens are all extremely similar.
I have also seen a male procured by Mr. Jackson at Katwe,
during the late expedition to the Ruwenzori Mountains, and
it has been recorded from Valsaco, near Rimo (Emin).
The species closely resembles in plumage the immature of
L. rhodopareia, which it agrees with in size and colouring of
bill, but may be readily distinguished by the pink shade on
the red parts and absence of any red gloss on the crown and
back of neck.
Lagonosticta jamesoni.
Lagonosticta jamesoni, Shelley, Ibis, 1882, p. 355 Tatin R.; Sharpe, Cat.
B. M. xiii. p. 283, pl. 11, fig. 1 (1890); Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 425
(1896); Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 200 (1904).
Lagonosticta rubricata (non Licht.), Sharpe, Ibis, 1900, p. 110 Mapicuti.
Adult male. Similar to LZ. rhodopareia in the amount of red on the head,
but differs from it and from all the other known species in the back being of
a cinnamon shade with an obsolete crimson gloss ; the red of the under parts
is rosy pink; scarcely any small white spots on the breast. ‘Iris brown;
bill bluish ash, with the culmen and tip dusky; tarsi and feet pinkish ash”
(T. Ayres). Total length 4 inches, culmen 0:35, wing 1:9, tail 1:5, tarsus
0:55. g,9.12.80. Tatin R. (Jameson).
Adult female. Upper parts as in the male; under parts paler, with
broad pinkish buff edges to the black under tail-coverts. Wing 1:9. 9,
17. 8. 80. Umfuli R. (Jameson).
Immature female. Differs from the adult female in having no tinge of
red on the crown, neck, or mantle, and less red on the under parts, which
are mostly sandy buff. ¢°,2.11.82. Rustenberg (Jameson).
LAGONOSTICTA JAMESONI 253
Immature male. Differs from the last in having the forehead, crown and
sides of the head washed with crimson, and the under parts tawny brown,
mottled with a wash of rosy crimson, strongest on the chin and throat,
under tail-coverts entirely jet black. ¢, juv., 20. 9. 98. Chiringoma
(Cavendish).
Jameson's Fire-finch ranges over Hastern Africa between
25° S. lat. and the Equator.
In the British Museum there is a pair from Rustenberg,
collected November 3, 1882, and presented by Mrs. Jameson,
the types discovered by her husband at the Tatin and Umfuli
Rivers, an immature male from the Chiringoma district in
Portuguese South Africa, and a full plumaged male from
Kibwezi in about 2° 30’ S. lat., which is the most northern
range known for the species.
Mr. T. Ayres, who accompanied the Jameson Expedition in
1882, wrote: ‘‘ We met with but very few of these Finches;
near the Umfuli we found them amongst the rough cover on
the banks of the river, feeding on grass-seeds, and at atin
they were always in pairs.” Matabele name, ‘ Tuitjustjui.”
Mr. Guy Marshall, in November, 1897, found “a few flocks
along the river and among the granite kopjes close to Salis-
bury, but they disappeared shortly afterwards. In general
habits they resembled the Common Waxbill.”
Mr. Boyd Alexander met with the species at the Zambesi
and writes: ‘‘ ‘Though observed on several occasions, especially
at Zumbo, we only managed to obtain a single specimen near
the Kafue River on January 12, out of a pair that frequented
long grass close to the bank. In life they are easily to be
distinguished from their close congener, L. brunneiceps, by
their larger size and stouter tails, while they generally keep
apart from the latter species and go in pairs.”
From further north I find it recorded by Dr. Reichenow
from Mombasa Island, and Mr. Jackson procured a specimen
at Kibwezi in Ukamba.
254 LAGONOSTICTA RUBKRICATA
Lagonosticta rubricata.
Fringilla rubricata, Licht. Verz. Doubl. p. 27 (1823) Caffraria.
Lagonosticta rubricata, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 281 (1890); Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 420 (1896); Sharpe, Ibis, 1897, p. 513 Zulu ; Short-
ridge, Ibis, 1904, p. 177 Pondoland ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 199
(1904).
Le Sénégali rouge, Vieill. Ois. Chant. p. 29, pl. 9 (1805).
Adult male. Front of forehead crimson; no crimson shade on the
crown, back and sides of neck, which are brownish ash, shading into clear
brown on the mantle and wings; lower back and upper tail-coverts crimson ;
tail black, washed with crimson on the edges of the feathers, most strongly
so towards their base ; under wing-coverts and inner edges of quill whitish,
shaded with rufous brown at the bend of the wing. Front half of sides of
head, chin, front of neck, fore-chest and flanks crimson, with a few white
spots on the sides of the chest; sides of head shading gradually into
brownish ash on the nape and sides of neck ; lower breast, thighs and under
tail-coverts black, fading into dusky ash toward the lower chest. “Iris
brown; bill bluish black; under mandible lilac at the base; tarsi and feet
bluish ash” (Barratt). Total length 4:1 inches, culmen 0°45, wing 2:0, tail
18, tarsus 0°55. g, 2.7.75. Pinetown (‘T. L. Ayres).
Adult female. Upper parts as in the male ; less red on the sides of head,
throat and breast; lower breast brownish buff, with the vent and under tail-
coverts only dusky black. Wing1'8. 9?,9.12.74. Macama (Barratt).
Young. Similar to the adults in the colouring of the back, wings and
tail; but with the remainder of the upper parts, as well as the sides of the
head and neck, of the same brown as the mantle; under parts entirely pale
tawny brown. g, 18.10.95. Essex Vale (Selous).
The Cape Fire-finch ranges over Hastern South Africa from
Cape Colony into Nyasaland.
The most western range known for the species is Hastern
Cape Colony, where it is fairly common. I found it tolerably
abundant about Pinetown, and Mr. 'l’. L. Ayres collected a fine
series from that place and Durban. In Zululand the Messrs.
Woodward met with it at the Black Umfolosi River. In the
British Museum there are specimens from Grahamstown,
Eland’s Post, Pretoria, Macomac, Matabele, and Zomba in
Nyasaland. In the Lydenburg district, according to Mr. '.
LAGONOSTICTA LANDANZ 255
Ayres: “ This species is often to be seen about the jungle on
the outskirts of the woods, where it attracts attention by its
peculiar though not loud note. It is most frequently in pairs,
though three or four are often to be seen together.” He also
writes: ‘“ Their food consists of grass-seeds; they frequent
rough high grass, hedgerows, and low underwood at the edge
of the dense bush. Their nest is generally placed a foot or
two from the ground, supported amongst coarse grass.”
Stark adds: “It is circular in shape, with a side entrance, and
is constructed of fairly coarse grass-stems loosely twined
together. The interior is lined with feathers. The eggs,
from four to six in number, are pure white and average
0°58 x 0°45.”
In Matabele Mr. Selous obtained a specimen at Hssex
Vale, and the most northern range yet known for it is Zomba,
in the Upper Shiré district, where it has been met with by Mr.
Whyte, and here meets with its northern ally, L. rhodopareia.
Lagonosticta landane.
Lagonosticta landanz, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 283, pl. 12, fig. 2 Lan-
dana; Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 426 (1896); Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii.
p. 201 (1904).
Type. Upper parts dark brown, with a crimson shade on the crown and
back of neck ; upper tail-coverts and basal half of the outer webs of the tail-
feathers crimson; entire sides of head, chin, throat, chest and flanks
crimson, with the abdomen, thighs and under tail-coverts black, of a dusky
shade towards the lower chest. Iris brown; bill red, with the tip and the
edges of the upper mandible blackish ; feet brown. Total length 4 inches,
culmen 0°45, wing 1°85, tail 1°5, tarsus 0°5. 3, 2.83. Landana (Petit).
The Landana Fire-finch inhabits Loango.
The types, a male and female discovered by Lucan and
Petit at Landana, were formerly in my own collection prior to
their going to the British Museum. To this species should be
256 LAGONOSTICTA SENEGALA
referred the L. rubricata (uon Licht.), ** Bocage,” Orn. Angola,
p. 362, and Reichenow, “J. f. O.,” 1877, p. 29; for Dr.
Reichenow refers Falkenstein’s specimens from Chinchouxo
to both this species and to L. congica, and I was surprised to
learn that Béhndorff’s specimen from Leopoldsville, which I
have not seen, is also referable to L. congica. I should have
expected to have found that the present species was the
representative Fire-finch of the Lower Congo district.
Lagonosticta senegala.
Fringilla senegala, Linn. §. N. (xii.) i. p. 320 (1766).
Lagonosticta senegala, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 275 (1890); Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 427 (1896) ; Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 195 (1904).
Fringilla ignita, Gm. 5. N. i. p. 906 (1788).
Fringilla minima, Vieill. N. Dict. xii. p. 183 (1817).
Lagonosticta minima, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 276 (1890); Butler,
Foreign Finches in Captivity, p. 115, pl. 22, fig. 3 (1894); Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 428 (1896) ; Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 125 (1899) egg;
Hartert, Nov. Zool. 1901, p. 341 Niger ; Reichen. J. f. O. 1902, p. 37,
Togo.
Fire-bird, Brown, Ill. Zool. pl. 2, fig. 2 (1776).
Le Petit Sénégaii rouge, Vieill. Ois. Chant. p. 31, pl. 10 (1805).
Adult male. Mantle brown, with a crimson wash, passing into almost
uniform crimson on the entire head; lower back, upper tail-coverts and
incomplete edges to the tail-feathers bright crimson; remainder of tail
brownish black, wings dark brown, with the outer edges of the quills and the
coverts paler, the latter slightly washed with crimson; sides of head and
neck, chin, throat and chest crimson, shading into brown, of a somewhat
variable shade, on the abdomen and under tail-coverts; on the sides of
chest generally, but not always, a variable number of small white spots.
Iris reddish brown ; eyelids yellow; bill red, with the tip, culmen, edges
of upper mandible and the keel black; tarsi and feet dusky brown. Total
length 3-5 inches, culmen 0°35, wing 2:0, tail 1:5, tarsus 0°5. Sierra Leone
(Kemp).
Adult female. Differs in being earth brown, paler below and inclining to
brownish buff down the centre of the breast, on the abdomen and under
tail-coverts; head in front of the eyes crimson or strongly washed with that
LAGONOSTICTA SENEGALA 257
colour, front and sides of chest with some small white spots. Ivis red; bill
red, with the culmen, edges of upper mandible and the keel black; feet
brownish flesh colour. Wing 1:9 inches. Gambia R. (Whiteley).
Immature. Differs from the adult female only in having no white spots
on the chest. 92, Cape Verde (Laglaize).
The Senegal Fire-finch ranges from Senegambia to the
Niger.
The species is well represented in the British Museum by
specimens from Cape Verde, Dakar, Gambia, Sierra Leone,
River Volta and the Niger.
Dr. Rendall records it as “common, specially noted in
flocks”’ at the Gambia, and Mr. Budgett found it on M’Carthy
Island “very common about the native huts.” From Sierra
Leone Mr. Kemp writes: ‘‘ Abundant at Rotifunk, roosting
in the orange-trees of our compound, where my native boy,
with a lantern, has caught them in his hand at night.” Ussher
met with the species in Fantee and along the Volta River, and
Dr. Baumann at Sebbe, in Togoland. Among the four speci-
mens in the British Museum from Lokoja there is one, an
apparently adult male, obtained by Capt. M. Ferryman, which
exactly resembles a South Abyssinian specimen of L. brunneiceps,
labelled Harar, 2, 17. 6. 02 (Zaphiro), so I presume that the
range of LZ. senegala and L. brunneiceps meet at Lokoja on the
Niger.
Dr. Russ gives the following description of the young birds:
*Nesting-down brownish white; little wart at the angle of
the beak bluish white. Young plumage almost uniform dirty
grey; only the faint, still delicate dark red on the croup to
centre of tail and the outer webs of the tail-feathers can be
clearly recognised in this species; beak shining black; eyes
black without yellow ring; the little spots on the sides are
wanting. Change of colour commences in the third to the
fifth week, completed in about six weeks.”
(December, 1904, 17
258 LAGONOSTICTA BRUNNEICEPS
Lagonosticta brunneiceps.
Lagonosticta brunneiceps, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 277 (1890) Maragaz ;
Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 480 (1896); Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 125
(1899) egg ; Grant, Ibis, 1904, p. 258 Harar; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii.
p. 196 (1904).
Lagonosticta somalensis, Salvad. Mem. R. Ace. Sc. Torino, 1894, p. 557
Somali ; Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 429 (1896).
Lagonosticta brunneiceps somalensis, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 197 (1904).
Lagonosticta brunneiceps ruberrima, Reichen. Orn. Monatsh. 18938, p. 24
Victoria Nyanza; id. Vog. Afr. iii, p. 198 (1904).
Adult male. Upper parts brown, shading into crimson on the forehead
and sides of crown, and the hind neck and mantle somewhat washed with
that colour; rump, upper tail-coverts and incomplete edges to the tail-
feathers bright crimson, remainder of the tail brownish black; under surface
of the wings dusky brown, with the inner edges of the quills and the under
wing-coverts buff; sides of head and neck, chin, entire throat and the chest
crimson, shading off into dusky or sandy brown on the abdomen and under
tail-coverts, which latter often have some white terminal edges ; on the sides
of the chest are generally, but not always, some small white spots which
are very variable in number. Iris reddish brown; eyelids yellow; bill red,
with the tip, culmen, edge of upper mandible and the keel black; tarsi and
feet dusk brown. Total length 3 inches, culmen 0:35, wing 2:0, tail 1:5,
tarsus 0'5. Type, 9, 27. 76.8. Maragaz (Jesse).
Adult female and young birds. Like those of L. senegala.
The Northern Brown-naped Fire-finch ranges from Nubia
southward to the Rovuma River, and westward to the Niger
and Upper Congo.
The species is represented in the British Museum by one
of Capt. Ferryman’s specimens from Lokoja on the Niger, and
others from the following localities: Albert Edward Nyanza,
White Nile, Soudan, Shendi, Bogos, the type from Maragaz
(Jesse), Abyssinia, Shoa, Somali, Lake Baringo, Kenia, Athi
River, Machako’s, Lamu, Pangani, and Ujiji on the Upper
Congo. With this fine series before me I cannot recognise VS.
somalensis, Salvad., as a pale form, nor L. brunneiceps ruberrima
Reichen., as a constant redder form, as they both appear to me
LAGONOSTICTA BRUNNEICEPS 259
to be equally well represented in the Northern Abyssinian
district, where Jesse discovered the type of L. brunneiceps ;
but there is a South African representative, DL. senegala ren-
dali, Hartert, which deserves recognition.
Heuglin met with these birds in the town of Dongola, at
Berber, Senaar and Kordofan; they were generally in small
flocks and single specimens, mostly seen in the warmer parts
of Abyssinia and along the White Nile, and according to his
notes, they assume the full plumage here in July and August,
when they begin to breed, often placing their nests close to
each other, at times under the roofs of houses and in holes in
walls. The nest has a large, irregular outer coating of straw,
covering a shallow depression for the eggs, and is composed
of hairs, feathers, grass and wool. The eggs vary in number
from three to seven. It isa lively little bird, associating freely
with other Finches, and occasionally will enter a house to pick
up the bread-crumbs. It is rarely seen in trees during the
day-time, when it is generally seeking its food on the ground,
often near dwellings. The Hon. N. C. Rothschild and Mr.
Wollaston write: ‘‘ These beautiful little birds were never
observed far from the huts on the river-bank, where they were
often seen picking up crumbs of dhurra-meal almost out of the
hands of the natives.”
My friend, Mr. A. L. Butler, has sent me the following note
from the Soudan: ‘‘ A common resident. Very fond of the
vicinity of houses and villages. A charmingly fearless little
bird, entering verandahs and outhouses freely to drink from
jars. I have seen it at Khartoum (all the year), at Gedaref
(April to June), at Gallabat (June), Wad Medani (April and
June).” Mr. Hawker remarks : “‘ Not noticed south of Goz-
abu-gumar, but I found it at Fashoda and up the Bahr-el-Gazal
to Meshra-es-Rek in March and April. I saw a pair feeding a
newly fledged young one at Khartoum, January 19, 1903;
260 LAGONOSTICTA RENDALLI
when I approached to look at the young, one of the parents
fluttered about within a yard of me.”
The type of L. somaliensis was obtained by Prince Ruspoli
in Somaliland, and Dr. Reichenow proposed the name L. brun-
neiceps ruberrima for birds from the northern portion of the
Victoria Nyanza district, which would include Mr. Jackson’s
specimens from the Athi River, Kangao and Ntebbe, and Dr.
Ansorge’s from Uganda and Unyoro. Fischer records the
species as abundant from the Tana River to Bagamoio, and
Béhm, as plentiful in small parties along the banks of the
Kingani River, also at Taboro and Kakoma. It has been
recorded from Langenburg and Mtiras, close to the Rovuma
River (Filleborn), which is the most southern range known to
me for this species.
Lagonosticta rendalli.
Lagonosticta senegala rendalli, Hartert, Nov. Zool. 1898, p. 72 Shiré
Valley.
Lagonosticta brunneiceps (non Sharpe), Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 277
(1890 pt.) Specimens a tog; Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 430 (1896 pt.),
S.; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 196 (1904 pt.) S. Africa.
Adult male. Similar to L. brunneiceps, from which it differs in being
browner and less shaded with red; rarely any trace of red on the hind neck
or mantle ; under parts rather pale, with the brownish buff of the abdomen
extending distinctly on to the chest, the red wash on the under parts being
more restricted to the throat and front of the chest. Total length 3-6 inches,
culmen 0°35, wing 1°9, tail 1:5, tarsus 0°45. Type, 9, 9. 5.95. Upper Shiré
R. (Rendall).
Adult female. Like the female of ZL. senegala. Wing 1:9. ?, 4. 8. 95.
Upper Shiré (Rendall).
Rendall’s Fire-finch replaces L. brunneiceps in South Africa,
south from Benguela and the Shiré River.
These Fire-finches are represented in the British Museum
by a full plumaged male obtained by Sala at the Katumbella
LAGONOSTICTA RENDALLI 261
River, in Benguela, and by a male and female from Ondonga,
in Ovampoland, collected by Andersson, who also met with
the species at Ovaquenyama in Damaraland. I am not aware
of its occurring further south in Western Africa, nor have
I seen a specimen from south of the Transvaal; but Stark
gives its range as “from the south of Natal northward
through Zululand,” &e.
The species is abundant and evenly distributed over the
eastern half of South Africa, and is represented in the British
Museum from Potchefstroom (T. Ayres), Rustenburg (W.
Lucas), Pretoria (Pratt), Limpopo River (Oates), Tatin River
(Jameson), Mozambique (Guinsius), Tete (Kirk), Zambesi
(Alexander).
Stark writes: ‘Somewhat common in the Transvaal
between Potchefstroom and the Limpopo River, in small
flocks, or perhaps more often in single pairs. They feed on
the ground, almost exclusively on grass-seed, keep close
together when feeding, and are gentle and affectionate in their
manners. While hopping about on the ground they con-
stantly repeat a soft twittering note, which is changed to a
sharp call when they take flight. Like many of the South
African small birds they breed very irregularly in the Trans-
vaal, both in the summer and winter. A nest taken towards
the beginning of June was placed on the ground in the centre
of a tuft of grass. It was domed with a small side entrance,
and was loosely woven from coarse grass lined with feathers.
It contained three white eggs averaging 0°56 x 0°45.”
Mr. Boyd Alexander, when on the Zambesi, made the
following remarks: ‘“ Frequents waste places, overgrown with
long grass, near the river. On August 16, we found a nest
placed in a small bush close to the ground. The nest was
domed and composed of pieces of Indian corn-blades and lined
with fine grass-bents and Quinea-fowl feathers. The eggs,
262 LAGONOSTICTA RUFOPICTA
three in number and much incubated, were white, and had
average measurements of 0°58 x 0°46 inch.
“In our series the adult males have the white spots on the
sides of the breast well defined. An adult female shot on
January 5, has these spots also clearly, and at the same time
more numerously, marked; while two females obtained four
months earlier, on September 6, do not possess any of these
spots, and the crimson on the lores is less conspicuous. These
breast-markings, therefore, appear to come with age. An
immature male with a few feathers becoming crimson on the
chin and forehead, obtained on August 10, resembles in
plumage these two females,”
The most northern range known to me for this species in
Hastern Africa is the Shiré Valley, where Dr. Percy Rendail
discovered the types, a female in March, and a male with his
nest containing seven eggs on May 9.
Lagonosticta rufopicta.
Estrelda rufopicta, Fraser, P. Z. 8. 1848, p. 27 Gold Coast; id. Zool.
Typ. pl. 51 (1849).
Lagonosticta rufopicta, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 278 (1890); Shelley,
B. Afr. I. No. 431 (1896) ; Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 125 (1899) egg ;
Reichen. J. f. O. 1902, p. 87 Togo; id. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 198 (1904).
Lagonosticta (Hstrelda) laterita, Heugl. J. f. O. 1864, p. 251 Djur, Bongo,
Kosanga.
Adult male. Upper parts brown, slightly greyer on the crown; forehead
bright crimson like the eyebrow ; lower back, upper tail-coverts, and edges
of basal half of tail-feathers crimson ; edges of upper wing-coverts slightly
washed with red; under coverts and inner margins of quills whitish brown ;
sides of head bright crimson, becoming pinker on the chin, throat, front and
sides of breast; feathers of the crop, front and sides of chest with small
white twin-spots, inclining to form bars ; centre of breast, abdomen and thighs
brown, fading into buff on the under tail-coverts. Iris brown; bill orange
red, with the culmen black; tarsi and feet dusky brown. Total length 3-7
inches, culmen 0:4, wing 1:85, tail 1:5, tarsus 0°55. g, Abutchi (Forbes).
LAGONOSTICTA RUFOPICTA 263
Adult female. Differs only in having no trace of red on the wings, and
a less amount of white markings on the breast. Wing 1°85. 9, August.
Abo (Forbes).
The Bar-breasted Fire-finch ranges from Senegambia to the
Niger and Upper White Nile districts.
Marche and De Compitgne procured the species at Daranka
in Senegambia, and Bulger on Bulama Island. In the British
Museum there are two specimens collected by the late Dr.
Clark at Sierra Leone, eight from Fantee and inland, including
the type, two from the Volta River, and three from the Niger.
T. EH. Buckley and I found the species to be extremely
abundant during the spring of the year, near Cape Coast,
generally in small flocks feeding along the paths which intersect
the thick bush. Ussher met with it along the Volta River, and
Mr. Baumann at Sebbe in Togoland. W. A. Forbes obtained
specimens at Abuchi and Abo on the Niger, and I do not find
any mention of the species from further south in West Africa ;
but it ranges eastward to the Bongo and Wau countries of the
White Nile district, where Heuglin procured the type of his
L. laterita, and records it from the Djur and Kosango Rivers,
along the banks of which streams he met with a few during
the rainy season.
Regarding its habits, Ussher writes: “This pretty little
Bengali is one of the commonest birds on the West Coast of
Africa. It is extremely tame, frequenting the vicinity of
houses, and hopping about the yards with the confidence
of the common House Sparrow in England. They build in
low grass, on the seeds of which they also feed, and are
gregarious; in the bush they will associate in flocks with
other Bengali.”
According to Mr. Kuschel the eggs are pure white and
measure 0°56 x 0°44,
264 LAGONOSTICTA RHODOPSIS
Lagonosticta rhodopsis.
Kstrelda rhodopsis, Heugl. J. f. O. 1863, p. 166 Gazelle R.
Lagonosticta rhodopsis, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 279.
Type. ‘Entirely dull dusky ash; paler underneath, middle of abdomen
and under tail-coverts whiter; eyebrows, lores, cheeks and chin washed with
rosy ; tail rather graduated, above black, below smoky brown; rump and
upper tail-coverts crimson, brown towards the base of the outer margin ;
bill blackish, washed with rose, with a white spot at the angle of the mouth;
feet dusky, the soles ashy; iris brown. Total length 3:8, bill from forehead
scarcely 0:4, wing 1:85, tail 1-6, tarsus 0°6. 3, Gazelle River ’’ (Heuglin).
Heuglin’s Dusky Fire-finch inhabits the Gazelle River.
It is known to me by the description of the types only,
these are a male and female discovered by Heuglin at the
Gazelle River. He met with the species always in pairs fre-
quenting the rushes and bushes in marshy places, and remarks
that they feed on seeds, and are both shy and active.
Heuglin’s typical specimens are probably, as Dr. Reichenow
suggests (“ Vég. Afr.” i. p. 198), immature birds of ZL. brun-
neiceps.
Genus XV. PYTHLIA.
Bill conical, much compressed at the sides of the end half; nostrils
rounded and covered by the frontal feathers; base of bill ends in a right
angle on the forehead. Wings rounded, primaries 1 small, narrow and
sharply pointed, not reaching to the end of the primary-coverts ; 2 equal in
length to 6, and, with the end portion compressed at the sides and pointed,
as in Lagonosticta ; 3, 4 and 5 nearly equal and the longest. Tail shorter
than the wing and slightly rounded. Tarsi and feet moderate ; claws rather
short and curved. Plumage, with the upper tail-coverts and portion of the
tail, red; sexes dissimilar in colouring.
Type.
Pytelia, Swains. Class. B. ii. p. 280 (1837). . . . . BP. phenicoptera.
Zonogastris, Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 172 (1851) . . . DP. phenicoptera.
Marquetia, Reichenb. Singy. p. 48 (1863) . . . . . P.melba.
The genus is confined to Tropical and South Africa, and comprises what
I consider to be six good species, and four less distinct forms; these latter
I treat as subspecies.
PYTELIA 265
Swainson, in a note at the beginning of his “Classification of Birds,”’ ii.,
mentions as a ‘“ subsequent volume” his ‘‘ Birds of Western Africa,” proving
that this generic name should be spelt Pytelia, not Pytilia.
KEY TO THE SPECIES.
a. Some red or yellow on the wings.
at. No yellow on throat.
a?, Wings with some red and no yellow.
a’, Bill black.
a*. Under wing-coverts nearly uniform white . . .phe@nicoptera. = |
b+. Under wing-coverts strongly barred . . . . . emini. 26!
Gy Tshlneel 9 oso G0 0 9 Sf 6 4 coetr a So mR C2IIS ae.
62. Wings, with some yellow and no red.
c8, Bill black; back and breast mostly grey . . . hypogrammica. 2 ‘
d’, Bill red.
c+. Some red on head; back and breast washed with
yellow . afra, 3. 2
d*. Noredon head. Adult females of this and follow-
ing species.
61. Lower throat yellow; some red on head.
c?, Red on throat not extending beyond the sides of head.
e8, Under parts whiter in both sexes; no trace of bars
on under tail-coverts ; no rounded spots on throat
ORICHESimeMMMesmI Es.) fe. GP sr ce) vu, Wel eens) CHLOMUOT: Ook at
f?. Under parts more strongly barred in both sexes ;
under tail-coverts sometimes with a trace of bars;
males with the pale bars inclining to spots near the
crop Af itt cy a mre ee
d?. Red extending further down the throat.
g*. Breast slightly or much darker ; rarely any trace of
bars on under tail-coverts . .... =... =. melba; g. 3
h’. Breast paler.
e*, Bars confined to front and sides of breast ; under
Jessel, S. 2 =
tail-coverts uniform sandy buff ... . =. . &kirki, g.
jf*. Breast more barred; under tail-coverts with a
trace of bars in both sexes . . . . . . . soudamnensis, 3.
b. Wings and general plumage brown; under parts paler . . Young.
266 PYTELIA PHG@NICOPTERA
Pytelia phoenicoptera.
Pytilia phoenicoptera, Swains. B. W. Afr. i. p. 203, pl. 16 (1837) ; Sharpe,
Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 301 (1890) ; Butler, Foreign Finches in Captivity,
p- 149, pl. 29, fig. 2 (1894); Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 436 (1896) ;
Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 161 (1904).
Estrelda erythroptera, Less. Echo du Monde Sav. 1844, p. 295 Gambia.
Subspecies a.
Pytelia phoenicoptera emini, Hartert, Nov. Zool. 1899, p. 413 Lado ;
Reichen, Vog. Afr. iii. p. 161 (1904).
Adult male. Upper parts brownish grey, with the rump and upper tail-
coverts crimson-shaded scarlet; tail black, with the outer webs of the
feathers washed with red; wings dark brown, with broad crimson scarlet
outer edges to all the feathers, which colour extends over nearly the whole
of the lesser coverts; under wing-coverts white, with scarcely a trace of
ashy brown bars; quills with the inner edges slightly paler; sides of head
and neck, chin and throat nearly uniform grey, with only a few narrow
indistinct whitish bars showing on the upper and lower throat; remainder
of the under parts ashy grey, with white bars to the feathers, increasing in
width towards the under tail-coverts. ‘Iris red; bill black; tarsi and feet
reddish brown.” Total length 4:1 inches, culmen 0-45, wing, 2°25, tail 1:5,
tarsus 0°55. Gambia (Whiteley).
Subspecies P. emint.
Differs only in the under wing-coverts being much more distinctly barred.
Total length 48, culmen 0:45, wing 2:3, tail 1:6, tarsus 0°6. o, 16. 8. 84.
Lado (Emin).
The Black-billed Red-winged Pytelia, including P. emind,
ranges from Senegambia and the Gold Coast into the Upper
White Nile district.
The type of the species and the type of Hstreld
erythropterus both came from Senegambia. It is repre-
sented in the British Museum by two specimens, one from the
Gambia, and the other obtained by Emin at Lado on the Upper
White Nile. Dr. Reichenow records it from Accra, and inland
at Gambaga it has been met with, but according to Mr. Boyd
Alexander it is not common there. At this latter place Capt.
W. Giffard procured a male and female in July and August, 1889,
PYTELIA LINEATA 267
and Dr. Hartert remarks: ‘‘ These specimens have the throat
and ashy bars on the underside rather pale, and may be worthy
of subspecific rank, if a large series can be compared.” He
then proposes to separate as a subspecies the two specimens
known to him from Lado under the name of P. phenicoptera
emint. ‘These birds differ from Senegambian specimens of
P. phenicoptera in having the under wing-coverts barred with
ashy grey, in having somewhat narrower white bars on the
feathers of the breast and under tail-coverts, and in having the
throat as dark ashy grey as the crown.”
As I regard P. pheenicopterus emini as a very doubtfully
distinct form, I look upon Lado as the most southern and
eastern known range for the present species. Heuglin records
it from Wau and Bongo in the Gazelle River district, where
he found it to be shy and scarce, generally in pairs frequenting
the brush-wood and tall grass. The egg is, according to Mr.
Kuschel, white and measures 0°6 x 0°43.
Pytelia lineata.
Pytelia lineata, Heugl. J. f. O. 1863, p. 17 Dembea; Sharpe, Cat.
B. M. xiii. p. 301 (1890); Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 437 (1896);
Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 162 (1904).
“ Fringilla polyzona, Wiirt.,” Heugl. J. f. O. 1867, p. 303.
Male. Very like P. phanicoptera ; but differs in the bill being red, and
in the present specimen the under tail-coverts are mostly white. Total
length 4:7 inches, culmen 0°45, wing 2°3, tail 1‘6, tarsus 0°65. 12. 1. 99.
Chercher Lake (Lovat).
Female. Differs from the male in being duller, browner, and obsoletely
barred on the breast. Upper parts brown, with some rufous-shaded scarlet,
confined to the outer edges of the quills, upper tail-coverts and tail; sides of
the head, neck and under parts generally brownish ash, fading into white
on the lower chest and abdomen, and with indistinct buff bars; most of the
under tail-coverts buff. Total length 4-2 inches, culmen 0°45, wing 2:3, tail
1-5, tarsus 0°6. ¢g, 21. 3.99. Didera (Lovat). Neither of these birds are
in full adult plumage, and in both the iris was brown, which is probably a
sign of immaturity, for it should be red in adults.
268 PYTELIA HYPOGRAMMICA
Heuglin’s Red-winged Pytelia inhabits Abyssinia from
8° to 14° N. lat.
In the most southern range known for this species Lord
Lovat shot the two specimens I have above described at Lake
Chercher and the Didera River between Zeila and Shoa, in
about 8° N. lat. It is, as far as we know, confined to Abyssinia,
and is a very rare bird there. In the country between the
Blue Nile and the Atbara River, Heuglin procured two speci-
mens, including the type from Dembea, and remarked that
they lived in flocks, with other small Weavers, frequenting the
clumps of bamboos and the neighbouring pools. Prince Paul
of Wiirtemburg’s collection contained a specimen from Fazog],
on the label of which he had written “ Mringilla polyzona,” a
name uselessly published by Heuglin in 1867.
Pytelia hypogrammica.
Pytelia hypogrammica, Sharpe, Ibis, 1870, p. 56 Fantee ; id. Cat. B. M.
xiii. p. 802, pl. 12, fig. 2 (1890); Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 438 (1896) ;
Hartert, Nov. Zool. 1901, p. 341 Niger ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 161
(1904).
Adult female. Like the adult male of P. phenicoptera in the colouring of
the bill, head, neck, body, tail, legs and feet, but differs in the wing having
the outer edges of the feathers deep yellow. Total length 3-8 inches,
culmen 0:45, wing 2°2, tail 1:4, tarsus 06. ¢@, 26. 2. 72. Abokobi
(Shelley).
Adult male. Differs from the female in having the forehead, sides of
head, chin and upper throat crimson-shaded scarlet, and the centre of the
crown mottled with red ends to the feathers; the pale bars on the breast
and under tail-coverts are narrower. Total length 4:4 inches, culmen 0°45,
wing 2:2, tail 1:6, tarsus 0°6. Type, Fantee (Higgins).
The Black-billed Yellow-winged Pytelia ranges from the
Gold Coast to the Niger.
In the British Museum there are: the type discovered by
PYTELIA AFRA 269
Higgins in Fantee ; a female specimen I shot at Abokobi,
which is situated in the forest, at the base of the Aquapim
Mountains and close to the edge of the Accra Plain; another
hen from Gambaga (Northcott), and a male from Loko on the
Niger (Forbes). The species has also been obtained in Togo-
land at Krachi (Zech) and Bismarckburg (Biittner).
Pytelia afra.
Fringillatia afra, Gm. S. N. i. p. 905 (1788). ~~
Pytelia afra, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 302 (1890); Butler, Foreign
Finches in Captivity, p. 147, pl. 29, fig. 1 (1894); Shelley, B. Afr. I.
No. 439 (1896); Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 162 (1904).
Pytelia cinereigula, Cab. Orn. Centralbl. 1877, p. 182; id. J. f. O. 1878,
p- 101 Zanzibar, Mombasa.
Pytelia wieneri, Russ, Gefied. Welt. 1877, p. 317; Forbes, P. Z. S. 1880,
p. 476, pl. 47, fig. 2; Dubois, Bull. Mus. H. N. Belg. 1886, p. 149
Tanganyika.
“ Pytelia pyropteryx, Bohm,” Shalow, J. f. O. 1884, pp. 177, 178.
Male. Similar to P. hypogrammica, but differs in the bill being red;
body both above and below shaded with chrome yellow ; more white on the
under parts, the white bars broader and the centre of the abdomen uniform
white. Iris brown, bill and legs red. Total length 4:1 inches, culmen 0°45,
wing 2°35, tail 1:5, tarsus 0-6. Kassongo (Bohndorff).
Female. Similar in plumage to the male, from which it differs in having
no red on the head; upper parts browner, with only a slight yellow shade
on the mantle; sides of head, chin and upper throat greyish ash, the latter
with obscure narrow buff bars; whitish bars on the body broader. ‘“ Iris
light brown; bill and legs dusky.” Total length 4:1 inches, culmen 0-45,
wing 2°35, tail 1:5, tarsus 06. ¢, 12. 1.99. Chercher Lake (Lovat).
The Grey-necked Yellow-backed Pytelia ranges from the
Loango Coast into Benguela, and in Hast Africa from Nyasa-
land to Southern Abyssinia.
In West Africa, the most northern known range for the
species is the Loango Coast. Here Lucan and Petit have both
collected specimens at Landana. Along the banks of the
270 PYTELIA CITERIOR
Congo River Bohndorff met with it at Manyango and Kassongo.
In Benguela, according to Anchieta, it is known to the natives
of Galanga as the “ Cossocia,” and at the Capangombe River
as the “ Kabalacaxungo,” and I find no mention of it from
further south.
In Eastern Africa it is not uncommon in Nyasaland, where
specimens have been collected at Zomba and Fort Lister by
Mr. A. Whyte, and at Songwe and Karungu by Sir Alfred
Sharpe. Storms met with it on the western side of Lake
Tanganyika, and in German Hast Africa Béhm procured a
specimen at the Lufuku River, which he called in his note-
book P. pyrophterye. There are, in the British Museum,
specimens from Dar-es-Salaam, Mamboio and Lamu, collected
by Sir John Kirk. At Zanzibar Fischer met with the species in
parties of four to six, and found them breeding in the orange-
trees. The nest resembled that of Spermestes scutatus. At
Mombasa, Hildebrandt procured the type of P. cinereiqula, and
at Kaden, in .Kavirondo, Mr. Oscar Neumann obtained a
specimen. In South Abyssinia Lord Lovat met with it at
Lake Chercher and at Fayambiro, which is the most northern
range known for the species.
Pytelia citerior. (Pl. 34, fig. 2.)
Pytelia citerior, Strickl. Contr. Orn. 1852, p. 151; Shelley, B. Afr. I. No.
440 (1896) ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 165 (1904).
Zonogastris citerior, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 299 (1890 pt.) Sene-
gambia ; Reichen. J. f. O. 1891, p. 389; 1902, p. 87 Togo.
Pytelia melba (non Linn.), Reichen. J. f. O. 1877, p. 3 Bonny, Old
Calabar.
Subspecies a.
Pytelia jessei, Shelley, Bull. B. O. C. xiii. p. 76 (1903) Anseba R.
Zonogastris citerior, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 299 (1890 pt.) Abyssinia.
—,
PYTELIA CITERIOR 271
Adult male. Forehead, sides of head, chin and upper third of throat
bright scarlet ; crown, back and sides of neck ashy grey; mantle, middle
back and wings uniform olive-tinted yellow, with the inner portion of the
quills brown ; upper tail-coverts crimson-shaded scarlet ; tail black strongly
washed on the outer webs of the feathers with crimson ; under wing-coverts
white, with a few brown bars and the pinion shaded with yellow, and occa-
sionally one or two scarlet feathers; inner edges of the quills buff; remain-
ing two-thirds of the throat and the crop bright yellow, passing into white
on the breast; crop obscurely, and the chest and sides of the abdomen
sharply, barred with dusky brown; thighs and under tail-coverts entirely
white. ‘Iris, tarsi and feet light brown; bill dull red’”’ (Witherby). Total
length 4:6 inches, culmen 0°45, wing 2:2, tail 1:8, tarsus 0°6. g, St.
Louis (Laglaise).
Adult female. Differs from the male in having no red or yellow on the
head and throat; forehead ashy brown like the crown, sides of head paler
ash; chin and throat white, with narrow ashy brown bars most strongly
marked on the lower half, where they are as broad as the alternate bars of
white; the dark bars on the body are paler, slightly broader, and more
confined to the sides of the body. Wing 2°3. Senegambia (Whiteley).
Subspecies, Pytelia jesset.
Distinguished from P. citerior by the white on the feathers towards the
crop inclining to rounded spots in full plumaged males, in the breast being
more strongly barred in both sexes, and in the under tail-coverts generally
showing traces of bars. Wing2:3. ¢g, 27.7.68, Anseba (Jesse); 9 ,4.2. 68,
Annesley Bay (Blanford).
The Senegal Yellow-throated Pytelia ranges from the
Senegal River to Old Calabar, eastward to the Nile, and is
represented in Northern Abyssinia by an extremely nearly
allied subpsecies, P. jessei.
Of the typical form there are, in the British Museum, three
adult males and a female from Senegambia, including one
obtained by Laglaise at St. Louis; also a cock and two hens
from the Nile. ‘The type is one of Verreaux’s specimens from
Casamanse, and Beauduin procured the species at Bissao. In
Togoland it has been met with by Dr. Biittner at Bismarck-
burg, and to this species probably belong the ‘“‘ P. melba,”
recorded in Falkenstein’s collection from Bonny and Old
Calabar.
272 PYTELIA CITERIOR
In the British Museum there are two female specimens,
one from Khartoum and the other from El-Dueim, which I
refer to this form, and a full plumaged male from Shebesha in
the same district, obtained by Mr. Witherby, who writes :
‘“* Wherever the Sont-trees were thick enough to form a wood
these birds were generally to be found.” Mr. A. L. Butler
has shown me a typically coloured specimen he shot January 2,
1903, at Fatasha, twenty miles west of Omdurman, and he
writes : ‘Common in the Sont-trees round Fatasha and breed-
ing there in January. Its call-note is a long plaintive whistle.
Capt. Dunn procured the species at the Habeish Well in
West Kordofan. I also found it abundant in the thorny bush
round Gedaref in April and May, when they were just getting
the red feathers on the face and were in full plumage by June.
At Om Muttra Meila (north of Rahad) they were plentiful
when I camped there, January 7 and 8, hopping freely about
close to my tent.”
P. jessei is represented in the British Museum by three
males collected by Mr. Jesse at the Anseba Valley, Bejook and
Rairo, and a female from Annesley Bay obtained by Dr.
Blanford, who writes: ‘‘ Occasionally met with near the coast
and also in the Anseba Valley up to 4,000 or 4,500 feet above
the sea.” The specimen shot by Lord Lovat at the Blue Nile
is in immature plumage.
According to Heuglin, the species inhabits the warmer parts
of North-east Africa, the Samhar coasts, Bogos, the southern
parts of Nubia and Takah, the Blue and White Nile and
Kordofan. They were generally met with singly or in pairs
frequenting clumps of trees and bushes and hopping to and fro
from the lower branches and the ground; they were never
found among rocks and rarely in the open grass country.
PYTELIA MELBA 273
Pytelia melba.
Fringilla melba, Linn. 8. N. (x.) p. 180 (1758); (xii.) i. p. 319 (1766).
Pytelia melba, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 441 (1896); Reichen. Vég. Afr.
ili, p. 163 (1904).
Zonogastris melba, Dubois, Mus. H. N. Belg. 1886, p. 149 Tanganyika ;
Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 296 (1890).
Fringilla speciosa, Bodd. Tabl. Pl. Enl. p. 12 (1783).
Fringilla elegans, Gm. 8. N. ii. p. 912 (1788).
Subspecies a.
Pytelia kirki, Shelley, Bull. B. O. C. xiii. p. 76 (1903) Lamu.
Zonogastris melba, pt. Jackson, Ibis, 1899, p. 606 Kibwesi.
Pytelia melba, pt. Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 163 (1904).
Subspecies b.
Zonogastris soudanensis, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 298 (1890) Keren,
Khartoum.
Pytelia soudanensis, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 442 (1896).
Pytilia melba soudanensis, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 164 (1904).
Zonogastris melba affinis, Elliot, Field Columb. Mus. Orn. i. No. 2, p. 24
(1897) Somali.
Pytelia affinis, Grant, Ibis, 1904, p. 258 Danakil.
Pytelia melba, pt. Jackson, Ibis, 1899, p. 606 Nyemps.
Adult male. Similar to P. citerior, from which it differs in having more
red on the throat; white portion of feathers towards the crop inclining to
round twin-spots ; the blackish and white bars on the body of about equal
amount. ‘Bill crimson; iris red; legs and feet light brown”’ (Alexander).
Total length 4°6 inches, culmen 0°5, wing 2°25, tail 1:9, tarsus 0°65.
Transvaal (T. Ayres).
Adult female. Similar to that P. citerior, but differs in the chin and
throat being uniform greyish ash. ‘‘ Bill crimson; iris red; legs dark brown ”
(I. E. Buckley). Wing 2:3. Transvaal (T. Ayres).
Young male. No yellow on the plumage; crown, back and wings ashy
brown; upper tail-coverts and outer edges of tail-feathers red; sides of
head and the under parts pale ashy brown, fading into white on centre of
abdomen; a few scarlet feathers on the throat; breast with a few blackish
feathers with broad white bands inclining to twin-spots on front of chest.
g, 29. 7.66. Otjimbinque (Andersson).
Subspecies a. P. kirki.
Differs from the South African form in having the breast paler; the
dark bars browner and confined to the front and sides of the breast; under
tail-coverts entirely uniform sandy buff. Wing 2:25. 3, Lamu (Kirk).
(December, 1904. 18
274 PYTELIA MELBA
Subspecies b. P. soudanensis.
Most similar to the South African bird, but differs from both of the
former ones in having on the under tail-coverts narrow, more or less distinct,
brown bars. ‘Bill and iris red; feet pale grey.’ Wing 2:25. Lado (Emin).
The Melba Pytelia ranges from Loango and the Congo into
Damaraland on the west, and eastward from Natal to the
Equator.
It has been obtained in Loango, at Chinchonxo (Falken-
stein), and at Landana (Petit); on the Upper Congo at Ujiji
(Bohndorff) ; in Angola at Malandje (Mechow). In the
British Museum there are two full plumaged males from the
Quanza River, and one from Benguela, procured by Mr.
Monteiro, who also met with it at Loanda, Katumbella and
Dombe, where he found it “called by the Portuguese
‘ Marachao,’ and much esteemed as a cage-bird on account of
its marvellously sweet song”; according to Anchieta it is
known to the natives as the ‘ Maracaxongo”’ in the Quissange
district, and as the “‘ Kangungo”’ at Biballa; it has also been
recorded from Humpata (Kellen). Andersson writes: “ This
Finch is found sparingly in Damara and Great Namaqualand,
and usually occurs in pairs; its favourite resort is low bush
and old abandoned village fences, whence the Damaras call
it the ‘ Kraal Bird.’ Its food consists of insects.’ They live
generally in pairs in the thick bush near the ground and are
not shy.
I do not find it recorded from Cape Colony ; but it is well
represented in the British Museum by specimens from Natal,
the Transvaal, Bamangwato, Matabele, Zambesi and Nyasa-
land. The species has been met with also at Eschowe in
Zululand by the Messrs. Woodward, and at Inhambani by
Peters.
At the Zambesi Mr. Boyd Alexander found the species
ne
Kap ATE
—
PYTELIA MELBA 275
“locally distributed, the male sex predominating. In Sep-
tember the young were abroad. On one occasion, September 8,
we observed a pair of birds feeding four young ones perched
in a row on a branch, and they were by no means shy,
allowing of a close approach. The adults had then commenced
to moult and were not in good plumage again till the middle
of January. In the males the colouration of the plumage
varies considerably in intensity. The scarlet of the rump and
tail is very conspicuous in flight.”
In the Shiré district, according to Mr. Percival, it is rare
and always found in pairs; an adult male he procured here
at Ruo River, in February, 1899, and now in the British
Museum, has traces of bars on the under tail-coverts as well
developed as in at least one specimen of P. soudanensis. Mr.
Whyte obtained a single specimen in Nyasaland at Tshiroma.
The only specimen from Hast Africa, in the British
Museum, is the type of P. kirki, which differs far more than
P. soudanensis does from the typical P. melba ; but Dr.
Reichenow refers to P. melba all the specimens from Cape
Delgado (Cardosa), Malangali (Marwitz), Kionga (Stuhlmann),
Kakoma and Karema (Bohm), Dar-es-Salaam (Buxton),
Kibiro, Nyanglu and Ugogo (Emin), Usegua, Massa, Neuruka,
Pare, Kagehi and Lamu (Fischer), Ndi (Hildebrandt), Lamu
(Kirk), Manda’ Island, Kibwesi and Njemps (Jackson),
Makindos (Ansorge), Kwa _ Kissero and Kwa _ Kitoto
(Neumann).
When I described P. kirki, I expected that it would prove
to be the Hast African representative of P. melba, between
Lake Nyassa and the Equator.
It is, however, still known to me only by the type, and two
specimens from Southern Ukamba. Regarding the latter,
Mr. Jackson writes: ‘Nos. 72, 73, ¢ ad. Kibwesi, April 10,
1892. Iris hazel, with crimson tint; bill bright red; feet
276 CRYPTOSPIZA
bluish flesh colour. No. 73 was shot as it left its nest, which
was built of dry grass very roughly put together, with no
extra lining, and placed in a low stunted bush, about three
feet from the ground. The egg is pure white. The species
is fairly plentiful throughout the country.” All the specimens
from other localities I have seen in Mr. Jackson’s collection
belong to P. soudanensis.
The Soudanese Pytelia ranges over North-east Africa from
the neighbourhood of the Equator to 16° N. lat.
This bird is represented in the British Museum from
Manda Island (Jackson), Lado and Kibiro (Emin), Lake
Stefanie (Donaldson-Smith), Shibili (Gillett), Aruweina
(Pease), Danakil (Degan), Keren (Hsler), and the type from
Kordofan. I have also found this form represented in Mr.
Jackson’s collection from Lake Baringo, Uganda, and the
Albert Nyanza. In one of his specimens, labelled ‘“ Butiaba,
3,” the barring on the under tail-coverts is scarcely traceable,
not being more strongly developed than in Mr. Percival’s male
from the Shiré district; but this is the only specimen I have
seen from north of the Equator, in which the characteristic
bars on the under tail-coverts have not been fairly distinct.
To this subspecies should be referred Zonogastris melba affinis,
Elliot, and I doubt the specimens referred to P. melba by Dr.
Reichenow from the northern parts of its range belonging to
the typical race.
Genus XVI. CRYPTOSPIZA.
Bill stout, shorter than the head, as deep as broad at the nostvrils;
culmen rounded and moderately curved; cutting edges of upper mandible
slightly festooned near the gape; nostrils basal and hidden by the frontal
feathers. Wing rounded; primaries 1, small, narrow, and sharply pointed ;
2, entire, shorter than 7. Tail fan-shaped, shorter than the wing. Tarsus
moderate, toes and claws rather long and slender; outstretched feet reach
CRYPTOSPIZA SALVADORII 277
beyond the end of the tail. Plumage with some red on the wings, rump
and upper tail-coverts; tail entirely black as in Nigrita.
Type.
Cryptospiza, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Genoy. 1884, p.180 . . C. reichenowt.
The genus is confined to Tropical Africa, and comprises five species.
KEY TO THE SPECIES.
a. Flanks with bright crimson; lower mandible blackish like
the upper one.
a1, No greyish black on the under parts.
a?, Under parts olive green; males only, with sometimes a
peaeh of red on the sides of the head.
. Under tail-coverts tinted withred . .. . . . salvadorii.
5 No red on under tail-coverts . . . . reichenowit. -
62. Under parts brown, with apes any olive Shade . . australis. >
61, Under parts greyish black. . . 2 6 8 Oo 4 OO 0 Week
6. Flanks cinnamon; lower mandiblered. . . . . . . .« shelleyi.
Cryptospiza salvadorii.
Cryptospiza salvadorii, Reichen. J. f. O. 1892, pp. 187, 221 Siotalit ;
Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 379 (1896) ; Reichen. Vog. Atte iii, p. 174
(1904).
Type. Head, neck and under parts dusky olive; throat yellower; back,
upper tail-coverts, wing-coverts and edges of the inner secondaries crimson ;
sides of body washed with crimson ; under tail-coverts slightly tinted with
red; under wing-coverts dull yellowish; tail black. “ Ivis hazel; bill black;
tarsi and feet reddish; eyelids bare and red.” Total length 4:1 inches,
culmen 0°4, wing 2°3, tail 1°7, tarsus 0-7. 3, 23.9. 79. Siotalit (Antinori).
Female. Similar to the male in plumage, but with the eyelids dusky
(Antinori).
Salvadori’s Crimson-wing inhabits Eastern Africa between
8° S. lat. and 10° N. lat.
In its most southern range the species has been met with
by Dr. Stuhlmann at Uluguru. Antinori discovered the type
at Siotalit in Shoa, and remarks that the sexes are distinguish-
able in colouring only by the eyelids, which are bright red in
278 CRYPTOSPIZA REICHENOWI
the males, and dusky in the females. Dr. Reichenow further
records it from Kikuyu, and doubts C. australis from Nyasaland
being distinct from OC. salvadorti; but as that has not been
proved to be the case, I have retained the former as a separate
species.
Cryptospiza reichenowi.
Pytelia reichenowi, Hartl. Ibis, 1874, p. 166 Bondongo ; Reichen. J. f. O.
1875, p. 41, pl. 2, fig. 1 Camaroons.
Cryptospiza reichenowi, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 254; Shelley, B. Afr.
I. No. 378 (1896); Reichen. V6g. Afr. iii. p. 174 (1904).
Cryptospiza ocularis, Sharpe, Bull. B. O. C. xiii. p. 8 (1902) Ruwenzorv.
Cryptospiza elize, Alexander, Bull. B. O. C. xiii. p. 38 (1902) Fer-
nando Po.
Adult male. Head and neck olive green, paler and yellower on the chin
and throat; a large patch of deep scarlet surrounds the eye and extends to
the side of the bill; back, scapulars and upper tail-coverts crimson ; wings
and tail blackish brown, with some edges to the inner coverts and inner
secondaries crimson, like the back; breast, thighs and under tail-coverts
dusky olive, paler and yellower down the centre of the chest; flanks
crimson. ‘Iris black; bill slaty black; feet brown’’ (Alexander). Total
length 4-4 inches, culmen 0:45, wing 2:15, tail 1-7, tarsus 0°65. g, 10. 2.02.
Ruwenzori (Jackson).
Adult female. Differs in having no red on the side of the head, which
is pale olive, fading into buff in front of the eyes. Wing 2:1. Camaroons
(Preuss).
Reichenow’s. Crimson-wing ranges from Fernando Po
through Camaroons to the Ruwenzori Mountains.
The occurrence of the species in Fernando Po was first
made known by Mr. Boyd Alexander, who procured, near
Bakaki, at an elevation of 4,000 feet, the type of C. elize, an
adult male, and two immature males, “similar to the adult,
but lacking the red round the eyes and on the lores, the latter
being buffish brown, while the carmine red on the back, rump,
CRYPTOSPIZA AUSTRALIS 279
and upper tail-coverts is less pronounced. Legs and feet
whitish brown.”
In Camaroons, the type, a female, was discovered by Dr.
Reichenow at Bondongo, and Dr. Preuss obtained an adult
male at Buea.
In the Ruwenzori range of mountains Mr. Jackson pro-
cured a full plumage male, which was made the type of
C. ocularis, Dr. Sharpe believing the red patch in proximity
to the eye to be a specific character, but this has been proved
to be only a distinguishing character of the male in full
plumage.
Cryptospiza australis.
Cryptospiza australis, Shelley, Ibis, 1896, p. 184 Milanji; 1897, p. 529
Masuku ; 1898, p. 554 Chiradzulu.
Cryptospiza reichenowi (non Haril.), Shelley, Ibis, 1893, p. 26; 1894,
p. 471 Milanji.
Type. General plumage dark brown, with a very faint olive shade,
under parts generally slightly paler; tail entirely brownish black; rump,
upper tail-coverts, and broad edges to the outer webs of the four innermost
secondaries, bright crimson ; remainder of the back, the ends of the greater
wing-coverts, and the flanks are slightly washed or mottled with crimson.
Iris brown; bill black; tarsi and feet dark brown. Total length 4:4 inches,
culmen 0°45, wing 2:2, tail 1:8, tarsus 0-7.
In one specimen there are a few minute crimson feathers at the gape.
The Southern Crimson-wing inhabits British Central
Africa.
Mr. Alexander Whyte discovered the type in the Shiré
highlands, where he met with the species on the Milanji
Plateau and further north at Kombi on the Masuku range at
an elevation of 7,000 feet. Other specimens have been pro-
cured by Sir Alfred Sharpe on Chiradzulu, a high mountain
between Zomba and Blantire. In the British Museum there
are five of these specimens collected in June, July and
280 CRYPTOSPIZA SHELLEYI
November, one is sexed as male, and three others females by
Sir Alfred Sharpe, and I cannot detect any seasonal or sexual
difference in their plumage.
Cryptospiza jacksoni. (PI. 35, fig. 2.)
Cryptospiza jacksoni, Sharpe, Bull. B. O. C. xiii. p. 8 (1902) Rawenzori ;
Reichen. Vog. Afr. ii. p. 175 (1904).
Type. General plumage crimson and greyish black. Forehead, crown,
sides of head, sides of upper neck, upper tail-coverts, broad outer edges to
the secondaries, broad ends to the median wing-coverts, and broad ends to
some of the feathers of the flanks crimson; nape, neck, chin, throat, most
of breast, thighs and the under tail-coverts greyish black; remainder of the
wings and the entire tail dusky black. ‘Iris brown; bill, tarsi and feet
black.” Total length 4:5 inches, culmen 0:45, wing 2:35, tail 1°75,
tarsus 0°9. g, 10. 2. 02. Ruwenzori (Jackson).
Jackson’s Crimson-wing inhabits the Ruwenzori Mountains
of Equatorial Central Africa.
Mr. Jackson, who discovered the type in the Ruwenzori
Mountains, obtained three other specimens there, and no doubt
he will shortly publish some notes on the habits of this hand-
some bird.
Cryptospiza shelleyi. (Pl. 35, fig. 3.)
Cryptospiza shelleyi, Sharpe, Bull. B. O. C. xiii. p. 21 (1902) Ruwenzori ;
Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 175 (1904).
Male. Forehead and crown, as well as the back-and sides of the neck,
olive green; back, scapulars and upper tail-coverts crimson; wings and tail
blackish brown; sides of head slightly paler olive than the crown and with
a rufous tinge in front; chin, throat and centre of chest paler yellowish
olive, gradually shading into cinnamon on the sides of the chest, and into
dusky black on the abdomen, thighs, under tail-coverts and sides of the
rump. ‘Iris brown; bill with the upper mandible blackish and the lower
one red; legs dark brown.” Total length 5:1 inches, culmen 0:5, wing 2:5,
tail 2:1, tarsus 0°85. g, 22. 2.02. Ruwenzori (Jackson).
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THE BIRDS
|.Pyrenestes minor.
2.Cryptospiza jackson. e1Ceshellleyr.
PYRENESTES 281
Shelley’s Crimson-wing inhabits the Ruwenzori Mountains
of Central Equatorial Africa.
This is the second good new species of the genus discovered
by Mr. Jackson during the recent expedition to Ruwenzori.
The type, an adult male, was procured for him in that mountain
range, February 22, 1902. I appreciate the kindness of my
friends, Mr. Jackson and Dr. Sharpe, in naming this remarkably
fine species after me.
Genus XVII. PYRENESTES.
Bill very stout, shorter than the head, as deep as broad at the nostrils ;
culmen and keel straight or very nearly so, and the sides straight ; cutting
edges of the upper mandible with a projecting notch, more or less strongly
defined towards the gape; base of lower mandible ends at the chin in a
wide even curve; nasal orifice basal and covered by the frontal feathers.
Wing rounded ; primaries 1 small, slender and sharply pointed; 2 equal
to 6; 4and 5 longest. Tail fan-shaped. Tarsus moderate; toes and claws
rather long and slender. Plumage of two colours, crimson and brown, or
crimson and black; upper tail-coverts crimson; tail washed above with
crimson ; in adults the head is entirely or partly bright glossy crimson.
Type.
Pyrenestes, Swains. Classif. B. ii. p. 277 (1837) . . . PP. sanguineus.
The genus is confined to Tropical Africa, and comprises four species.
KEY TO THE SPECIES.
a. Forehead and upper half of throat crimson. . . . . . Adults.
a1, Entire crown and throat crimson.
a?, Entire head and neck crimson.
a’, With brown and no black on the plumage.
a*, Larger; culmen 0°6, wing 2°8 (approximately) . sanguwineus. > ‘
b+, Smaller; culmen 0:5, wing 245... . . . coccineus, 3. :
63, With black and no brown on the plumage . . . ostrinus, 3.2 9:
(coccineus, 2.
* lostrinus, 2.
b1. Front of crown and upper half only of the throat
CULMSONGUTEE EE OMCs Sos tes ste st ee SOLIUOT), SU
b. General plumage brown, with the upper tail-coverts and
upper surface of tailred . . . . ... =... =. « Jmmature.
b2. Nape and hinder half of neck brown .
282 PYRENESTES SANGUINEUS
Pyrenestes sanguineus.
Pyrenestes sanguineus, Swains. B. W. Afr. i. p. 156, pl. 9 (1837).
Pyrenestes ostrinus (non Vieill.), Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 252 (1890
pt. 2) Senegambia; Salvad. Ann. Mus. Genoy. 1901, p. 776,
Bulama Isl.
Pyrenestes personatus, Du Bus, Bull. Acad. Brux. xxii. p. 151 (1855)
Senegal.
Adult. Head, neck, lower back, upper tail-coverts, front and sides of
the breast glossy crimson; upper surface of tail very strongly washed with
crimson; remainder of the plumage brown, with a shade of red near the
under tail-coverts. Iris brown; bill glossy blackish blue; tarsi and feet
dark brown. Total length 6 inches, culmen 0:7, wing 2°8, tail 2:4, tarsus 0°8.
Gambia River.
Swainson’s Notch-billed Weaver ranges from Senegambia
to Sierra Leone.
The type of P. personatus is in the Brussels Museum,
labelled ‘‘ Senegal.’ In the British Museum there are four
specimens, all from the Gambia, and I have not seen any other
examples of this large species, but believe the type came
from Sierra Leone, for Hartlaub records a specimen from
that locality in Swainson’s collection.
On the island of Bulama, Fea procured two males and a
female all in the brown plumage which caused Count Salvadori
to express his doubt as to their belonging to the same species
as P. ostrinus (Vieill.).
Pyrenestes coccineus
Pyrenestes coccineus, Cass. Proc. Philad. Acad. 1848, p. 67 Sierra Leone,
Monrovia ; id. Journ. Philad. Acad. i. p. 242, pl. 31, fig. 2 (1848) ;
Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 253 (1890 pt.); Shelley, B. Afr. I. No.
357 (1896).
Adult male. Rather pale chocolate brown, with entire head, rump,
upper tail-coverts, throat, front and sides of breast glossy crimson; upper
PYRENESTES COCCINEUS 283
surface of tail dark crimson with a brownish tinge. ‘Iris dark crimson ;
eyelids, with the portion above and below the eye pure white; bill glossy
blue black; tarsi, feet and claws brownish flesh-colour.” Total length 5
inches, culmen 0:5, wing 2°45, tail 1:9, tarsus 0'7. Sierra Leone (Kemp).
Adult female. Differs in having the nape and back of neck brown, the
former slightly tinted with red; the red not extending below the centre of
the crop, and the flanks only slightly washed with that colour. Wing 2-4.
Sierra Leone (Kemp).
Immature. More olive brown, with the red duller and confined to the
upper tail-coverts and tail. Sierra Leone (Kemp).
Cassin’s Notch-billed Weaver inhabits Sierra Leone and
Liberia.
When Cassin first named the species he had several
examples from Sierra Leone and Monrovia, and evidently
figured an adult male. Mr. Kemp has recently collected a
series of sixteen specimens from Rotifunk (October), Jamba-
mah and Bo (August and September), proving that this species
is distinct from the larger and more northern form, LP. san-
guineus, which it closely resembles in the brown colouring of
both sexes, and differs from P. osfrinus chiefly in the brown
colouring of the males. He writes: “In habits, these birds
closely resemble Lagonosticta polionota, and frequent the same
swamps and farms as Spermospiza hematina. They are
extremely wily, and in moving from one place to another rise
high in the air and fly rapidly, with many twists and undula-
tions, and are difficult to approach within gun-shot; but by
placing snares among the young rice, in localities they were
known to frequent, I obtained the present species and
Spermospiza hematina, in about equal numbers. <A hen obtained
on August 22 contained an egg, from which i conclude they
breed here in August and September.”
In the month of October Mr. Biittikofer found a colony
of about ten nests, placed in a clump of trees growing in a
marsh near Robertsport. The nests were very large and
284 PYRENESTES OSTRINUS
consisted of a heap of dead reed-leaves, and were hidden in
the forks amongst the thick foliage, at the height of about
four feet. A narrow aperture, on one side of the nest, leads
into the interior, which is lined with soft grass. The eggs,
generally six in number, are pure white and measure 0°68 x
0°52. In one instance the fresh nest was built on the top of
an old one.
He justly remarks, that the fact of his never having seen
nor collected a male with black plumage, though he observed
the colony during several days, and got a series of undoubted
adult males. females and young specimens, is strongly in
favour of P. coccineus being a good species. He afterwards
collected seven specimens at Oldfield on the Mussurad River,
and adult males at Shieffelinsville and Gallilee Mountain, but
never saw one in the black plumage.
Pyrenestes ostrinus.
Loxia ostrina, Vieill. Ois. Chant. p. 79, pl. 48 (1805, bad).
Coccothraustes ostrinus, Vieill. Gal. Ois. p. 70, pl. 60 (1825, good).
Pyrenestes ostrinus, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 252 (1890 pt.) Niger ;
Emin, J. f. O. 1894, p. 170; Kuschel, J. f. O. 1895, p. 336 egg;
Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 356 (1896); Reichen. J. f. O. 1897, p. 38
Togo ; Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 125 egg, Chinchonxo ; Hartert, Nov.
Zool. 1891, p. 341 Niger; Reichen. J. f. O. 1902, p. 36 Togo; id.
Vog. Afr. iii. p. 106 (1904 pt.).
Pyrenestes coccineus (non Cass.), Bouvier, Cat. Ois. Marche, &c. p. 25
(1875) Gaboon ; Sharpe and Bouvier, Bull. Soc. Z. France, 1878,
p. 74 Landana ; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 253 (1890) Gold Coast,
Gaboon, Leopoldville, Tingasi ; Shelley, Ibis, 1890, p. 166 Yambuya;
Reichen. J. f. O. 1890, p. 123 Camaroons ; Oberholser, Pr. U.S.
Mus. xxii. p. 17 Camaroons ; Reichen. J. f. O. 1892, p. 45 Sesse Isl.
Pyrenestes personatus (non Du Bus), Reichen. J. f. O. 1875, p. 41
Gaboon; 1887, p. 305 Leopoldville ; 1890, p. 123; 1896, p. 33
Camaroons.
Adult male. Head, neck, lower back, upper tail-coverts, edges of the
tail-feathers, crop and sides of body uniform glossy crimson; upper surface
PYRENESTES OSTRINUS 285
of tail very strongly washed with crimson; in front of the forehead an
extremely narrow line of black, and the remainder of the plumage is black,
with a faint brown tinge on the wings. ‘Iris chestnut brown; bill blue
black; culmen basally greyish blue; eyelids black, with pale blue grey
median spots on each; legs dark horn colour.” Total length 5:6 inches,
culmen 0:6, wing 2°85, tail 2:5, tarsus 0°9. 3g, 19.11.82. Shonga (W. A.
Forbes).
Adult female. Differs chiefly in the parts which are black in the male
being pale chocolate brown, and also in the nape as well as the back and
sides of the neck being brown. ‘ Iris dark yellowish carmine ; eyelids white;
feet light horn colour” (Zeuner). Total length 4:6 inches, culmen 0:5, wing
2:4, tail 1:9, tarsus 0°8. Gaboon (Verreaux).
Vieillot’s Notch-billed Weaver ranges from the Gold Coast
to Angola and the Victoria Nyanza.
Unlike the other known species of this genus, the present
one varies considerably in size, in the strength, and even in
the form of the bill, and the sexes are readily distinguishable
by the plumage, which is black in the adult males where it is
brown in the females. To prove that none of these characters
are of specific value is difficult, but I believe this to be a fact,
for the following reasons: he black and the brown plumaged
birds, which I call males and females, have apparently the
same distribution. In the British Museum only four of the
specimens have been sexed by their collectors, these are all
males and in the black plumage. Of these, by far the largest
is Forbes’s specimen from the Niger; in other males the
measurements are: culmen 0°5 and 0°6, and the width of the
bill varies to the same extent; wing 2°4 and 2°5; the former
is a bird labelled “‘ Fantee (Swanzy),” and the latter ‘*‘ Gaboon
(Verr.).” The females measure: culmen 0°5 and 0°55; wing
2°3 and 2°65. The smaller of these is labelled “‘Gaboon (Verr.
Sharpe Coll.),” and the larger one was procured for me by Mr.
Kirby, on the Gold Coast near Accra.
The species appears to be scarce, but fairly evenly dis-
286 PYRENESTES OSTRINUS
tributed throughout its range. In Ashantee Pel procured
a specimen which Hartlaub refers to the black male form, and
in the British Museum there is one black and three brown
specimens, all unsexed. The latter vary considerably in size,
but not at all in their colouring. In Togoland Mr. Baumann
obtained a male in the black plumage.
The only specimen yet recorded from the Niger is the
unusually large bird from Shongo, to which Forbes referred in
his notebook: “Nov. 19. Down to palm-grove in morning.
Got two new birds (Pyronestes ostrinus, $, and two Agialitis
tricollaris) in the rice-fields.’ The latter bird is Oxyechus
forbesi.
In Camaroons Dr. Reichenow found apparently both sexes
near the coast; Dr. Zeuner met with a flock in brown
plumage, possibly the females with their young, at Baromi
Station, and Mr. Bates has procured a small male in the black
plumage at the Ja River. In Gaboon Du Chaillu collected
specimens at the Moonda and Camma Rivers, and in Loango
Falkenstein and Petit have both met with it. Along the
Congo River Bohndorff obtained the two forms at Manyango
and Leopoldville, and from Yambuya, on the Aruwimi, there
are two males in the black plumage, collected by Jameson.
Another black male, obtained by Emin at Tingasi, is now in
the British Museum. The species has been obtained by Dr.
Stuhlmann on the island of Sesse in Victoria Nyanza, which is
the most eastern range known for these birds. They have also
been recorded from Angola (Mechow).
It is strange how seldom the brown female specimens have
been sexed by their collectors; also that the eggs of this
species should be spotted, while they are pure unspotted white
in P. coccineus, according to Mr. Biittikofer.
Both Mr. Kuschel and Mr. Nehrkorn describe the eggs of
the present species as of a salmon colour with underlying
PYRENESTES MINOR 287
yellowish brown marks and clear reddish brown spots, and
measuring 0°8 X 0°56.
Pyrenestes minor. (Pl. 35, fig. 1.)
Pyrenestes minor, Shelley, Ibis, 1894, p. 20 Zomba, Milanji; id. B. Afr.
I. No. 358 (1896) ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 107 (1904).
Type. General plumage earthy brown ; wings rather darker; centre of
breast slightly washed with buff; forehead, sides of head, chin, upper throat
and the upper tail-coverts bright crimson ; upper surface of the tail strongly
washed with crimson; under wing-coverts brown with buff edges. Bill
glossy blue black; tarsi and feet brown. Total length 5-2 inches, culmen 0:4,
wing 2°3, tail 2-2, tarsus 0'7. ¢, 8.92. Milanji Plain (A. Whyte).
The Lesser Notch-billed Weaver inhabits the country
between the Shiré River and Lake Shirwa.
It is known at present only by the two specimens obtained
by Mr. Alexander Whyte at Zomba and on Mount Milanji,
between 15° and 16° §. lat.
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