ae 


THE 
y 


‘ 
‘E 


Pee OF AFRICA. 


COMPRISING ALL THE SPECIES WHICH OCCUR 


IN THE 


ETHIOPIAN REGION. 


G. E. SHELLEY, F.ZS., F.R.G.S., &C. 
(LATE GRENADIER GUARDS), 


AUTHOR OF ‘fA HANDBOOK TO THE BIRDS OF EGYPT,” 


‘©, MONOGRAPH OF THE SUN-BIRDS,”’ ETC. 


ViOiES IV. 


PART IL. 


LO:NDiOIN:: 
PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR BY 
R. H. PORTER, 7, PRINCES STREET, CAVENDISH SQUARE, W. 
1905. 


ansonian Instityg: 
ow Dp 


JUL 31 1905 
ty ZLAI 


tional Musev™: 


FS16:-2.06 
.Sb4 
& Birds 


CONTENTS. 
PAGE PAGE 

List oF PLatTEs 300 50 nde v. 047. Sharpia angolensis... ..» 306 

Subfamily III. Proceinz ... .. 289) 548. 5  sancti-thome ... 336 

Genus I. SpmRMOSPIZA 300 ... 292 | Genus X. ANAPLECTES at noo itl 
523. Spermospiza hematina ... 292 6549. Anaplectes melanotis ... .. 338 
524. 4s guttata ... .. 294 7 ,, var. blundelli 338 
525. 7 rubricapilla  ... 296 | . aval: 

Genus II. Cryrospiza ane sae 296 erythrogenys 338 
526. Clytospiza monteiri ... saa PASC || tayaleh o rubriceps ... .. 341 

Genus III. Sporoprrres sad coo PASS) | 94 » var. gurneyi 341 
527, Sporopipes squamifrons ... 298 | Genus XI. Mauimpus whe .. 3845 
528. o frontalis ... ... 3800 551. Malimbus rubricollis ... ... 346 

Genus IVY. AMBLYOSPIZA _..... one GhORN |) zaps iss bartletti ... soo BR 
529. Amblyospiza albifrons .. 803 553. & malimbicus .. 3849 
530. 5 unicolor... .. 9806] 554, PA cassini a poo ax010) 
531. Pr melanota ee SOM wooDs nf, nitens aa ool 
532. s capitalba 556. - scutatus 352 

(Pl. xxxvi.) 309 5 » var. 

Genus V. DINEMELLIA son tee | LO) scutopartitus 353 
533. Dinemellia dinemelli ... ee oll | 507. % erythrogaster 305 
534. Aa boehmi ... oo enleys |) Bystey. . racheliz abo 

Genus VI. TExtor ... one .. 314) Genus XII. Crnnamopreryx .. 396 
535. Textor albirostris ... ... 315) 559. Cinnamopteryx castaneofusca 357 
536. », senegalensis ... saa elle | 560. os tricolor 
537. , intermedius ... Ben oH | (Pl. xxxvili.) 359 
538. jy) mc eress. Te eos Oil ols Pr, interscapularis 361 

Genus VII. Histurcors _... .. 323 | Genus XIII. Menanopreryx me OO 
539. Histurgops ruficauda ... ... 323 562. Melanopteryx nigerrima .. 862 

Genus VIII. PLocrpassEr ... s55 BRE || hyehs 5 maxwelli nu a0a 
540. Plocepasser mahali... .. 38257) 564. i albinucha .. 364 
541. 6 melanorhynchus 328 | Genus XIV. Sycoprorus... ... 866 
542. fs pectoralis 565. Sycobrotus gregalis ... ... 366 

(Pl. xxxvii.) 330) 566. stictifrons 
043. 7 propinquatus ... 331 (Pl. xxxix.) 369 
544, me donaldsoni ae BPA) lei 5 amaurocephalus... 370 
545. Sy superciliosus ... 333 | 568. i tephronotus OL 
546. 7 rufoscapulatus ... 334 |) 569. mentalis ... He AGYAL 


Genus IX. SHARPIA ... oe ay 335 | 570. i; FF, nandensis 371 


571. Sycobrotus kersteni 
Genus XV. HeTERHYPHANTES 
572. Heterhyphantes insignis 


573. Pe dorsomaculatus 
574. rr auricomus 

575. 3 melanogaster... 
576. 5 stephanophorus 
O77. 5 nigricollis 

578. - melanoxanthus 
579. * malensis 


Genus XVI. HypHANTURGUS 


580. Hyphanturgus ocularius 
581. a brachypterus... 
582. : alienus 


Genus XVII. Srraara 
583. Sitagra subpersonatus 


584. »  pelzelni 
585. 5» monacha 
586. »  luteola 


Genus XVIII. HypHanrornis 
587. Hyphantornis intermedius 


588. 7 velatus 

589. ss mariquensis 
590. rr tahatali 

591. i teeniopterus 
592. . heuglini : 
593. FP spekei (Pl. xl.) 
594. 5 spilonotus 

595. nigriceps 

596, collaris 

OUT 5 cucullatus 

598. ” bohndorffi 

599. 5 abyssinicus 
600, 7 grandis 

601. 5 weynsi 

602. rubiginosus 
603. r badius ... 

604. ye jacksoni 

605. i dimidiatus 

606. A capitalis 

607. ie melanocephalus 
608. i nyase (Pl. xl.) 
609. ‘5 bertrandi 


610. vitellinus 


PAGE 
372 | 


B74 
375 
377 
378 
379 
379 
381 
383 
B84 
385 
385 
389 


392 | 
393 | 


394 
394 
395 
397 
399 
401 
404 
405 
408 
411 
413 
414 
416 
419 
492 
423 
428 
429 
430 
432 
432 
434 
435 
436 
438 
439 
441 
414 
442 


CONTENTS 


611. Hyphantornis reichardi 

612. 5 lineolatus 
Genus XIX. Bracuycorr 

613. Brachycope anomala ... 
Genus XX. PACHYPHANTES ... Se 
614. Pachyphantes superciliosus ... 
Genus XXI. OrHyPHANTEs ... 

615. Othyphantes reichenowi 


616, 5 nigrimentum 
617. F sharpei ... 
618. FA stuhlmanni 
619. Ff laglafecht 
620. “ lovati 

621. Pe emini 


Genus XXII. NeExicurvius ... 
622. Nelicurvus nelicourvi ... 

Genus XXIII. XanrHopHinus 
623. Xanthophilus capensis 


624, Py olivaceus 

625. .: temporalis 

626. 5 princeps (Pl. ait ) 
627. . xanthopterus ... 
628. r castanops 

629. 4 olivaceiceps 
630. re aurantius 

631. ry dicrocephalus ... 
632. - galbula... 

633. a castaneiceps 
634. Pa aureoflayus 

635. nA holoxanthus 
636. i bojeri ... 

637. at subaureus 

638. xanthops 


Genus XXIV. PLocEuS 
639. Ploceus sakalava 
Genus XXY. Foupta.. 


640. Foudia eee eeeenenee 
641, »,  bruante 

264.2% ,,  aldabrana 
643. »  eminentissima 
644. »,  Yrubra 
645. »,  Havicans : 
646. ,  seychellarum ... 


PAGE 
445 
446 
446 
446 
447 
448 
449 
451 
453 
453 
453 
454 
457 
458 
459 
459 
461 
462 
465 
467 
468 
469 
carl 
472 
472 
474 
474 
476 
477 
479 
480 
482 
483 
486 
487 
488 
488 
491 
491 
499 
494 
495 
496 


LIST 


Plate XXXVL., 


” 


Plate XXXVIL., 


” 


Plate XX XVIII., 
Plate XXXIX., 


” 


Plate XL., 


Plate XLL., 


” 


Plate XLII., 


” 


OF PLATES—VOL. 


bo re 


wo po 


Amblyospiza capitalba 
Histurgops ruficauda 


Plocepasser pectoralis 
Anaplectes blundelli 
% erythrogenys 


Cinnamopteryx tricolor 


Sycobrotus scictifrons 
Sitagra aliena 


Hyphantornis nigriceps 
spekei 


Xanthophilus temporalis 
Hyphantornis nyase 


Xanthophilus holoxanthus 


” princeps 


DV; 


PART 


Ge 


441 


468 


PLOCEINZ 289 


Subfamily III. PLOCHIN At. 


These, the true Weaver-birds, are distinguishable from the Whydahs 
(Viduine) and the Waxbills (Hstrildine) by the larger size of the first or 
bastard-primary, which is never so sharply pointed, and, with the exception 
of Brachycope anomala, extends beyond the end of the primary-coverts. 
The tail, always shorter than the wing, is square or nearly so, the outer 
feathers never falling short of the end BE the tail by so much as the length 
of the tarsus. More than half of the species have a few hair-like 
plumes on the nape and hind neck, and about the same proportion breed 
in colonies. 

Generally, the nest is of a retort form, with a more or less elongated 
entrance passage hanging down from the side; this passage varying in 
length from a few inches to eight or even ten feet, and the whole structure 
of the nest is artistically woven out of grass or vegetable fibres, and is 
usually firmly suspended between two reeds in marshy places, or from the 
end twigs of boughs. 


KEY TO THE GENERA. 


a. Breast with large white twin spots or bars in the females. 
a‘. Bill metallic blue with the tip orange; sides of chest 
glossy crimson ; breast uniform black in the males Spermospiza. 7 
bt, Bill entirely blackish blue; breast cinnamon and 
white, alike in both sexes . . . . . . . . . Clytospiza. 
b. No white spots on the breast ; bill never metallic blue. 
ct. Nostrils hidden ; tail square, with the centre pair of 
feathers slightly the shortest . . . . . . . . Sporopipes. 
d+. Nostrils exposed ; tail more rounded. 
a?. Bill very deep; culmen extending back in a 
narrow ridge beyond the middle of the eyes; 
males with a basal portion of the eat 
white, forming a speculum . . . Amblyospiza. 
b?. Base of upper mandible ends in an angle i in Ran 
of the eyes. 
a’, Culmen flattened at the base and sometimes 
swollen. 
a*. Bill deeper; culmen more curved; a white 
speculum on the primaries; head, neck and 
breast mostly white; front of wings, upper 
and under tail-coverts red. . . . . . . Dinemellia. 
b+. Bill slighter ; culmen less curved ; no red on 
the plumage. 
[February 1903. 19 


290) PLOCEIN & 


a5. Nostrils exposed well in front of nasal 
plumes; plumage blackish, with no rufous 
b>. Nostrils slightly more basal; general 
plumage brown and white, with a con- 
siderable amount of rufous on the wings 
b%. Culmen rounded at the base. 
c*. Median and greater wing-coverts with whitish 
ends, forming two distinct bars on the wing. 
c>. Bill stouter; no hair-like plumes on the 
back of head and neck; a broad pale eye- 
brow or the rump white or nearly so 
d°. Bill more slender; some hair-like plumes 
on the back of head and neck 
d*. With no whitish bars on the wing. 
e°, Bill red or yellow ; abdomen white ; quills 
broadly margined with red or yellow 
7°. Bill neither red nor yellow. 
a®, Wings and tail uniform black or nearly 
so (excepting in females of Cinnamop- 
teryx castaneofusca and Melanopteryx 
nigerruma) . 
a’. Some red on the plumage. 
b7. No red on the plumage. 
a8. Yellow, when present, confined to 
the interscapular region. 
a®. Interscapular region chestnut or 
yellow. Rena ieee 
6°. General plumage black in adult 
males. le) ASR) Mee6 pric 
68: Yellow always present and not con- 
fined to the mantle. 
c®. Bill grey, with a distinct horny 
membrane overhanging the nos- 
trils ; under parts yellow; upper 
parts uniform, back black, brown, 
or grey ; plumage of sexes alike 
d®, Bill black in adults ; some yellow 
on the upper parts; plumage of 
sexes not alike. eros ae: 
b®. Wing and tail never uniform black, nor 
nearly so. 
c?, With black on throat in full plumaged 
males, which have also sides of head 
or a band through the eye black. 


Textor. ~ 


Histurgops. 


Plocepasser. 


Sharpia. 


Anaplectes. 


Malimbus. 


Cinnamopteryx. 


Melanopteryx. 


Sycobrotus. 


Heterhyphantes. 


PLOCEIN& 


c8, Bill more slender ; throat not black 
in the females. 

e®. Tail more than half the length 
of the wing; first primary reach- 
ing beyond the end of the under 
wing-coverts. 

a1°, Sexes, with the exception of 
the throat, similar; back and 
closed wings uniform green- 
ish ; bill slender . : 
b10. Females with no black on the 
head ; males with black on 
sides of head, never confined 
to a band through the eye. 
a1, Bill more slender . 
611, Bill stouter . 

eo wail only half the ienete of wing; ; 
first primary falls short of the end 
of under wing-coverts 

d®, Bill extremely stout ; both sexes, in 
full plumage, have the sides of head 
and the upper throat black ; crown 
yellow in males, black in females 
d7. No black on throat in either sex. 
e8, Ear-coverts or sides of head black 
in full plumaged males. 

g®. Abdomen and under tail-coverts 
clear yellow or white. 

h®, Abdomen grey ; under tail- coer 
chestnut . 

7®. Har-coverts or ties of Head never 
black. 

29, Abdomen and under tail-coverts 
clear yellow or white; tail 
slightly more rounded . 

k®, Abdomen and under tail- eoverts 
never clear yellow nor white. 

c1°, Abdomen and under _ tail- 
coverts white brown; bill 
stouter . 

d‘°, Abdomen ral or mecle satis 
olive; nostrils more basal 


291 


Hyphanturgus. 


Sitagra. 
Hyphantorns. 


Brachycope. 


Pachyphantes. © 


Othyphantes. 


Nelicurvius. 


Xanthophilus. 


Ploceus. 


Foudia. 


292 SPERMOSPIZA 


Genus I SPHRMOSPIZA. 


Bill very stout, deeper than broad, dark metallic blue, with the tip, and 
sometimes the edges of the mandible, red; culmen rounded and slightly 
curved; keel with an upward curve ; cutting edges of mandibles slightly 
festooned ; base of bill forming an acute angle on the forehead. Nostrils 
basal and hidden by the frontal feathers. Wing rounded ; primaries 5 and 
6 longest, two shorter than 10, 1 more than half of 2. Tenth quill falls 
short of tip of wing by about one-third of the length of the tarsus. Tail 
rounded. Tarsus moderate; toes rather slender. A few hair-like plumes 
on the back of the head and hind neck. Sexes differ in plumage, mostly in 
the colouring of the breast, which in males is uniform black, where, in the 
females, it is blackish, boldly spotted or barred with white. 


Type. 
Spermophaga (non Schonh, 1833), Swains. Classif. B. ii. 
eA (AUSENO) @ oo . . . « S&S. hematina. 
Spermospiza, Gray, List Gon B. 1840, > 43 . » . . . SS. hematina. 


The genus is confined to Tropical Africa and comprises three species. 
They are not gregarious, but live in pairs, and construct their oval nest in 
forks of the low bushes, usually in the undergrowth of the forest, which is 
their home. 


KEY TO THE SPECIKS. 
a. Head not entirely red. 
a1. Bill only tipped with orange red; upper tail-coverts 
not of the same bright crimson as the throat. 


a*. Upper tail-coverts and abdomen black . . . . hematina, g,ad. 7 


. Upper tail-coverts dull crimson ; abdomen spotted 


or barred with white. . . . . . . hematina, 927-2 


b*. Bill with the edges of the menaiblen! orange red ; 
upper tail-coverts glossy bright crimson, like the 


_ throat. 
. Abdomen black . . . Se = guttatascime 
a Abdomen spotted or barred ath mite . . . . gutiata, 9.2 
b. Entire head crimson . . . . .... =~. =. +. . mubricapilla. 5 « 


Spermospiza hematina. 


Loxia hematina, Vieill. Ois. Chant. p. 102, pl. 67 (1805) Africa. 
Spermospiza hematina, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 498 (1890) ; Shelley, 
B. Afr. I. No. 448 (1896) ; Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 131 (1899) egg ; 
Reichen. J. f. O. 1902, p. 36 Togo ; id. Vig. Afr. iii. p. 101 (1904). 
Spermophaga cyanorhynchus, Swains. B. W. Afr. i. p. 164 (1837) Senegal. 
Spermospiza guttata (non Vieill.), Reichen. J. f. O. 1902, p. 36 Togo. 


2 


SPERMOSPIZA HEMATINA 293 


Adult male. Jet black, with the chin, throat, front and sides of body 
bright glossy crimson. Iris crimson; eyelids dull white; bill metallic blue, 
changing into crimson at the end; tarsi and feet brownish black. Total 
length 5 inches, culmen 0:7, wing 2°7, tail 2:2, tarsus 0°85. Fantee (Ussher). 

Adult female. Upper parts dark slaty grey ; forehead, sides of head and 
the upper tail-coverts dull dark crimson; chin, throat, front and sides of 
breast glossy crimson; remainder of the under parts dark slaty grey, and, 
with the exception of the thigh, the feathers have white bars and terminal 
twin spots; these spots apparently gradually develop into bars. Wing 
2:6. @, 6.3.72. Connor’s Hill (Shelley). 

Immature. Dark slaty grey; upper tail-coverts and broad edges to the 
feathers of the throat dull dark crimson. In another young bird the throat 
is mostly bright crimson, and the feathers of the centre of the chest have 
rounded white spots. 


The Guinea Blue-billed Weaver ranges from Senegambia 
to Abeokuta. 

From Senegal Swainson received a male and female, the 
types of his Spermophaga cyanorhynchus. The generic name 
having been previously used for Colioptera by Schénherr in 
1833, was changed into Spermospiza by Gray in 1840.  Vieillot 
(Ois. Chant. pls. 67, 68) was the first to name this species and 
its near ally S. guttata, and in his illustrations of these birds 
he did not overlook the characteristic colouring of their bills 
and upper tail-coverts, as has been done by some more recent 
ornithologists. 

Verreaux received the species from Casamanse, and Brogden 
met with it at Sierra Leone; here Mr. Kemp procured speci- 
mens from March to October at Rotifunk, Jagbamah and Bo, 
and writes: “It frequents the farms and marshy ground like 
Pyrenestes coccineus, is very wary and as difficult to see as that 
bird, and like that species apparently breed here in August 
and September.” Dr. Biittikofer found its nest in Liberia and 
remarks that it does not breed in colonies. The nest was 
placed in the fork of a bush, some four feet from the ground, 
in the undergrowth of the forest, and was spherical in form, 
about five inches in diameter, with the entrance near the top, 


294 SPERMOSPIZA GUTTATA 


and was constructed of soft grass without any lining, and con- 
tained two white eggs, measuring 0°76 x 0°52. He remarks 
that in one of his male specimens the upper tail-coverts were 
broadly edged with red; probably this was the remains of the 
immature plumage, for it appears to me that both sexes, when 
young, have the same amount of dull red on the upper tail- 
coverts; but unfortunately the sex has not been recorded of 
any of the immature birds I have examined. 

The species is fairly distributed throughout Liberia and 
the Gold Coast, and is represented in the British Museum from 
Sierra Leone, Ashantee, Wassaw, Denkera Forest, Cape Coast, 
Accra and Abeokuta, but as it lives in pairs in the thick bush 
and forest country, is only occasionally seen. On the Gold 
Coast, in March, Buckley and I found them frequenting the 
dense bush, appearing at times singly or in pairs on the narrow 
footpaths. At Abouri Drs. Reichenow and Liihder met with 
a hen bird, attended by her young, in September. Mr. Boyd 
Alexander procured the species at Prahsu, Dr. Biittner at 
Bismarckburg, in April, and Mr. Baumann at the Misahdhe 
station in February and May. The most eastern range known 
to me for the species is Abeokuta, where it has been procured 
by Mr. Robin. 


Spermospiza guttata. 


Loxia guttata, Vieill. Ois. Chant. p. 103, pl. 68 (1805) Congo. 

Spermospiza guttata, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 500 (1890); Kuschel, 
J. f. O. 1895, p. 336 egg ; Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 449 (1896) ; Reichen- 
Vog. Afr. iii. p. 102 (1904). 

“ Fringilla pustulata, Voigt,’’ Cuv. Thierr. i. p. 581 (1831). 

Spermospiza immaculosa, Reichen. J. f. O. 1877, p, 29 Loango. 

Adult male. Similar to that of S. hematina, from which it differs in the 
upper tail-coverts being of the same bright glossy crimson as the throat ; 
the sides of the head, below the eye, bright crimson, or washed with that 
colour, and also in the upper mandible having broad orange red edges. 
“Tris red ; eyelids white ; feet black, with the soles yellow.’’ Total length 


SPERMOSPIZA GUTTATA 295 


5°4 inches, culmen 0°7, wing 2°8, tail 2:2, tarsus 0°9. g,15.6.01. Efulen 
(G. L. Bates). 

Adult female. Similar to that of S. hematina, from which it differs in 
the absence of red on the front of the crown; in the red of the upper tail- 
coverts and sides of the head being of the same glossy bright crimson as the 
throat; tail-feathers slightly edged with dull crimson. ‘Iris red; eyelids 
white ; bill dark metallic blue, with red edges; feet black, with the soles 
yellow ’’ (Reichenow). 


The Gaboon Blue-billed Weaver ranges from Camaroons to 
the Congo. 

According to Dr. Reichenow the species is abundant in 
Camaroons. Near the coast, at Bibundi, Mr. Sjéstedt met 
with it singly or in pairs amongst the thick grass interspersed 
with bushes and stunted trees, on the summits of which it 
would perch, but never saw it frequenting the higher trees. 
Mr. G. L. Bates, who procured two full plumaged males in the 
middle of June at Efulen, writes: ‘ All the Weaver Finches 
that I have seen are confined to the clearings, unless it be the 
black red-breasted ‘Kdumvin’ (Spermospiza guttata), which I 
have seen building in high trees in the forest.’ He has also 
procured specimens at the Ja River and at the Rio Beneto in 
French Congo. 

In Gaboon it has been met with by Du Chaillu at the 
Moonda and Camma Rivers, and by Marche in the Ogowé 
district. On the Loango Coast Falkenstein obtained the type 
of Spermospiza immaculosa, an adult male; and Lucan and Petit 
both collected specimens at Landana. The type of Vieillot’s 
Lowia gutturalis, an adult female, was discovered by Perrein at 
the Congo, and the species is not known from further south 
than the course of that river; but has been procured by 
Bohndorff at Kibongo, to the south of Stanley Falls, and by 
Jameson at Yambuya on the Aruwimi branch. 


296 SPERMOSPIZA RUBRICAPILLA 


Spermospiza rubricapilla. 


Spermospiza rubricapilla, Shelley, P. Z. 8. 1888, p. 30 Bellima; Sharpe, 
Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 500, pl. 15 (1890); Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 450 
(1896) ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 103 (1904). 

Type. Entire head, front of neck and sides of chest bright glossy 
crimson; remainder of plumage mostly dark slaty grey, with the upper 
tail-coverts dull dark crimson ; upper breast with white spots towards the 
flanks, and barred with white down the centre as well as on the abdomen 
and under tail-coverts. ‘Iris brown; bill indigo blue, with orange brown 
edges to the mandibles ; feet olive black” (Jackson). Total length 6:3 inches, 
culmen 0:7, wing 2°8, tail 2°5, tarsus0°'9. 9,15. 7.83. Bellima (Emin). 


The Red-headed Blue-bill imbabits Central Equatorial 
Africa. 

The species is known to me by two female specimens only : 
the type, which was forwarded to the British Museum by the 
late Emin Pasha, was procured at Bellima in the Bongo 
country of the Upper Gazelle River district, and the other 
specimen was obtained in the Nandi highlands on the Equator, 
in about 35° E. long., at an elevation of 6,500 feet, by Mr. 
Jackson, who writes: ‘* First one seen; it was in a thick bush 
in the belt of forest.” The colouring of the eyes, bill and feet, 
as mentioned by Mr. Jackson, are similar to those recorded by 
Dr. Reichenow as occurring in immature specimens of S. guttata. 


Genus II. CLYTOSPIZA. 


Similar to Spermospiza in most of its characters, but differing in the bill 
being proportionately longer and more slender and entirely uniform blackish 
blue. Sexes alike in the colouring of the breast, which is cinnamon and 
white, in bold spots or bars, but distinguishable by the colouring of the 
throat, which is uniform grey in immature birds, has a red mark in the 
males, and a white one in the females. 

Type. 

Clytospiza, Shelley, B. Afr. I. p. 32 (1896) . . . . . . GC. monteiri. 

The genus is confined to Tropical Africa, and is represented by a single 
species. 


CLYTOSPIZA MONTEIRI 297 


Clytospiza monteiri. 


Pytelia monteiri, Hartl. P. Z. S. 1860, p. 111, pl. 161 Bembe. 

Clytospiza monteiri, Shelley, B. Afr. I, No. 451 (1896). 

Lagonosticta monteiri, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 273 (1890). 

Pitylia stictilema, Reichen. J. f. O. 1887, p. 213 Leopoldville. 

Hypargos monteiri, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 158 (1904). 

Adult male, type. Hntire head and the neck dark grey, with a vermilion 
stripe down the lower half of the throat; back and wings browner; rump 
and upper tail-coverts glossy crimson ; tail uniform brownish black ; under 
surface of the quills dusky brown, with paler and more sandy butf inner 
edges; under wing-coverts buff, barred with pale cinnamon; crop and 
breast deeper cinnamon, with large round twin-spots, which meet and form 
bars on the middle and lower breast ; under tail-coverts dusky brown, banded 
with white. ‘Iris brown; bill blackish ; tarsi and feet reddish’? (Emin). 
Total length 4:6 inches, culmen 0:5, wing 2:25, tail 2:0, tarsus 0°65. 
Bembe (Monteiro). 

Adult female. Differs only in having a band from the chin down the 
centre of the throat white, tinted with rufous towards the crop. Wing 
2:25. 9, 11.11.82. Kudurma (Emin). 

Immature. Entire throat dark grey; only a few spots on the crop and 
fore-chest, remainder of breast barred cinnamon and white. ¢, juv. 1. 11. 85, 
Foda (Emin). 


Monteiro’s Weaver ranges from the Wadelai district of 
the Upper White Nile into Camaroons and Angola. 

In the British Museum there are four of Emin’s species 
from Foda and 'l'angimoro, near Wadelai and westward from 
Kudurma and Tangasi. Its occurrence in Camaroons was first 
made known by Dr. Zenker, who found it frequenting the 
grassy country interspersed with trees near Jaunde. 

Falkenstein met with the species in Loango at Chin- 
chonxo, and Lucan and Petit at Landana; some hundred miles 
distant from Leopoldsville, where the type of Pytelia stictilema 
was procured by Bohndorff, who also obtained the species 
further up the Congo at Kassongo. 

The type, an adult male, was discovered by Mr. Monteiro 
at Bembe in Angola, where he was informed by the natives 
that these Weavers live in flocks. 


298 SPOROPIPES 


Genus Ill. GPOROPIPHS. 


Bill as deep as broad at the nostrils, swollen at the base, and much 
compressed towards the end; culmen rounded and curved; cutting edges 
nearly straight and smooth; keel slightly curved. Nostrils basal and hidden 
by the frontal plumes. Primaries 2, 3, 4 and 5 longest and nearly equal, 
1 about one-third of 2. Tail square, the centre pair of feathers slightly 
the shortest. Tarsi and feet moderate; claws rather short. Sexes alike 
in plumage, mostly brown and white, with no red or yellow. 

Type. 

Sporopipes, Cab. Arch. Naturg. xiii. p. 332 (1847) . . S. squamifrons. 

Pholidocoma, Reichenb. Av. Syst. pl. 76 (1850) . . . S. squamifrons. 

The genus is confined to Tropical and South Africa, and comprises two 
well-marked species. 


KEY TO THE SPECIES. 


a. Hind neck ashy brown, like the back ; wing-coverts black, 

with conspicuous white edges; lores, chin and a broad 

line down the sides of the throat black . . . . . . . squamifrons. 
b. Hind neck rufous; wing-coverts brown; lores and sides 

of face ashy brown; a moustachial band black, with white 

Uline ee oN Ge ene oo Geko a Gen cee oo nets 0» Jee US 


Sporopipes squamifrons. 


Estrelda squamifrons, Smith, Rep. Exped. C. Afr. 1836, p. 49 S. Africa. 

Sporopipes squamifrons, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 407 (1890); Shelley, 
B. Afr. I. No. 452 (1896) ; Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 128 (1899) egg ; 
Whitehead, Ibis, 1903 Orange River; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 16 
(1904) ; Clarke, Ibis, 1904, p. 524 Natal. 

Amadina squamifrons, Smith, Ill. Zool. S. Afr. Aves, pl. 95 (1844). 

Fringilla lepidoptera, Licht. Verz. Kaffernl. p. 15 (1842). 

Adult male. Upper parts ashy brown; forehead and front of crown 
nearly black, with sharply defined narrow whitish edges, giving this part 
a scale-like appearance; tail, wing-coverts and secondaries blackish brown, 
with sharply defined whitish edges; remainder of quills browner, with 
narrower brownish buff margins ; under surface of wings ashy brown, with 
paler inner edges to the quills, and the under coverts ashy white ; front half 
of sides of head black; ear-coverts and sides of neck ashy brown like the 
mantle; cheeks and throat white, with the chin and two strongly marked 
diverging bands jet black; breast, thighs and under tail-coverts buff. 
“Tris red; bill pink; ridge and tip darker; tarsi and feet pale brown.” 
Total length 4:2 inches, culmen 0:4, wing 2°3, tail 18, tarsus 0:65. ¢, 
5. 1. 83. Rustenburg (T. Ayres). 


SPOROPIPES SQUAMIFRONS 299 


Adult female. Like the male. ‘Iris hazel; bill bright pale rose pink, 
paler on the under mandible; tarsi and feet pale brown.” Wing 2:2. ?, 
15.9. 79. Potchefstroom (T. Ayres). 


The Scaly-fronted Weaver ranges over Southern Africa to 
the south of the Quanza and Zambesi Rivers. 

Regarding its most northern known range Mr. Monteiro 
writes: ‘‘ Gregarious in small flocks. Only observed in the 
rocky, barren districts to the south of Benguela. Upwards of 
a dozen were caught for me by the blacks, one night, in a hole 
in the straw thatch of a hut, where they are fond of roosting 
together, and I had them alive many months in a cage, 
feeding on grass and other small seeds.” Anchieta met it in 
the Humbe district. 

According to Andersson: “This species is widely and 
commonly diffused over the middle and southern portion of 
Damaraland; it is also pretty common in Great Namaqua- 
land, in the Lake region, and at the River Okavango. It is a 
gregarious species, and is comparatively tame, often taking up 
its abode close to man. It feeds on grass-seeds and insects, 
which it chiefly seeks on the ground amongst the grass, re- 
sorting in small flocks to open localities thinly covered with 
dwarf vegetation. This Finch is a very late breeder, and 
builds a large grass nest, which is usually placed in ‘hakisdom ’ 
bushes, and has the appearance externally of a bundle of grass 
accidentally pitched into a bush or tree, the entrance to the 
nest being nearly hidden by the manner in which the grass is 
arranged. Internally the nest is beautifully lined or, rather, 
padded with the softest materials, and especially with the 
feathers of the Guinea-fowl, and not only serves for the 
purpose of incubation but also as a roosting-place in the cold 
season, when several individuals, probably of the same brood, 
may be found thus snugly housed.” 

Regarding its habits, Stark writes: “These pretty little 


300 SPOROPIPES FRONTALIS 


Weaver-birds are very abundant on the banks of the Orange 
River, in small flocks among the bushes and mimosa trees that 
fringe the banks of the river. Although they perch freely on 
bushes, they appear to obtain all their food, consisting of grass- 
seeds and small insects, from the ground. They are active and 
vivacious little birds of quarrelsome dispositions and somewhat 
noisy when feeding, as they keep up a constant bickering 
with one another. They are very tame and fearless, frequent- 
ing the houses and kraals to feed among the poultry and 
Sparrows.” 

Major Clarke found the species abundant in small flocks 
frequenting the bush near the Modder River. At the Orange 
River, it is, according to Lieut. Whitehead, very common in 
flocks, when not nesting, and to be seen “‘ generally amongst 
the heath or in the bush. Nests of this bird were found in 
March. They were untidy and conspicuous structures, placed 
about six or seven feet above the ground.” According to 
Stark: “On the Orange River these Weavers build in March 
and April, on the Limpopo in June and July. The eggs, four 
or five in number, vary in shape and colour; the ground colour 
is pale blue green, this is thickly marked with blotches and 
scrawls of brown and rufous. The eggs measure about 
0°65 x 0:48.” 

The species is represented in the British Museum by the 
type from Latakoo, and another of Sir Andrew Smith’s 
specimens from Kroonstad, also from Hland’s Post (Atmore), 
Rustenburg (T. Ayres), Potchefstroom and Bamangwato 
(T. E. Buckley), Somoque River (Oates), and Palatswe Pan 
in Matabele (Jameson). 


Sporopipes frontalis. 


Loxia frontalis, Daud. Traité, ii. p. 44 (1800). 

Sporopipes frontalis, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 409 (1890) ; Shelley, B. 
Afr. I. No. 453 (1896); Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 128, pl. 3, fig. 38 
(1899) egg ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 17 (1904). 


SPOROPIPES FRONTALIS 501 


Sporopipes frontalis emini, Neum. J. f. O. 1900, p. 283 Ugogo. 

Le Sénégali a front pointillé, Vieill. Ois. Chant. p. 39, pl. 16 (1805). 

Adults. Forehead and front of crown black, spotted with tiny white 
tips to the feathers; remainder of crown, back and sides of neck pale 
cinnamon, with lanceolate black centres to the feathers of the hinder crown ; 
back and lesser wing-coverts ashy brown; remainder of the wings and the 
tail rather darker brown, with brownish buff edges to the median and greater 
coverts, inner secondaries and the feathers of the tail; primary coverts and 
the primaries nearly uniform; inner edges of quills and the under wing- 
coverts brownish white; sides of head very pale ashy brown, the hinder 
part bordered by the pale cinnamon of the upper neck ; a moustachial band 
of black, spotted with tiny white tips to the feathers; under parts white, 
tinted with ashy brown on the crop, front and sides of the breast. ‘‘ Iris 
brown ; bill and feet pale yellowish horn-colour’’ (Heuglin). Total length 
4-5 inches, culmen 0:45, wing 2°5, tail 1:8, tarsus 0°65. g, 2. 7. 80, and 2, 
26. 6. 80. Redjaf (Emin). 

Immature. Similar to the adult, from which it differs in the entire 
absence of white tips to the black feathers of the head, and in the broad pale 
edges of the wings and tail-feathers being more rufous buff. 


The Speckled-fronted Weaver ranges from Senegambia into 
Abyssinia, and southward into Ugogo. 

The type of the species came from Senegambia, and speci- 
mens have been procured by Verreaux from Casamanse and 
by Beaudouin from Bissao. 

According to Heuglin these Weavers are abundant in 
North-east Africa to as far north as 17° N. lat., and in the 
warmer parts of the Abyssinian coast. They were beginning 
to breed in Bogos in September, and he found the young able 
to fly when he visited Kordofan in November. The nest is 
large and oval, generally placed in the centre of a most 
impenetrable thorn-bush. It is constructed of dry grass, with 
a small centre chamber well lined with feathers, hair, roots 
and wool. During the breeding season they live in pairs, and 
frequent the open country where there are trees for them to 
nest in, but as autumn sets in they assemble in large flocks, 
which alight like Sparrows on the roofs of houses or in the 
stubble-fields and pasture-land, and retire to roost in the high 


302 AMBLYOSPIZA 


trees near water. Their call-note is a chirp, but their song, 
though weak, resembles that of our Goldfinch. The eggs, 
according to Emin, are of a greyish green colour, with darker 
lengthened blotches, which blotches, Mr. Kuschel informs us, 
sometimes spread over the whole surface and give them a 
uniform appearance ; they measure on an average 0°64 x 0°48. 

In the British Museum there are three specimens collected 
at Redjaf by Emin, who also met with the species at Lado, but 
considered it uncommon there. Mr. Jackson obtained a male 
and female at Elgeyu in July, and writes: ‘‘ Found breeding 
in an acacia. Makes a large nest of dry grass, not unlike that 
of our common Sparrow.” At Kadem, in Kavirondo, Mr. 
Oscar Neumann procured a male in March, and remarks that 
_ it, and the birds he has examined from Kordofan, agree per- 
fectly in colouring, but that the specimens collected in Ugogo, 
by Emin at Msanga, and by Bohm at Mounwi, represent a 
southern subspecies, which he names S. frontalis emini. This 
form he characterises by its much paler neck-band and obscure 
white edges to the black feathers of the back of the head. I 
have not seen a specimen from the Ugogo district, but Dr. 
Reichenow does not admit a southern subspecies of 8. frontalis, 
and he must have compared the types of S. frontalis emint, as 
they are in the Berlin Museum. 


Genus IV. AMBULYOSPIZA. 


Bill, Grosbeak-like, very stout, deeper than broad, compressed at the 
sides, and grooved on each side of the culmenal ridge, which extends back 
beyond the centre of the eyes; cumlen and tarsus equal in length; chin- 
angle very broad and square; nasal orifices exposed. Primaries 3, 4 and 
5 longest, 1 (about 1 inch) one-third of the longest. Tail rounded, nearly 
square. Tarsi and feet moderate; claws rather long. A few hair-like 
plumes on the back of head and hind neck. Sexes dissimilar ; males with a 
white speculum, formed by the base of the primaries, and with a white 
forehead in adult; females with the breast striped. No red or yellow on 
the plumage. 


AMBLYOSPIZA ALBIFRONS 303 


Type. 
Amblyospiza, Sundev. ify. K. Ak. Forh. Stockh. Apri, 
1850 "ps98" . . A. albifrons. 
Coryphegnathus, Reichenb. Syst i Pl 79, fig. 6 (Tune 
1850) . . . . A, albifrons. 


The genus is pontnedt to Mrapioalt and South Africa, and comprises four 
species, three of which are very near allies. It is well marked by the 
powerful bill, but especially by the culmen extending abnormally far back, 
and also by the white speculum on the primaries. This latter character, 
however, also occurs in Dinemellia, and both these genera have the bill, 
from in front of the frontal feather, somewhat similarly shaped ; they, how- 
ever, differ greatly in their breeding habits. The Amblyospize@ construct 
neatly woven nests in reed-beds, and the Dinemellie place theirs in thorn- 
trees, and protect them with a surrounding of thorny boughs, giving them 
the outward appearance of Magpies’ nests. 

a. A clear white patch at base of primaries. . . . . . Males. 
at, Forehead white. 

a?. Head and neck not mostly cinnamon. 

a’, Head and neck mostly rufous shaded dark 
brown. Pee LOTIONS oad: 

63. Head and neak pacetly Becrae Se ee eunecolorndy, ad: 

b?. Head and neck mostly cinnamon. 
c3. Breast blacker ; white frontal patch not extend- 


ing back beyond the base of the culmen . . . melanota, 3, ad. 
d’. Breast ashy grey; white frontal rie much 
larger. . . set ve capitalba, 3 ,ad. 
b1. No white forehead . aos: Immature males. 
b. No white patch on primaries, no white forehead ; ‘under 
parts white, with broad brown stripes. . . . . . Females. 


Amblyospiza albifrons. 


Pyrrhula albifrons, Vigors, P. Z. S. 1831, p. 92 Algoa Bay. 

Amblyospiza albifrons, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 501 (1890) ; Shelley, 
Ibis, 1893, p. 25; 1894, pp. 20, 470; 1898, p. 554 Nyasa; id. B. 
Afr. I. No. 454 (1896); Shortridge, Ibis, 1904, p. 177 Pondoland ; 
Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 98 (1904). 

Pyrrhula frontalis, Swains. An. in Menag. p. 319 (1838). 

Pyrenestes frontalis, Smith, Ill. Zool. S. Afr. Aves, pls. 61, 62 (1840). 

Coryphegnathus schiffi, Bp. Consp. i. p. 451 (1850) juv. 

Adult male. Forehead white, remainder of the head, neck and mantle, 
deep chocolate brown, shading almost into black on the wings, lower back 
and tail; basal portion of the quills white, forming a well-marked speculum 
on the primaries; feathers of the back, upper tail-coverts and wings, 


304 AMBLYOSPIZA ALBIFRONS 


generally, with very narrow brownish buff edges; under surface of wings 
uniform blackish brown, with a broad white band across the base of the 
quills. The brown throat shades into deep slaty grey on the breast, thighs 
and under tail-coverts ; the feathers of these parts have obsolete dark shaft- 
stripes, and whitish edges, broadest and most distinct on the under tail- 
coverts. ‘Iris brown; bill grey; the base of the upper mandible black; 
tarsi and feet reddish brown” (Stark). Total length 7-3 inches, culmen 1:0, 
wing 3-9, tail 3:0, tarsus 1:0. ¢, 16.10. 75. Pinetown (T. L. Ayres). 

Adult female. Upper parts dark brown, with sandy brown edges to the 
feathers; tail uniform brown, with obsolete white terminal margins to the 
feathers; wings, with the lesser coverts like the back; remainder of the 
coverts and the secondaries edged with rufous brown ; ends of the median 
and greater coverts and the base of the outer webs of some of the primaries 
buff; under surface of wing with the bastard-primary and end half brown, 
and the base of the other quill as well as the coverts white ; sides of head 
rufous brown; under parts white, with dark brown centres to the feathers, 
inclining to stripes on the body. Wing 3:4. ¢?, 28. 7.75. Durban (T. L. 
Ayres). 


The Southern Grosbeak-Weaver ranges over the eastern 
half of South Africa, from Cape Colony to Lake Nyasa. 

Its most western range is the eastern part of Cape Colony, 
where the type was discovered, inland from Algoa Bay, by 
Henry Ellis. It has also been met with in this colony by 
Rickard at East London, by Colonel Trevelyan near King- 
williamstown, and by Sir Andrew Smith, who writes: ‘ The 
only specimens which have been obtained within the limits of 
the Cape Colony were discovered in the forests upon the 
eastern frontier. About Port Natal, however, the bird is not 
so rare, and specimens are readily to be obtained there at all 
seasons of the year. It feeds principally upon berries and 
small fruits.” 

Stark writes: ‘I have myself only met with this Weaver- 
bird on the coast of Natal and Zululand, among the tall reeds 
that border many of the rivers and lagoons. In many such 
localities it is quite abundant, outnumbering any other species 
of the family. ‘This species builds among the reeds and, its 


AMBLYOSPIZA ALBIFRONS 505 


thick and clumsy-looking bill notwithstanding, constructs a 
very neat and beautiful nest, shaped something like a flattened 
cone with the entrance at the lower edge. ‘This is attached to 
the stems of two reeds over the water. It is woven with long 
pieces of coarse grass and strips of reed-leaf without any finer 
lining, Both birds labour at its construction, the male fetching 
the materials and working from the outside, whilst the female 
works from the inside. Both male and female keep up an in- 
cessant chattering as they pass the end of the grass stem from 
one to the other through the wails of the nest. These Weavers 
nest in colonies, and like many other species of the family, 
become yery tame during the breeding season, so that one can 
easily watch them from a distance of a few yards only. Although 
these birds feed largely upon berries and large forest seeds, 
they also take insects, especially beetles and termites, as well 
as locusts. The newly hatched young are fed on soft larve 
and the pulp of berries.” The egg is described by Mr. Kuschel 
as perfectly oval, without gloss, of a reddish white colour, 
with ashy violet and brownish red spots, and measuring 
10 x 0°64. 

The species is represented in the British Museum by seven- 
teen specimens from Natal, three from the ‘Transvaal, and 
five from Nyasaland. The Messrs. Woodward met with it in 
Zululand at the Lower Umfulosi River and at Eschowe. It is 
apparently rare in the country between Natal and the Zambesi, 
from whence I find it mentioned by Mr. Barratt who writes : 
“T shot this bird at Macamae Goldfields, but have never 
received it from anywhere else.” ‘T'o the north of the Zambesi 
specimens have been collected at Zomba, Fort Lister and the 
Milanji Plains in July, August and September, by Mr. Whyte, 
and at Nkata on the western coast of Lake Nyasa by Sir 
Alfred Sharpe. 


(February, 1905. 20 


306 AMBLYOSPIZA UNICOLOR 


Amblyospiza unicolor. 


Pyrenestes unicolor, Fisch. and Reichen. Orn. Centralb. 1878, p. 88; 
id. J. f. O. 1878, p. 354 Zanzibar, Mombasa. 

Amblyospiza unicolor, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 503 (1890); Shelley 
B. Afr. I. No. 455 (1896); Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 131 (1899) egg ; 
Neumann, J. f. O. 1900, p. 283; Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 99 (1904). 

Pyrenestes (Coryphegnathus) unicolor, Oust. Bibl. Ecole Haute Etudes, 
xxxi. art. 10, p. 9 (1886) Somali. 

Adult male. Similar to that of A. albifrons, with the same amount of 
white on the forehead and wings; but differs in its blacker colouring, the 
head and neck, with the exception of the white forehead, being sooty black 
with only a trace of brown; mantle black like the tail and the dark portion 
of the wings; breast dusky black. ‘Iris brown; bill and legs black.” 
Total length 7-2 inches, culmen 1:0, wing 3:7, tail 1:8, tarsus 0'9.  ¢, 3.2. 00. 
Msara (Delamere). 

Adult female. Similar to that of A. albifrons, but with the brown parts 
a shade darker. ‘Iris dark brown; bill with the upper part dark brown 
and the lower part yellowish; tarsi and feet dark brown.” ?, 10. 8. 99. 
Mt. Kenia (Mackinder). 

Immature male. Differs from the adult in having no white on the fore- 
head; head, neck and upper back sepia brown, with some sandy brown 
edges to the feathers ; abdomen and under tail-coverts deep slaty grey, with 
buff margins to the feathers. Lamu (Kirk). 


The Black Grosbeak-Weaver ranges from Zanzibar to 
Mount Kenia, and has been recorded from Somaliland. 

The species appears to be abundant and very evenly dis- 
tributed over the coast country, between the Kingani and 
Tana Rivers. Fischer procured the typical specimens in the 
neighbourhood of Zanzibar and Mombasa, and gives an inter- 
esting account of its breeding, in which it resembles its 
southern ally. It breeds in colonies in marshy places; the 
nest is constructed of grass and shreds of reed-leaves, is of a 
long oval form, 7°5 inches deep by 4 broad, and is suspended 
between two reeds. The eggs, from four to six in number, 
are white or reddish white, with pale reddish brown and violet 
spots, measuring 0°92 x 0°65. During the construction of 
the nest the birds are very noisy. 


AMBLYOSPIZA MELANOTA 807 


The most southern range known to me for the species is 
the Kingani River, where Bohndorff obtained specimens, three 
of which are in the British Museum, where there are also 
examples from the following places: Pangani and Lamu 
(Kirk), Mombasa (Wakefield), Kilimanjaro and Witu (Jack- 
son), Kikuyu and Msara (Delamere), and Mount Kenia (Mack- 
inder). Besides the above-named places, specimens have been 
collected at Neuru (Bolndorff), Mamboio (Kirk), Rufu River 
(Stuhlmann), Arusha, Maurui, Melinda, at Massa and Bonde 
on the Tana River (Fischer), and Somaliland (Revoil). Dr. 
Stuhlmann found it called by the natives of the Zanzibar 
Coast ‘‘ Ngoma msindo.” The species, apparently, does not 
extend its range so far west as 35° H. long., and is replaced to 
the westward in Central Equatorial Africa by A. melanota. 


Amblyospiza melanota. 


Coryphegnathus melanotus, Heugl. J. f. O. 1863, pp. 21, 163 White Nile. 
Amblyospiza melanota, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 504 (1890); Shelley, 
B. Afr. I. No. 456 (1896); Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 132 (1899) egg ; 
Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 100 (1904). 
Amblyospiza melanotis, Hartl. J. f. O. 1888, p. 1 Lado, Magungo, 
Monbuttw. 
Amblyospiza albifrons (non Vigor), Reichen. J. f. O. 1887, p. 308 Kassongo. 
Amblyospiza ethiopica, Neumann, Orn. Monatsb. 1902, p. 9 Kaffa. 
Amblyospiza albifrons ethiopica, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 99 (1904). 
Adult male. Similar to that of A. albifrons and with the same amount 
of white on the forehead, but differs in the remainder of the head and the 
neck being of a more cinnamon shade. ‘ Iris brown; bill black; feet olive 
black” (Jackson). Total length 7:3 inches, culmen 1:0, wing 3°8, tail 2:9, 
tarsus 0'9. g¢, 21.11.79. Magungo (Emin). 
Adult female and immature. Very similar to those of A. wnicolor. 


Heuglin’s Grosbeak-Weaver ranges over Central Africa 
from 10° N. lat. to 4° S. lat. 

Within the above, somewhat limited, area the species is 
apparently abundant wherever there is marshland. The type 


308 AMBLYOSPIZA MELANOTA 


was discovered on the Upper White Nile by Heuglin, who 
observed these Weavers constantly flying, singly or in pairs, 
from the reed-beds, where they roost and breed, into the trees 
to feed on berries and fruit. Emin (J. f. O. 1888, pp. 1-3) 
dwells at some length on the habits of this species, which 
closely resemble those I have already recorded of A. albifrons. 
He found a colony of twenty of their nests in a marsh near 
Magungo; the nests were large, oval in form, and hung between 
two reeds at about five feet above the high-water line; the 
egos, four, or sometimes five, in number, were yellowish white 
with many reddish brown rounded spots, most numerous at 
the thick end. Emin also found the species abundant at Lado, 
and met with it as far south as Bukoba on the Victoria Nyanza, 
and to this species should belong Bohndorff’s specimen from 
Kassongo on the Congo. Mr. Jackson’s collection contains 
eleven specimens, from Uganda, Mount Elgon and Nandi; in 
the latter country he found them breeding in a marsh in April. 
The British Museum contains two specimens obtained by Dr. 
Hinde at Fort Hill on Mount Kenya, showing that in this 
district, the most eastern range known for the species, it meets 
with its near ally A. wnicolor. 

The types of A. xthiopica, Neumann, came from Omo and 
Anderatsha in the Kaffa country, to the north of Lake Rudolf. 

Dr. Reichenow (V6g. Afr. il. p. 90) regards them as 
representing a subspecies of A. albifrons, and suggests that 
Bohndorff’s specimen from Kassongo on the Congo (A. albifrons, 
Reichenow, J. f. O. 1887, p. 308) apparently belongs to that 
subspecies, which implies that the form described as A. xthiopica 
is represented from the extreme north-east and south-west 
limits of the known range of A. melanota, which is strongly 
against A. xthiopica being even subspecifically distinct from 
A. melanota, and as I can find no character for the recognition 
of that form, I have united it with A. melanota. It is, how- 


AMBLYOSPIZA CAPITALBA 309 


ever, possible that the types of A. xthiopica are hybrids between 
A. melanota and A. unicolor, for they are described as inter- 
mediate between those two species, both in the colouring of the 
head and neck and in the size of the bill, and were procured 
near the junction of the range of those two forms, both of 
which may be regarded as subspecies of A. albifrons. The 
three forms resembling each other in the pattern of the 
plumage from the nestling to the adult stage, when they all 
assume the same amount of white on the forehead and base of 
primaries and are then distinguishable mostly by the shade of 
colouring of the head and neck. 


Amblyospiza capitalba. (Pl. 36, fig. 1.) 


Coryphegnathus capitabus, Bp. Consp. i. p. 451 (1850) Ashantee. 

Amblyospiza capitalba, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 504 (1890) Gold 
Coast, Abeokuta; Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 457 (1896); Nehrkorn, 
Kat. Hiers. p. 132 (1899) egg; Reichen. J. f. O. 1902, p. 36 Togo ; 
Reichen. Vog. Afr. ii. p. 101 (1904). 

Adult male. Similar to that of A. albifrons, with the same amount of 
white on the wing but more on the head, and it is a smaller and paler 
bird, differing in the remainder of the head, the neck and front of the 
mantle being lighter cinnamon, and the breast, thighs and under tail- 
coverts much paler grey. ‘Iris brown; bill blackish; feet lead grey ” 
(Reichenow). Total length 5:8 inches, culmen 0:95, wing 3:30, tail 2-4, 
tarsus 0°9. Gold Coast (Ussher). 

Adult female. Similar to that of A. albifrons. Wing 32. 9, 
Commendah (Blissett). 


The Ashantee Grosbeak-Weaver ranges over West Africa 
from the Gold Coast into Angola. 

‘The type came from Ashantee. According to Ussher, 
who was twelve years on the Gold Coast, it is a scarce bird 
there, but was procured for him by Aubin from the forest of 
Denkera. Other specimens have been collected by J. Hickman 


310 DINEMELLIA 


in the interior of Fantee, by Blissett at Commendah, by Pel 
at Sekundi, by Haynes at Accra, and in Togoland, at Agome 
Palime, by Baumann. In the British Museum there is a 
specimen from Abeokuta, and I find it only on one occasion 
recorded from Camaroons, where, according to Mr. Zenker, it 
is called by the natives the “ Incocum.’”’ In Loango specimens 
have been collected by Petit, and by Falkenstein who records 
the colouring of the soft parts of the adult, and of the young 
birds of different ages, so it was probably not very rare at 
Chinchonxo, which he made his headquarters during his visit 
to that coast. Professor Bocage has just informed me that 
Mr. Francis Newton has obtained the species at Galungo-alto, 
in Angola, which considerably extends its previously known 
range. 


Genus V. DINHMELLIA. 


Bill strong, about as long as the head, deeper than broad, evenly 
compressed, the sides being nearly straight, culmen wide and flattened, 
extending back in an acute angle through the frontal feathers; cutting 
edges of mandibles smooth; nostrils exposed and not placed in a groove. 
Primaries 3, 4 and 5 longest; 1 half length of 3. Tail very slightly 
rounded. ‘Tarsi and feet fairly strong. Sexes alike in plumage. No hair- 
like plumes on back of head or hind neck. 


Type. 
Dinemellia, Reichenb. Singv. p. 88 (1863) . . . . . . D. dinemelli. 
Limoneres, Reichen. J. f. O. 1885, p.372 . . . . . . Dz. dinemelli. 


The genus is confined to Eastern Africa, where it is represented by two 
closely allied species, remarkable in having the head, neck and breast white ; 
bend of wing, upper and under tail-coverts carmine ; also in having a white 
speculum on the primaries, as in Amblyospiza. The genus, although most 
nearly allied to Textor, forms a link between the latter and Amblyospiza. 


KEY TO THE SPECIES. 


a. With white edges to the brown feathers. . . . . . . . dinemelli. 
b. No white edges to the brown feathers. . . . . . . «. « boehmi. 


neosryns sdosunysty Zz 
UE S50 u K 


aos] Peed “TE CTITIX 7 
BLISS 


UW UL\ 


DINEMELLIA DINEMELLI 311 


Dinemellia dinemelli. 


Texto dinemelli, Riipp. Syst. Uebers, pp. 72, 76, pl. 30 (1845) Shoa ; 
Gray and Mitch. Gen. B. ii. p. 350, pl. 87, fig. 2 (1849) ; Bartl. Mon. 
Weaver-birds, Pt. i. pl. i. fig. 1 (1888). 

Dinemellia dinemelli, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii, p. 506 (1890); Shelley, 
B. Afr. I. No. 459 (1896); Elliot, Field Col. Mus. Orn. i. p. 36 
(1897) ; Grant, Ibis, 1904, p. 259 Abyssinia ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. 
p. 7 (1904). 

Textor leucocephalus, Riipp. Syst. Uebers. p. 72 (1845). 

Dinemellia ruspoli, Salvad. Mem. Acc. Torino, 1894, p. 558 Somali; 
Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 460 (1896). 


Adults. Head, neck and breast white; remainder of the upper parts 
brown, with the lower back, upper tail-coverts and a few of the least wing- 
coverts orange-shaded vermilion; broad white bases to the primaries; 
scapulars, greater wing-coverts and secondaries with broadish buff outer 
edges; tail uniform brown; under surface of wings sepia brown, with a 
broad band of white across the base of the primaries; thighs dark brown ; 
lower abdomen and under tail-coverts orange shaded vermilion. ‘ Ivis 
brown ; bill and legs blackish.” Total length 8:2 inches, culmen 0:95, 
wing 4°7 and 4:4, tail 3-2, tarsus 1:2. g, 11.1. 00, and ?,10.1.00. Lake 
Baringo (Delamere). 

Type of D. ruspolii. Smaller; brown parts paler; basal white portion 
of quills less sharply defined ; basal portion of inner webs of the primary- 
coverts white and the bend of the wing washed with red. Wing 4:4. 

Var. Differs from typically coloured specimens in having the mantle and 
wings mostly white, shading into brown towards the centres of the feathers, 
and darker brown at the end portion of the primaries; shafts of quills white ; 
the red on the wing less sharply marked, but extending as a scarlet wash on 
to the base of the first primary; tail pale brown, with the shafts of the 
feathers white; thighs brownish buff. Culmen 0°85, wing 4°3., Foot of 
Goolis Range (L. Phillips). 


Dinemell’s White-headed Weaver ranges from the latitude 
of Zanzibar into Southern Abyssinia and the Sudan. 

The most southern range known to me for this species is 
Mamboio, half-way between Zanzibar Island and Ugogo, in 
which latter country it is replaced by D. boehmi. It is 
represented in the British Museum from the following places : 
Mamboio (Kirk), Masailand (J. Thomson), Ukamba (Hilde- 
brandt), Useri River (Hunter), Elgeyu and Batzsuma (Jackson), 


312 DINEMELLIA DINEMELLI 


Lado (Emin), Lake Baringo (Delamere), thirteen specimens 
from Somaliland, Arbawun (Pease), Ambukara (Antinori), 
Abyssinia (Verreaux), and the Sudan (Knoblecher). Besides 
the above-mentioned localities, specimens have been collected 
by Fischer on the Pare Plateau, where he met with six of them 
feeding on the ground in company with a large flock of Spreo 
superbus, and also found the species near Kilimanjaro, the 
Tana River and Barawa. Hildebrandt observed it nesting in 
moderate sized trees close to Malimboa in Ukamba. Mr. 
Jackson met with it at Njemps on Lake Baringo, and found 
the species fairly plentiful in the neighbouring mountains of 
Kamassia at Elgeyu. According to Emin the species is not 
rare on the White Nile near Lado, and Heuglin met with it at 
the Gazelle River frequenting the open country. 

The type was discovered by the late Major Harris in Shoa, 
where, according to Dr, Ragazzi, these Weavers are abundant, 
and in Southern Abyssinia they are, according to Mr. Pease, 
‘quite common in the low country, always in noisy companies 
of twelve to fifteen, frequenting the bush and feeding on the 
ground,” 

In Somaliland Prince Ruspoli procured three typical 
examples of D. dinemelli and a small specimen, the type of 
D. vuspoli, Salvadori, which I do not consider to be recognisable 
as a subspecies. Mr, Lort Phillips writes: ‘ These birds are 
fairly common throughout the country, frequenting the mimosa 
trees, They are very noisy when on the wing, and breed in 
colonies. Their eggs are green, thickly speckled with dark 
brown, and 0°95 inch long. In one of these colonies a pair of 
small hawks, Poliohierax semitorquatus, had usurped a nest, 
but were regarded apparently as welcome visitors by these 
sociable Weavers.” He also met with them, ‘along the foot 
of the Goolis range, where it was breeding in small colonies 
in March and April. The nests are huge, clumsy affairs, 


DINEMELLIA BOEHMI 313 


placed at the extremity of the boughs of the taller mimosa 
trees, and look like flat masses of the sharpest thorns; the 
entrance, however, is from below, and the interior is lined 
with soft grass. The eggs are pale blue, dotted with dark 
brown spots.” Mr. Hawker records it as extremely common 
on the tableland in small flocks accompanying Spreo shelleyi. 


Dinemellia boehmi. 


Textor bohmi, Reichen. J. f. O. 1885, p. 372, Unyamwesi; Bartl. Mon. 
Weaver-birds, Pt. i. pl. 1. fig. 2 (1888). 

Dinemellia boehmi, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 507 (1890); Shelley, 
B. Afr. I. No. 461 (1896); Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 8. (1904). 


Adult. Similar to D. dinemelli, from which it differs only in having the 
brown portions of the plumage a shade darker, and the pale edges to the 
feathers of the upper parts absent or only slightly indicated on the inner 
secondaries. ‘ Iris black; bill reddish; feet black” (Werther). Total length 
8:4 inches, culmen 0:95, wing 4:8, tail 3°5, tarsus 1:35. ?, 23. 10. 82. 
Gonda (Bohm). 


Bohm’s White-headed Weaver ranges over Eastern Africa 
from north of Lake Nyasa, Lake Tanganyika and the Ugogo 
country to the Victoria Nyanza, 

This very closely allied representative of the more widely 
distributed D. dinemelli has been procured in Kondeland by 
Sir Alfred Sharpe. Béhm obtained specimens at Qua Mpara, 
on the western shore of Lake Tanganyika, and records it as 
abundant in small flocks frequenting the more park-like 
country round Kakoma, often in company with Urolestes 
equatorialis. While perched on a bush, or more often from 
the summit of an acacia tree, it pours forth its shrill, trumpet- 
like note, from which he suggests that its native name 
* Tulieh,”’ is probably derived. ‘he nests, several of which 
are usually built together, are generally placed at the top of a 
thorny acacia, and are rather untidy looking structures of 


314 TEXTOR 


erass, a few feathers and leaves, with the entrances on the 
under side, and are carefully protected by a surrounding of 
thorny boughs, which encircle not only the nests themselves, 
but also all the branches leading up to them. A single nest, 
without the surrounding twigs, measured 9°6 inches. The egg 
he describes as greenish white, spotted and scrawled with 
blackish brown. 

The species was first obtained by Speke who wrote: 
“Shot at Tura in Unyamwesi, where it goes about in small 
flocks.’ Emin met with it in that country and in Ugogo, 


and Fischer’s specimens came from Loeru, Salanda and 
Kagehi. 


Genus VI. THXTOR. 
Very similar in general structure to Dinemellia, but with the bill longer 


than deep and the culmen less curved. It differs entirely in the pattern and 
colouring of the plumage, which in adults is almost uniform black. 


Type. 
Textor, Temm. Pl. Col. iii. p. 75, pl. 446 (1828). . . . TZ. albirostris. 
Alecto, Less. Traité, p. 433 (1831) . . . . T. albirostris. 
Bubalornis, Smith, Rep. Exped. Centr. Afr. 1836, 51 . DT. nager. 
Dertroides, Swains. Classif. B. ii. p. 278 (1837). . . . TZ. albirostris. 
Alectornis, Reichenb. Singv. p. 89 (1863) . . . . . . Z.albirostris. 


The genus is confined to Tropical and South Africa. It comprises four 
closely allied species, which are called Buffalo- Weavers, on account of their 
habit of following herds of those animals. In general habits and in the 
construction of their nests they closely resemble the Dinemellia. 


KEY TO THE SPECIES. 


a. No white on under surface of wings. 
at. Bill with the base swollen, rough and whitish ; wing more 


than 45 inches . . . . albirostris. 
61. Bill smooth and roddish black ; wing less han 4: 5 . . senegalensis. 
b. Some white on under surface of quills ; g ill red in adults. 
ct. Much less white on under surface of quills . . . . . intermedius. 


d'. More than half of under surface of quills white. . . . niger. 


TEXTOR ALBIROSTRIS 315 


Textor albirostris. 


Coccothraustes albirostris, Vieill. N. Dict. xiii. p. 535 (1817). 

Textor albirostris, Bartlett, Mon. Weaver-birds, pt. ii. pl. 4 (1888); Sharpe, 
Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 508 (1890); Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 462 (1896) ; 
Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 132 (1899) egg; Grant, Ibis, 1900, p. 134 
S. Abyssinia ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 3 (1904). 

Textor alecto, Temm. PI. Col. iii. p. 75, pl. 446 (1826). 


Adult male. Entire plumage glossy black, of a uniform more brownish 
shade on the under surface of the quills and tail-feathers; the outer webs 
of the middle primaries partly edged with white; the white bases of the 
feathers often show through the black on the lower back and flanks. “ Iris 
brown ; bill black, the basal portion in adults covered with a fleshy cere, 
pale yellow in colour.” Total length 8°6 inches, culmen 1:0, wing 4°'8, tail 
4-2, tarsus 1:2. g, 2.3.68. Waliko (Jesse). 

Adult female. Exactly like the male. Wing 4:8. 9, 21.7. 68. Waliko 
(Blanford). 

Immature. Differ in having the plumage brown, with the inner margins 
of the quills slightly paler. Anseba (Esler). The bill is whitish or horny 
brown (Reichenow). 


The White-billed Buffalo-Weaver ranges over North-east 
Africa from 16° N. lat. to the Equator. 

The most southern range positively known to me for the 
species is Lake Baringo, where Mr. Jackson found it breeding 
at Njemps in September, and writes: “ Iris brown; bill black, 
with greenish yellow base; feet pale slate colour, They are 
the first I have seen of this species; they were breeding. The 
nest was a large mass of black thorns, three or four nests 
being clustered together; all with three eggs.” Both speci- 
mens show no trace of white on the under surface of the quills, 
and in one the base of the upper mandible is much swollen, so 
there can be no doubt as to the species to which they belong. 
On the Upper White Nile Emin has collected specimens at 
Lado, Harif and Muggi. 

The Nile district and Abyssinia I look upon as the true 
home of the species; but here, according to Brehm, it is not 


516 TEXTOR ALBIROSTRIS 


very common and was not met with further north than 16° N, 
lat., and he informs us that it breeds in colonies of from three 
to eighteen nests, each 3 or 4 feet in diameter, including the 
surrounding structure of thorny twigs and small branches, 
loosely arranged, giving the structure the appearance of a 
thick bristly bush; on one side, usually to the westward, is 
the entrance, which at the mouth is wide enough to admit a 
man’s fist quite easily, but gradually diminishes to just suffi- 
cient size to allow the bird to pass. The interior of each nest 
is lined with fine rootlets and grass. During the nesting 
season these birds are exceedingly noisy and may be heard at 
a great distance, and he writes: ‘‘ During a few minutes I 
spent under a tree I wrote down the following sounds. One of 
the male birds began: 1", ti, terr, terr, terr, zerr, zaili ; another 
answered Gai, gai, zai; a third uttered the sounds, Guwik, quik, 
guk, qguk, gai; others screamed, Gu, gu, gu, gu, gat, and a few 
listened intently. They behaved like a swarm of bees. Some 
came, others went, and it seemed almost as if all the grown 
fledglings had also collected on the tree, for the large number 
of birds did not correspond to the few nests. The flight is 
very easy and hovering, marked by slow flapping of the wings. 
The wings are carried very high. Its run is quick and nimble, 
and the bird is also an adept in climbing,’ Heuglin remarked 
that he did not meet with it at any great height in the moun- 
tains, but observed it near the Anseba River at Barka, on the 
Mareb as far up as Serawi, in Sennaar, Kordofan, and the 
White Nile up to the Sobat River. He found them breeding 
from July to September. ‘The trees once resorted to for 
breeding are used for several years. The massive nest 
structures are heaped upon forks and horizontal boughs some 
15 to 80 feet from the ground, and are from 5 to 8 feet in 
length and 8 to 4 feet broad, where from three to eight pairs 
breed, each forming their own dwelling, like Sparrows in the 


TEXTOR SENEGALENSIS 317 


Stork’s nest, and fairly deep towards the interior. These nests 
are thickly and comfortably lined with fine grass, rushes, 
small roots and wool, and contain three or four eggs, coloured 
like those of our House-Sparrow, of a blunt oval shape and 
with a rather thick, rough shell. They measure on an average 
2x 07S, j 

These birds find their food mostly in the pasture land, and 
according to both Dr, Blanford and Mr. Jesse, at such times 
may be seen in company with Glossy Starlings, 


Textor senegalensis. 


Textor senegalensis, Shelley, B. Afr. I. p. 34, No. 466 (1898) Gambia. 
Textor albirostris senegalensis, Reichen. Vég. Afr. ili. p. 5 (1904). 


Type. Similar to theadult male of 7. albirostris, but differs in its smaller 
size and in the bill being entirely smooth and reddish black. Total length 
8°3 inches, culmen 0°9, wing 4°4, tail 3°6, tarsus 1-1. Gambia (Brit. Mus.). 


The Senegal Buffalo-Weaver ranges from Senegambia into 
Abyssinia. 

This species is known to me positively by only three speci- 
mens in the British Museum, two from the Gambia River and 
the other from Abyssinia (Riippell); the latter is slightly the 
smallest (wing 4°2 inches), otherwise these specimens agree 
perfectly. To this species should belong the specimens from 
Deine on the Senegal River (Marche and De Compiégne), 
Bathurst (Rendall) and Cassamanse (Verreaux). 


Textor intermedius. 


Textor intermedius, Cab. J. f. O. 1868, p. 413; id. Decken’s Reis. iii. 
p. 32, pl. 11 (1869) Dalaoni, R. Kiswani; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. 
p- 511 (1890) ; Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 464 (1896) ; Grant, Ibis, 1904, 
p. 259 S$. Abyssinia. 


318 TEXTOR INTERMEDIUS 


Textor albirostris intermedius, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 4 (1904). 
Textor scioanus, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Genoy. 1884, p. 195 Shoa; Sharpe, 
Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 511 (1890); Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 463 (1896). 


Adults. Similar to those of 7. albirostris, but distinguished by having a 
wash of white on the under surface of the quills and the bill being red 
inclining to brown at the tip. ‘Iris brown; feet black’’ (Lort Phillips). 
Total length 8-8 inches, culmen 0:95, wing 4°9, tail 4:0, tarsus 1:2. 3, 7. 1. 00. 
Tadechmulka (Harrison). 

Immature. Upper parts slaty grey, with imperfect white edges to the 
outer greater wing-coverts, primaries and tail-feathers; under surface of 
quills brown, gradually fading into buff towards the base of the primaries ; 
under wing-coverts blackish, with some white terminal margins; sides of 
head slaty grey, inclining to white in front of the eyes and on the cheeks; 
under parts mottled with white and slaty grey, the former predominating 
on the throat and centre of the breast, on which latter part the broad dark 
bars become lanceolate. ‘Iris brown; bill dark brown; feet black ”’ 
(Lort Phillips). Wing 4:5. 9?,1.2.00. Msara (Delamere). 


Cabanis’s Buffalo-Weaver ranges over Eastern Africa from 
the northern end of Lake Nyasa to Southern Abyssinia. 

In its southern range it has been obtained by Sir Alfred 
Sharpe between Kandeland and the Ruaha River, by Emin at 
Mpapwa and Nianguira in Ugogo, and it apparently does not 
wander further west than 33° E. long.; but seems to be 
plentiful and very evenly distributed throughout its range, 
northward from Ugogo, judging from the list of localities 
where the species has been actually obtained, as given by 
Dr. Reichenow in his “ Végel Afrikas.” 

The types were discovered by the late Baron Carl y. d. 
Decken at the Dalaoni River and Kisuani. In this latter 
district, between the Pare Highlands and the Pangani River, 
Fischer saw a colony of these Weavers breeding in a clump of 
acacia trees and describes their habits, which are very similar 
to those of the other members of the genus, and Mr. Pease 
found them in Southern Abyssinia feeding on the ground in 
company with Glossy Starlings and Hornbills. Hildebrandt 


TEXTOR INTERMEDIUS 319 


met with them nesting in large colonies at Ikang in Ukamba. 
From Somaliand Mr. Lort Phillips writes: ‘ Very plentiful 
in flocks near Faf in the interior of the plateau, which in 
the rainy season becomes a lake. In March they were busily 
building colonies of nests in the higher trees. In habits they 
much remind one of Starlings, especially when feeding on the 
ground.” 

The species is well represented in the British Museum 
from Somaliland and Southern Abyssinia, also by two of 
Lord Delamere’s specimens from Msara to the north-east 
of Mount Kenia and two from Shoa. Mr. Jackson’s collection 
contains an adult male and an immature female from Yonte 
near the mouth of the Jub River and one from the Kikuyu 
country, while two specimens from Njemps belong to 7. 
albirostris. This is an interesting fact, showing how the 
range of the two closely allied species meet, and it is not 
improbable that they may sometimes interbreed, and this may 
account for a few specimens of 1’. intermedius, including the 
type of 7’. scionanus having the basal portion of the bill some- 
what swollen as in 7’, albirostris; a character which appears 
to occur only towards the junction of the range of the two 
species. The type of 17’. scioanus was obtained by Antinori 
at Daimbi in Shoa, where, according to Ragazzi, the genus is 
poorly represented. To this form Mr. Oscar Neumann refers 
a bird he procured at Kwa Kitoto in Kavirondo, so that any 
naturalist wishing to recognise D. scioanus as a good subspecies 
will find its range confined to a long narrow strip of country 
separating the range of 7. albiventris from that of T° 
intermedius. 


320 TEXTOR NIGER 


Textor niger. 


Bubulornis niger, Smith, Rep. Exped. C. Afr. App. p. 52 (1836) 
Kurrichaine. 

Textor niger, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 509 (1890); Shelley, B. Afr. I. 
No. 465 (1896) ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 5 (1904). 

? Loxia panicivora, Linn. S. N. (x.) p. 173 (1758); (xii.) i. p. 802 (1766) 
India. 

Textor panicivora, Bartlett, Mon. Weaver-birds, pt. ii. pls. 2, 3 (1888). 

Textor erythrorhynchus, Smith, Ill. Zool. S. Afr. Aves, pl. 64 (1841) 
Kurrichaine. 

Adult male. General plumage glossy black; the white basal portion of 
the feathers often showing through, mostly so on the lower back and the 
flanks; primaries with some imperfect white outer edges; under surface of 
wings, with nearly the whole of the coverts and the terminal portion of the 
quills black, and the centre half white. ‘Iris hazel; bill red ; legs salmon 
colour.”” Total length 8:7 inches, culmen 0°95, wing 4:9, tail 4-1, tarsus 1:3. 
$, 16.7. 73. Transvaal (Buckley). 

Adult female. Differs in the dark parts being of a more slaty shade and 
the upper throat mottled with white. Wing 4:3. 9.  Kiulo (Anchieta). 

Immature. Differs from the adult female in having some imperfect white 
edges to the outer greater-coverts and primary-coverts ; under wing-coverts 
with some white terminal margins; sides of head whitish in front of the 
eyes and on the cheeks; under parts mottled with white and slaty grey, the 
former predominating on the throat and centre of the breast, on which 
latter portion the broad dark bars become lanceolate. 


The Southern Buffalo-Weaver ranges from Angola into 
Damaraland and crosses the continent into Portuguese South 
Africa. 

The species is represented in the British Museum from 
the following places: Galungo, on the Bengo River (Sala), 
Quanza River (Monteiro), Humbe (Anchieta), Damaraland 
(Andersson), Bamangwato (Buckley), Transvaal (T. Ayres), 
Kooroomooroui Pan (Jameson), Tati (Oates), Makalaka 
(Bradshaw). 

Professor Bocage informs us that Anchieta found it to be 
most abundant around Quillenques and Humbe, and known at 
the former place as the ‘‘ Quicenque-cenque,”’ and at the latter 


TEXTOR NIGER 321 


as the “ Zembo-zembo,” and like Andersson, remarked that 
several pairs construct one block of nests for their common 
use, the diameter of which is over 20 inches. Van der 
Kellen also procured the species in the Upper Cunene district 
near Humbe. 

Andersson writes: ‘‘ Rather common in Damaraland and 
also in the Lake regions, where it is known to the natives 
by the name of ‘Tsaba Gushoa.’ It is a noisy species, 
gregarious in its habits, breeding in colonies, and constructing 
many nests in the same tree; it seems to prefer the giraffe- 
acacia for the purpose of nidification; and it is curious that 
when these birds have used a tree for this purpose it usually 
withers in a short time after the building of the nest is 
completed; but whether the birds instinctively select such 
trees as have a tendency to decay, | am unable to say. The 
collective nests consist externally of an immense mass of dry 
twigs and sticks, in which are to be found from four to six 
separate nests or holes of an oval form, composed of grass 
only, but united to each other by intricate masses of sticks, 
defying the ingress of any intruder except a small snake. In 
each of these separate holes are laid three or four eggs, 
exactly resembling Sparrows’ eggs, but much larger. I 
obtained no less than forty of the eggs (all much incubated), 
on January 29, from two low trees standing close together, 
at Amatoni, in latitude 18° south; and on the following day 
the birds were busy in repairing one of the collective nests, 
which had been injured during the collection of the eggs which 
it contained. I believe these nests are annually added to; for, 
30 far as I have been able to see, the same nest is retained for 
several consecutive seasons.”’ 

The species has not yet been recorded from further south 
than Damaraland and the Transvaal. Sir Andrew Smith 
writes: ‘It was not till after we had passed to the north- 


(February, 1905, 21 


322 TEXTOR NIGER 


ward of the 25th degree of south latitude that we discovered 
this bird; and if we are to believe the natives, it rarely 
extends its flight further to the southward, which they 
attribute to the scarcity of Buffaloes south of that parallel. 
Wherever it was discovered it was always in attendance upon 
herds of the animals just mentioned, and either flying over 
the members of which the group was composed, or else 
perched upon the back of some individual animal. While 
perched, it appeared, generally, to be employed in collecting 
articles of food from the hide; and while so occupied it passed 
quickly from one part of the Buffalo to another, without the 
latter appearing to bestow the slightest attention upon its 
movements.” 

* More often,” according to Stark, ‘‘ these birds search for 
their food on the ground, not far from trees and bushes, in 
which they seek refuge if disturbed. They feed upon the 
larger insects, locusts, termites, beetles and various larve, 
occasionally upon seeds and berries. These are alert, vivacious 
and noisy birds, fond of the society of their own species and 
that of other birds. They feed in flocks and build in colonies, 
their large collective nests being frequently surrounded by 
those of Sparrows and other Weaver-Birds. On the Limpopo 
River they frequently build in a tree that is already occupied 
by the nest of an Eagle or Vulture, possibly because the 
proximity of their powerful neighbours afford them protection 
against the attacks of monkeys and snakes. Generally from 
four to seven pairs of the Buffalo Weaver-Bird unite to build 
a common nest of closely interwoven sticks and thorny twigs, 
oval openings being left here and there, which are afterwards 
lined with dry grass and used both as nesting and roosting 
places. The collective nest, which measures three or four 
feet across, is repaired and added to from time to time and 
often lasts for many years. As many as six of the larger 


HISTURGOPS RUFICAUDA 323 


nests may be sometimes seen in a single tree, each inhabited 


by as many pairs of birds. The eggs, laid on the Limpopo in 


December, are three or four in number, greyish white, streaked 
and marbled with several shades of grey and brown. They 
measure about 1°12 x 0:90,” 


Genus VII. HISTURGOPBPS. 


Similar to Textor in general structure, but differs in the nostrils opening 
at the end of a groove, and are slightly more basal. General plumage brown 
and white, with a considerable amount of cinnamon on the wings and tail. 

Type. 

Histurgops, Reichen. J. f.O. 1887, p.67 . . . . . . H. ruficauda. 


This genus, which is represented by a single East African species, is 
closely allied to Textor. 


Histurgops ruficauda. (PI. 36, fig. 2.) 


Histurgops ruficauda, Reichen. J. f. O. 1887, p. 67, Ruwanal., Wembere ; 
Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 505 (1890) ; Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 467 
(1896) ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iil. p. 9 (1904). 


Adult. Upper parts brown ; forehead, crown, back and sides of neck, 
mantle and lesser wing-coverts with brownish buff edges to the feathers ; 
lower back rather paler and more uniform, shading gradually into cinnamon 
on the upper tail-coverts; tail bright cinnamon, with the centre pair of 
feathers darker, mostly sepia brown; remainder of the wings dark brown, 
the feathers broadly margined with buff of a rufous shade on most of the 
quills, the inner webs of which have a basal portion pale cinnamon, so that 
more than half of the under surface of the wing is of that colour, the ends 
of the quills being dark brown and the coverts sandy buff; sides of head 
brown, inclining to black in front and below the eyes, the other feathers 
have buff edges, giving the cheeks a streaked appearance; chin and centre 
of throat white, with a line of hair-like blackish shafts down the middle ; 
sides of throat and the breast buff, with darkish brown centres to the 
feathers ; under tail-coverts cinnamon buff. ‘‘ Bill brown, yellowish on the 
under mandible; feet brown.” Total length 8°5 inches, culmen 0-8, wing 
5:1, tail 3-7, tarsus 1:05. ¢, 22.1.86, Ruwana R. (Fischer). 


324 PLOCEPASSER 


The Rufous-tailed Weaver inhabits Central German East 
Africa between 5° and 2° S. lat. 

The typical specimens were discovered in the Wembere 
country and at the Ruwana River, by Fischer, who compares 
their nest, which has two openings and was placed in the fork 
of a thick acacia tree, to that of Ploceipasser melanorhynchus. 

Emin collected specimens at Usambiro in October, and 
gives some interesting notes in a letter dated November 21, 
1890. Here he calls it the most characteristic species through- 
out the wide, open country which stretches from Usongo to the 
Victoria Nyanza, and the, then leafless, acacia trees were 
decorated with many of their nests, placed in forks or hanging 
from the boughs. It is a sociable, noisy bird, with a note 
similar to that of the larger Yellow Weaver-Birds, but harsher. 
It was busy, at the time, in the construction of the nests, in 
one only of which he found eggs, but suggests that the full 
number in a Clutch is probably three. When on the ground 
it has a stately walk, and feeds on worms and insects. 

The species has been procured by Mr. Werther at Meatu, 
and by Mr. Oscar Neumann in Umbugwe, at Lake Manjara, 
and at Muansa near the Ruwana River on the south-west side 
of Victoria Nyanza. 


Genus VIII. PLOCHKPASSER. 


Bill deeper than broad, evenly compressed, the sides being nearly straight; 
culmen rounded and extending back in an acute angle through the frontal 
feathers ; cutting edges of the mandibles smooth ; nostrils exposed in the 
front of a short groove. Wing pointed, the longest primary extending be- 
yond the shortest one by more than the length of the tarsus; primaries 
1 about one-third of 2; 2 shorter than 3, which is one of the longest. Tail 
square. Tarsi and feet fairly strong, and the claws strong and rather short, 
as in Textor. Plumage brown and white with two pale bars across the 


wing-coverts, and with either a broad white eyebrow or the rump white. 
Sexes alike in plumage. 


PLOCEPASSER MAHALI 325 


Type. 
Plocepasser, Smith, Rep. Exped. Centr. Afr. 1836, p.51 P. mahali. 


Leucophrys, Swains. Classif. B. ii. p. 287 (1837) . . P. mahali. 

Agrophilus, Swains. t. c. p. 291 te nena nee Ly SUpeTCLuLosus: 

Philagrus, Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 179 (1851) . . . . P. mahali. 

The genus is confined to Tropical and South Africa and comprises seven 
species. 


KEY TO THE SPECIES. 


a. Rump and upper tail-coverts white. 
at, A broad white eyebrow ; crown black. 
a?. Crop uniform white like the throat and breast. 
a’, Bill horny brown ; under surface of wings paler mahali. 


68. Bill black ; under surface of wings darker . . melanorhynchus. 
b?. Crop mottled, with brown centres to feathers. 

ce’. Bill black; crop marking dark brown. . . . pectoralis. 

d’, Bill brown; crop marking pale brown . . . propinquatus. ° 
b1. No white eyebrow; crown brown . . . . . . donaldsoni. 

b. Rump and upper tail-coverts brown 

ct. Crown rufous; mantle earth brown. . . . . . superciliosus. - 
d+. Crown grey; mantle rufous . . . . . . . . rufoscapulatus. 


Plocepasser mahali. 


Plocepasser mahali, Smith, Rep. Exped. C. Afr. p. 51 (1836) N. of 
Orange I. ; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 245 (1890); Shelley, B. 
Afr. I. No. 468 (1896); Whitehead, Ibis, 1903, p. 223 Orange R.; 
Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 11 (1904); Clarke, Ibis, 1904, p. 524 
Modder Rf. 

Leucophrys pileatus, Swains. Classif. B. ii. p. 287 (1837). 

Agrophilus hematocephalus, Licht. Nomencl. Av. Mus. Berol. p. 50 
(1854). 

Type. Crown, forehead, front of sides of head and a band down the 
sides of the throat black; a very broad white eyebrow extends from above 
the front of the eye to the sides of the nape; ear-coverts, sides and back of 
neck, mantle and lesser wing-coverts clear brown; lower back and upper 
tail-coverts white; tail dark brown, with pale edges to the feathers, the 
edges fading into white on the ends and on the sides of the centre pair ; 
remainder of the wings dark brown, with broad buffy white ends to the 
median and greater coverts, forming two well-marked bars; quills with buff 
edges, broadest towards the inner secondaries ; under surface of wings, with 


526 PLOCEPASSER MAHALL 


the coverts and broad inner edges to the quills, buff; under parts white, 
shaded with buff on the breast. ‘Iris dark red; bill horn colour; legs 
brown” (Buckley). Total length 6°8 inches, culmen 0:7, wing 3:9, tail 2:5, 
tarsus 1:0. ‘* 3, between the Orange R. and the Tropic’ (Smith). 

Adult female. Like the male. ‘Tris bright red brown; bill light 
dusky biuwn, with under mandible pale brown.” Wing, 38. 9, 3.5. 79. 
Rhinoster R. (T. Ayres). 


Smith’s Sparrow- Weaver ranges from Angola and Matabele- 
land into Eastern Cape Colony and the Transvaal. 

The most northern range I can find for the species is 
Biballa, near the right bank of the Quanza River; here it has 
been procured by Anchieta, who also records it as abundant 
in the flat country round Capangombe and obtained specimens 
at Maconjo, Kiulo, and in the Humbe district. 

The species is represented in the British Museum from the 
following localities: Capangombe, Maconjo and Rio Chimba 
(Anchieta), Matalko (Andersson), Griqualand (Atmore), 
Matabele (‘T. E. Buckley), Palatsie River (F. Oates). Anders- 
son writes: ‘‘ Damaraland proper would seem to be the 
stronghold of this species; but I have also found it abundant 
at Lake Ngami and in the neighbourhood of the Okavango, 
and it likewise occurs, though less frequently, in Great Nama- 
qualand. It is gregarious in its habits and may occasionally 
be seen in large flocks; it usually frequents the wildest and 
most desolate spots, far away from either fountain or stream.” 
He adds: ‘At the beginning of the rainy season this bird 
occasionally, though rarely, sings so melodiously that I have 
seldom heard anything more exquisite.” From south of the 
Orange River it is known to me only by Ortlepp having 
procured the species at Colesberg, and Bradshaw “ met with 
a small colony of these birds in a valley of thorn trees several 
miles south of the Orange River, when coming down from the 
border in May, 1882.” 

Sir Andrew Smith discovered the species in the country 


PLOCEPASSER MAHALI 327 


between the Orange River and the Tropic. He writes: “ Each 
nest was composed of stalks of grass, the thickest extremities 
of which were so placed as to protrude externally for several 
inches beyond the more compact structure, destined to contain 
the eggs.” It is, according to Stark, “abundant to the north 
of the Orange River among bushes and mimosa trees, but is 
rarely met with in the open country. Of social habits, it 
remains in flocks all the year round and breeds in company, 
several nests being generally built in a single tree. Rarely 
have I met with more pugnacious birds; the males in spring 
are constantly fighting, and so desperate are their quarrels 
that the combatants frequently lie exhausted, side by side, on 
the ground, incapable of further movement. They are noisy 
birds, too, very ‘ sparrow-like’ in their manners and customs, 
and keep up a constant chatter while searching for food. This 
consists of locusts, termites, small beetles, and a variety of 
small grain and seeds. ‘The young appear to be fed on larvx 
and small caterpillars. If disturbed when feeding they seek 
shelter in the nearest bush or tree. In addition to their some- 
what harsh call-notes of ‘chick-chick,’ the males in spring 
indulge in a song of some sweetness. The nests are large, 
roughly-built, kidney-shaped structures, usually placed near 
the ends of the branches of a mimosa or other thorny tree. 
They are constructed of long grass-stems, the blades and 
flowering tops being woven together; the stiff stalks project in 
all directions. During the winter each nest has two entrances 
from below, separated in the interior by a narrow bridge of 
grass, on which the birds roost. At the beginning of the 
breeding season one entrance is stopped up with leaves and 
grass, a shallow cavity being left in which the female deposits 
two or three eggs, about the first week in December on the 
Limpopo River. As soon as the young are on the wing the 
second entrance is unstopped, and the nest is again used, both 


528 PLOCEPASSER MELANORHYNCHUS 


by the old and young birds, as a roosting place. These nests 
are annually repaired and last for many years. The eggs are 
white, suffused with pink, thickly marked, especially at the 
broad end, with blotches and streaks of deep brown pink, 
They average 1°00 x 0°72.” My late friend, T. E. Buckley, 
while in Matabeleland, made the following note: “ Most of the 
nests have a hole right through, and seem only to be used for 
roosting in, as there is no place for eggs; it is the older- 
looking nests that contain the eggs, which are pink, speckled 
with brown; these nests have only one entrance. The male 
has a short sweet song.” 

Major Clark also remarks that the call-notes and babbling 
of a flock of these birds are very pretty, and were constantly 
heard by him in the thorn scrub on the Bloemfontein side of 
the Modder River. 


Plocepasser melanorhynchus. 


Plocepasser melanorhynchus, Riipp. Syst. Uebers, p. 78 (1845) Shoa ; 
Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 246 (1890); Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 469 
(1896); Grant, Ibis, 1904, p. 257 Tadejemulka, Serba; Reichen. 
Vog. Afr. iii. p. 12 (1904). 

Adult male. Forehead, crown, nape and front of face black, shading 
into brown on the ear-coverts and neck; a broad white eyebrow, separating 
the eye and ear-coverts from the crown ; back and sides of neck, mantle and 
lesser wing-coverts earthy brown ; lower back and upper tail-coverts white ; 
wings brown above and below; a few white feathers at the bend of the 
wing; median coverts white; greater coverts with white ends, broadest on 
the inner feathers; quill with buff edges broadest on the inner secondaries ; 
tail dark brown, with broadish terminal pale margins; under parts uniform 
white, with the flanks brown; a black band margins the sides of the throat. 
‘Tris brown; bill black; legs brown” (Pease). Total length 7-0 inches, 
culmen 0°65, wing 4:0, tail 2°8, tarsus 0°99. g, 14, 2.80. Lado (Emin). 

Adult female. Similar in plumage to the male. Wing 3:8. ?,18.3.01. 
Daira Aila (Pease). 


The Black-billed Sparrow-Weaver inhabits Hastern Africa 
between 2° 8. lat. and 11° N. lat., ranging westward to the 


Nile. 


PLOCEPASSER MELANORHYNCHUS 329 


The species is represented in the British Museum from the 
following places: Kitui (Hildebrandt), Machako’s (Hinde), 
Lake Baringo (Delamere), Lado (Hmin), Lake Stefanie 
(Donaldson Smith), Shoa (Antinori), Hawash (Lovat), Daira 
Aila (Pease), Sudan (Knoblecker). 

At the Nguruman salt lake Fischer records the species 
as abundant in flocks of about twenty individuals, generally to 
be seen seeking their food amongst the grass, and remarks 
that they are noisy birds with a harsh cry somewhat resem- 
bling that of a Hyphantornis, but louder. The nests resemble, 
at first sight, those of that genus, and are suspended from 
twigs of acacia trees; but instead of having a single entrance 
hanging down from beneath they have two holes in the side, 
one apparently a shelter for the male, the other leading into 
the incubating chamber. At this lake Mr, Neumann has also 
procured specimens at Ndalalani and Pinnini, In the Ukamba 
country Dr, Ansorge obtained the species at Campi-ya-Simba, 
and Mr. Jackson at Njemps, on Lake Baringo, and at Elgeyu 
on the Kamassia range. 

At the White Nile Emin found the species abundant, 
generally in small flocks, feeding on the ground near Lado 
and the neighbouring stations. Antinori met with it in the 
Kidsh country, and Heuglin records it from this district to as 
far down the Nile as the Sobat River. 

Dr. Donaldson Smith procured it in the Musha Mountains 
to the north of Lake Rudolf and at Lake Stefanie. In Shoa 
the type of the species was discovered by Ritppell, and accord- 
ing to Antinori the species is plentifully distributed in flocks 
of eight to ten, and breed there in August. Further eastward 
Lord Lovat records it as ‘a noisy bird, seen in large numbers 
on the Hawash plain.” Mr, Harrison also met with it here 
and at Tadechmulka, Mr. Pease at Erra Gota, Marko and 
Daira Aila, and writes: ‘These Black-billed Weaver Finches 


330 PLOCEPASSER PECTORALIS 


are bold, noisy, chattering birds, and appear to breed both in 
the autumn and spring, for at both of these seasons they were 
observed haunting their nests, which are untidy bunches of 
fine grass or teff attached to the ends of the lower branches 
of trees.” 


Plocepasser pectoralis. (PI. 37, fig. 1.) 


Philagrus pectoralis, Peters, J. f. O. 1868, p. 133 Inhambane. 

Plocepasser pectoralis, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 13 (1904). 

Ploceipasser pectoralis, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 247 (1890); Shelley, 

B. Afr. I. No. 470 (1896). 

Adult male. Similar to P. mahali and P. melanorhynchus, from both of 
which it differs in having the crop mottled with large dark brown centres 
to the feathers. It resembles P. mahali in the under surface of the wing 
having the coverts and broad inner edges to the quills buff, and P. melano- 
rhynchus in the black bill and the brown flanks. ‘Iris claret colour ; bill 
black; tarsi and feet brown.” ‘Total length 65 inches, culmen 0°65, wing 
3°8, tail 2°5, tarsus 1:0. g, 28.11.98. Zambesi (Alexander). 


Peters’ Sparrow-Weaver ranges over Eastern Africa be- 
tween 8° and 24° S. lat., from the Rufiji River to Inhambane. 

This is the eastern representative of P. mahali in Southern 
Africa, and is represented in the British Museum from Tete 
(Kirk), Zumbo (Alexander), Npimbi (Whyte), Limondi (Sharpe), 
and Lindipe in Angoniland, where General Manning found it 
was known to the natives as the “‘ Pelengaya.” 

The type was discovered by Peters at Inhambane. 

Mr. Boyd Alexander, in his interesting notes on the birds 
observed by him during his expedition up the Zambesi, writes : 
“Wherever the woods were composed of Copaifera mopane 
this species was numerous, distributing itself in colonies, each 
selecting a clump of trees, whose outside branches the birds 
festooned from top to bottom, generally on the lee side, with 
their nests. These ‘weaveries’ were nearly always located 
near the confines of a village or close to a native path, their 


PLOCEPASSER PROPINQUATUS 351 


owners welcoming a passer by with loud choruses of mellow, 
musical chirps, which became long and boisterous on an 
important advent, such as a string of carriers passing by. 
These woods are very silent, few birds seem to care to haunt 
them, and but for these Weavers the monotonous silence would 
scarcely ever be broken. ‘he same tree is resorted to year 
after year, and the old nests used as roosting places when the 
breeding season is over, and these undergo constant repairing. 
The nest, built in pendant branches about 15 to 20 feet from 
the ground, are composed of fine dried grass like dry hay, and 
generally lined with Guinea-fowl feathers, in construction 
resembling those of our House-Sparrow, and are also about 
the same size, the entrances of all the nests in one colony 
always facing one way, in an outward direction. They are, 
as a rule, untidy looking structures, no attempt at trimming 
being made, and remind one forcibly of hedgerows in England, 
past which hayearts have journeyed and left bunches of hay 
on the branches. In flight this bird looks much like some 
large Wheatear, its white rump being very conspicuous. Dur- 
ing the breeding season the male sings rather prettily, 
melodious whistles being introduced into the usual string of 
musical chirps.” 

Dr. P. Rendall has procured the species at Monkey Bay 
on Nyasa Lake, and, as above mentioned, there are many 
specimens in the British Museum from other parts of Nyasa- 
land. It has also been recorded from Undis (Fiilleborn) and 
from the River Rufiji (Stuhlmann), in about 8° 8. lat., which 
is the most northern range known to me for the species. 


Plocepasser propinquatus. 


“Plocepasser propinquatus, Oust.” Shelley, Ibis, 1887, p. 6 Somali; 
Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 247; Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 471 (1896) ; 
Reichen. Vog. Afr. ili. p. 14 (1904). 

Type. Very similar to P. melanorhynchus, but differing in the bill being 

pale brownish, the sides of the head paler, with black sides to the white 


332 PLOCEPASSER DONALDSONI 


throat much more distinctly marked; the feathers of the crop with pale 
brown centres; tail-feathers with broad white ends. Wing 3°75 inches. 
Somaliland (Paris Mus.). 


The Somali Sparrow-Weaver inhabits Somaliland. 

This is the representative of P. melanorhynchus in Somali- 
land, and is known, I believe, by the type only, which I met 
with in the Jardin des Plantes Museum, Paris, with the locality 
Somaliland written on the label, I find no other record of the 
species having been procured in Somaliland, or any other 
place, so it is probably only an abnormal variety of P. 
melanorhynchus. 


Plocepasser donaldsoni. 


Ploceipasser donaldsoni, Sharpe, Bull. B. O. C. v. p. 14 (1895) Somali ; 
id. P. Z. §. 1901, p. 620, pl. 36, fig. 2. 
Plocepasser donaldsoni, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 14 (1904). 


Type. Upper parts brown, with the lower back and upper tail-coverts 
pure white; feathers of the head, above the line of the eye, dark brown, with 
rather narrow buffish edges, giving to this part a somewhat scaled appear- 
ance ; back and sides of neck nearly uniform pale brown; feathers of the 
mantle and the lesser wing-coverts with broad dark brown centres; wings 
and tail dark brown, with buff edges to the feathers, broadest at the ends of 
the median and greater coverts and the ends of the tail-feathers, forming 
two bars on the wing; under tail-coverts and broad inner margins to the 
quills buff; a band of blackish feathers, tipped with buff, extends from the 
upper mandible under the eye and includes the upper ear-coverts ; the head 
below this band is white, and is separated from the white chin and throat 
by an imperfect black band; breast buff, with pale brown centres to the 
feathers of the front of the chest and flanks; under tail-coverts white. 
“Tris red; bill black; legs grey.’’ ‘Total length 6°7 inches, culmen 0°8, 
wing 3:7, tail 2-4, tarsus 1:0. g,14. 9.95. Somaliland (Donaldson Smith). 

Adult female. Like the male. ‘Iris dark red.” Wing 3:5. ?, 6.12.99. 
Lake Stefanie (Donaldson Smith). 


The Donaldson Sparrow-Weaver inhabits Western Somali- 
land and the adjoining country. 
All the information I can find regarding this species is 


PLOCEPASSER SUPERCILIOSUS 333 


that Dr. Donaldson Smith has collected two specimens, which 
are now in the British Museum, A male, the type of the 
species, he discovered in Somaliland, September 14, 1895, and 
the other, a female, he obtained in the hills to the west of 
Lake Stefanie, December 10, 1899. 


Plocepasser superciliosus. 


Ploceus superciliosus, Riipp. Atlas Vég. p. 24, pl. 15 (1826), Abyssinia. 

Plocepasser superciliosus, Reichen. Vég. Afr. ili. p. 14 (1904). 

Ploceipasser superciliosus, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 248 (1890) ; Shelley, 
B. Afr. I. No. 472 (1896). 


Adult male. Upper parts earth brown, with the forehead, crown and 
nape chestnut; the brown on the lower back and upper tail-coverts slightly 
more ashy than the mantle; wings and tail darker; median and greater 
coverts with buff ends forming two bars on the wing; quills edged with 
brownish buff, inclining to white on the inner secondaries ; under wing-coyverts 
and narrow inner edges to the quills buff; tail uniform brown; a complete 
broad white eyebrow ; sides of head above the line of the gape rufous brown, 
with a white mark under the eye; below the line of the gape, and sides of 
upper neck, white, separated from the white chin and throat by a strongly 
marked band of black; under surface of body and the under tail-coverts 
white, of a slightly more ashy shade than the throat. ‘Iris light brown ; 
bill brown ; legs light brown.” Total length 6-4 inches, culmen 0:65, wing 
3:4, tail 2-7, tarsus 08. ¢,14.1.99. Laga Hardim (Lovat). 


The Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver ranges over 
Northern Tropical Africa between the Equator and 17° N., lat. 

The species has been received by Swainson from Sene- 
gambia, and by Verreaux from Casamanse, and there is a 
specimen in the British Museum labelled Senegal (Warwick). 
The next most western range known to me for the species 
is Gambaga; here, according to Capt. W. Giffard, it is 
abundant, and Mr. Boyd Alexander writes: ‘A pair was 
obtained at Gambaga. ‘This species is locally distributed; it 
lives in small colonies.” In the Niger district Thomson pro- 
cured a specimen at Iddah, and Mr. Hartert has recorded it 
from Loko and Shongo, 


334 PLOCEPASSER RUFOSCAPULATUS 


In Central North-east Africa the type was discovered by 
Riippell in Kordofan, where he found the species abundant, 
and Mr. Jackson has met with it close to the Equator in the 
Kamassia range of mountains, where it was plentiful and 
breeding in August. 

In Shoa specimens have been collected by Harris, Antinori 
and Ragazze, and it is generally distributed over Abyssinia, 
having been met with in the south by Lord Lovat at Laga 
Hardem, and by Heuglin on the Blue and White Niles, in 
Sennar, Bogos and Takar; but according to the latter naturalist 
it does not occur in the highlands above 6,000 feet. Their 
nests were artistically constructed of grass, lined with feathers 
and soft material, and were hung in groups from acacias at 
15 to 25 feet from the ground. Two eggs he took from a 
nest, September 24, are described as having thin shells, were 
reddish white, with rosy red spots inclining to form a zone 
near the thick end, and measured 0°88 x 0°58. The egg is 
figured, Heug. Orn. N. O. Afr. pl. 48, fig. 1. 


Plocepasser rufoscapulatus. 


Plocepasser rufoscapulatus, Biittik. Notes Leyd. Mus. 1888, p. 238, pl. 9, 
fig. 2 Kasinga R.; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 248 (1890); Shelley, 
B. Afr. I. No. 473 (1896); Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 15 (1904). 

Type. Head and neck ashy buff; the crown entirely surrounded by a 
black marginal band separating it from the broad pale eyebrows; another 
less strongly defined black band from the forehead dips under the eye, and 
margins the upper part and back of the ear-coverts, a third distinct black 
band extends down the side of the throat; mantle deep cinnamon, passing 
into ashy brown on the lower back and upper tail-coverts ; tail uniform light 
brown; wings blackish brown, with the lesser coverts cinnamon like the 
mantle; median and greater coverts with broad terminal white edges ; widest 
on the median coverts, and forming two bars on the wing; quills margined 
with light brown, broadest and more sandy buff on the inner secondaries ; 
under wing-coverts whitish ash, inner edges of quills sandy buff; chin and 
upper throat white; remainder of the under parts ashy white, with a sandy 
shade in front and darker ash on the flanks. Iris dark brown; bill pale 


SHARPIA 335 


horn colour; feet and claws yellowish horn colour. Total length 6:2 inches, 
culmen 0:75, wing 3:8, tail 25, tarsus 0°8. 


The Red-mantled Sparrow-Weaver inhabits the Upper 
Cunene district. 

The species was discovered by Van der Kellen at the 
Kasinga River, February 27, 1887, and is now in the Leyden 
Museum. I believe the species to be known by the type 
specimen only. 


Genus IX. SHARPIA. 


Bill slightly deeper than broad, much compressed at the sides, especially 
of the culmen, which is somewhat angular, with the base forming an acute 
angle on the forehead ; nasal-orifice at the end of a groove just in front of 
the frontal feathers. Back of head and neck with a few hair-like plumes. 
Wing with broad whitish ends to the median and greater coverts, forming 
two bars as in Plocepasser ; some whitish edges to the inner secondaries ; 
remainder of upper parts blackish brown, with the rump whitish yellow or 
rufous. Primaries 1 about one-third of 2; 3 and 4 longest. ‘Tarsi, feet 
and claws moderate, pale brown. 

Type. 

Sharpia, Bocage, Jorn. Lisb. 1878, p. 258 . . . . . S. angolensis. 

The genus is represented by two species, one from Benguela and the 
other from St. Thomas Island. It resembles the Ploceus group of genera 
in having a few hair-like nuchal plumes, which character is sometimes 
rather difficult to see, but is present in this and all the following genera 
of the Ploceide and is apparently absent from all the previous genera, with 
the exceptions of Spermospiza and Amblyospiza. 

The genus, like many of those that follow, 1s well marked only by the 
pattern of the plumage. The two species I refer to Sharpia are not 
strikingly similar, but would be quite out of place in any of the other 
divisions. 


KEY TO THE SPECIES. 


a. Upper parts and sides of head blackish brown, mottled 
down the centre of back with white; rump and 
upper tail-coverts yellowish white . ; 

b. Crown and back uniform blackish; forehead, a broad 
eyebrow and the rump yellowish rufous . . . . .  sancti-thome. 


angolensis. 


336 SHARPIA ANGOLENSIS 


Sharpia angolensis. 


Sharpia angolensis, Boecage, Jorn. Lisb. 1878, p. 958 Caconda; Shelley, 
B. Afr. I. No. 474 (1896) ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 28 (1904). 

Ploceus angolensis, Shelley, Ibis, 1887, p. 18, pl. 1, fig. 2. 

Anaplectes angolensis, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xili. p. 413 (1890). 


Adult. Upper parts dark sepia brown, mottled on the back with 
yellowish white; a band of the same colour across the lower back; upper 
tail-coverts ashy brown; median wing-coverts with broad, and the greater 
coverts narrow, white ends, forming bars on the wings ; under wing-coyerts 
and inner margins of quills white ; sides of head dark brown like the crown ; 
lower cheeks and the entire under parts white, with a slight yellow tinge 
on the middle of the breast. ‘‘ Ivis brick red; bill blackish ; feet brown.” 
Total length 5:5 inches, culmen 0°75, wing 3:0, tail 1:9, tarsus 0:95. 
4. 82. Caconda (Anchieta). 


The Angola Bar-winged Weaver inhabits Benguela. 

Anchieta discovered the species at Caconda, where he 
obtained three specimens, one of which is now in the British 
Museum. According to his notes it is known to the natives 
as the “Sole.” 


Sharpia sancti-thome. 


Sycobius sancti-thome, Hartl. Rev. Zool. 1848, p. 109 St. Thomas Isl. ; 
Hartl. Verz. Handl. 1850, pp. 30, 54, pl. 9. 

Sharpia sancti-thome, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 475 (1896) ; Reichen. Vég. 
Afr. iii, p. 29 (1904). 

Heterhyphantes sancti-thome, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 418 (1890) ; 
Bocage, Jorn. Lisb. 1904, p. 80 St. Thomas Isl. 


Adult male. Crown and back of head black; mantle and tail dark 
brown, washed at the edges of the feathers with yellow; lower back and 
upper tail-coverts rufous yellow; wings dark brown, with large terminal 
yellowish white patches on the outer webs of the median and greater 
coverts, forming two bars on the wing; quills edged with olive; forehead, 
sides of head, sides and front of neck rufous yellow or rust colour, gradually 
shading into buff on the chin; breast and under tail sandy buff, fading into 
white down the centre of the breast. Iris, bill and legs brown. Total 
length 5:5 inches, culmen 0:75, wing 3:0, tail 1:9, tarsus 0°95. ¢g, 9. 90. 
St. Thomas Island (F. Newton). 


Female. Differs in the upper parts and side of head being paler olive 


ANAPLECTES 337 


brown, shading into rufous brown on the upper ‘tail-coverts; pattern of 
wings and tail as in the male; a broad yellowish white eyebrow ; under 
parts white, washed with olive brown on the crop and flanks. 


The St. Thomas Island Weaver is apparently restricted to 
the island of that name. 

The type of the species was discovered by Weiss, and since 
his visit there many naturalists have procured specimens, 
showing that it is evidently abundant on the island ; but I find 
very little recorded regarding its habits. Prof. Bocage 
remarked in 1891 that all the specimens he had received came 
from the northern and eastern portion of the island, where it 
is known to the natives as the “ T'chim-tchim-tcholo.” He 
describes the nest as being carelessly constructed of fibres 
from the palm trees, and roots, with several entrances leading 
into one passage; and the egg is of a lengthened oval form, 
uniform bluish green and measuring 0°92 x 0°6, 


Genus X. ANAPLECTES. 


Bill red or yellow, rather broad, being as broad as deep at the nostrils; 
culmen smooth, somewhat flattened, and very slightly curved ; cutting edges 
of mandibles straight ; nostrils open at the end of a groove and are exposed. 
Wing pointed; primaries 1 a third of the length of 2; 2 not longer than 6; 
3 one of the longest ; 10 falls short of tip of wing by the length of the tarsus. 
Tail square. Tarsi, feet and claws moderate. 

Type. 
Anaplectes, Reichenb. Singv. p. 86 (1863) . . . . . . . A. melanotis 

The genus is confined to Tropical Africa and comprises two well-marked 
species. These are subject to variations of plumage not yet accounted for, 
three of which have received the following names: A. erythrogenys and 
A. blundelli, varieties of A. melanotis, and A. gurneyi, a variety of A. 
rubriceps. 

My reason for not admitting them to be species or subspecies is because 
they occur only within the range of the species they most closely resemble. 

(February, 1905, 22 


ANAPLECTES MELANOTIS 


o 
(Jy) 
a 


KEY TO THE SPECIES. 


a. With red margins to the quills. 


at. With red on the head and neck . . . . . Males in full plumage. 
a2. Cheeks and chin black. 
a®, Mantle paler, ashy brown . . . . melanotis. ¥ 24 
b8, Mantle darker, brownish black. . . . blundelli. 7 
b2. Cheeks and chinred. . . .. . . . erythrogenys. #2 ® 
b1. No red on the head; crown brown. . . . Males in winter, females 


and young birds. 
b. With yellow margins to the quills. 
ct. With red on the head and throat . . . . Males in full plumage. 
c2. Less black on chin and sides of head ; ear- 
coverts entirely red pa oe 
d?. More black on chin and sides of head; ear- 
coverts mostly black . . . . . gurneyi =< 
d’. Head and throat yellow. . . . . . . . Malesin winter, females 
and young birds. 


rubriceps. £4 / 


Anaplectes melanotis. (PI. 37, vars., figs. 2, 3.) 


Ploceus melanotis, Lafr. Rev. Zool. 1839, p. 20 Senegal; id. Mag. Zool. 
1839, pl. 7. 

Anaplectes melanotis, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 413 (1890); Shelley, 
B. Afr. I. No. 476 (1896); Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 128 (1899) egg ; 
Grant, Ibis, 1904, p. 258 Upper Gallaland ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iit. 
p. 26 (1904). 

Ploceus erythrocephalus, Riipp. Syst. Uebers, pp. 71, 76 (1845) Shoa. 

Ploceus leuconatus, Miill Naum. pt. iv. p. 28 (1851). 

Euplectes pyrrhocephalus, Heugl. Syst. Uebers, p. 39 (1856) zom. nud. 

Ploceus hematocephalus, Wiirtt. Naum. 1857, p. 433 Fazogl. 

Var. a. 

Anaplectes blundelli, Grant, Ibis, 1900, p. 132 Bent Schongul ; Reichen. 
Vog. Afr. iii. p. 28. 

Var. b. 

Calyphantria erythrogenys, Fisch. and Reichen. J. f. O. 1884, p. 181 
Maurui, Pare, Lado. 

Anaplectes rufigena, Shelley, B. Afr. II. p. 341 (1900) Chauwta. 


Adult male. Forehead, crown, neck and front of chest vermilion ; back 
and upper tail-coverts brownish ash, often mottled with red on the fore- 
mantle and upper tail-coverts; tail slightly browner, with red edges to the 
feathers; wings dark brown, with red edges to the quills, greater coverts 
and ends of the median coverts, the pale edges fading into white on the 
inner feathers; inner edges of quills and the under wing-coverts whitish, 


ANAPLECTES MELANOTIS 339 


the latter tinted with red, and changing into blackish brown on the pinion ; 
entire sides of head and the chin black ; breast and under tail-coverts white, 
with a variable amount of red on the front of the chest. ‘Iris brown; bill 
red; feet dusky brown.” Total length 6 inches, culmen 0:7, wing 3:2, tail 
2-2, tarsus 0'8. g, 9.1.84. Redjaf (Emin). 

Adult female. Differs in having no red on the head and neck; top and 
sides of head ashy brown like the back; under parts white, with a faint 
ashy shade across the lower throat and fore-chest. ‘Iris brown; bill orange 
red; legs dusky brown.” Wing 3:3. 

Type of A. blundellt. Differs from the male above described only in 
having the mantle darker; blackish brown of the same colour as the least 
wing-coverts. Total length 5:7 inches, culmen 0:7, wing 3°45, tail 2-2, tarsus 
0:8. 

Type of A. rufigena. Differs from the male first described in the chin, 
cheeks and stripes on the ear-coverts being vermilion. Total length 5-4 
inches, culmen 0:7, wing 3:3, tail 2-2, tarsus 0°8. 


The Red-winged Anaplectes inhabits Tropical Africa south- 
ward from Senegambia and Abyssinia to Benguela and the 
northern portion of British Central Africa. 

I here include A. erythrogenis (Reichen.) and A. bluidelli, 
Grant, but it should be remarked that the former is known only 
from the Tanganyika Plateau, Maurui, Pare and Lado, and the 
latter by the type from Beni Schongul, near the head-waters of 
the Blue Nile. I have figured each of these forms to show what 
characters are apparently not of specific value in the genus 
Anaplectes. It may be remembered that Dr. Butler has proved 
that the Quelea russi plumage is at times assumed by both 
Q). quelea and Q. xthiopica, yet many species are justly separated 
upon much less marked characters. This is the great diffi- 
culty one has frequently to contend with. I regard as species, 
birds which have a well-detined range and either a constant 
marked form of some of its parts, or a distinguishing pattern 
in one of the stages of plumage ; as a subspecies, when the bird 
has a well-defined range but is distinguishable from its nearest 
ally in the shade of colouring only or in its size ; as a variety, 
when it has no distinctly different range from that of its near 


340 ANAPLECTES MELANOTIS 


ally, but may, as in the present instance, have fairly well- 
marked characters which possibly depend solely upon the age, 
food, or health of the specimen when killed, for we seldom have 
the chance of properly studying the effect of the moult. 

The type of A. melanotis came nominally from Senegal. 
Verreaux received the species from Casamanse, and on the 
Gold Coast Mr. Boyd Alexander observed it occasionally, but 
did not procure an example. In the Paris Museum there was 
one of Gujon’s specimens labelled “‘Gaboom,” and this is all 
that is known to me regarding the species in West Africa to 
the north of the Congo; but it appears to be fairly plentiful 
in Angola and Benguela, specimens having been collected in 
Angola (Schiitt) and at the Kuango River (Mechow). In 
Benguela, according to Anchieta, it is abundant on cultivated 
lands, and is known to the natives as the “‘Genge” at Quin- 
dumbo and as the ‘‘ Quiriandendi”’ at Galanga. 

In Hastern Africa these birds have been met with as far 
south as Chiuta on the Tanganyika Plateau, to the north-west 
of Lake Nyasa, where the type of A. rufigena was procured by 
Sir Alfred Sharpe. The oldest name for this variety is 
A. erythrogenis (Reichen.), the types of which were collected 
by Fischer at Maurui and in the Pare highlands. That variety 
has also been obtained in Angola (Schiitt), at Lado (Emin) and 
at Moschi (Neumann). 

The typical form of A. ielanotis has been procured at the 
Lugoma stream in the Marungu country by Béhm, who also 
found it breeding at Kakoma during the latter half of May. 
Specimens have also been obtained in the Unyamwesi country 
(Emin), in Ugogo (Preun), at Lake Naiwasha (Fischer), on 
Kilimanjaro and at Muansa (Neumann), at Mosongoleni 
(Ansorge), and by Mr. Jackson on Mount Maunga in Teita, 
at Elgeyu on Lake Baringo, in the Kamassia Mountains, and 
from the late expedition to the Ruwenzori Mountains he 


ANAPLECTES RUBRICEPS 341 


received a specimen procured at Kigoma. In the British 
Museum the species is well represented from the Upper White 
Nile, Somaliland, Southern Abyssinia and Shoa, Emin has 
procured specimens at Kiri and Muggi and remarks that it is 
searce near Lado, but extremely abundant towards Uganda. 
He found four or five of their beautifully woven graceful nests, 
and describes the eggs as uniform green. 

Heuglin found the species inhabiting the Gazelle River 
and met with it as far north as Southern Sennar. He remarks 
that the autumn moult takes place in November, when the 
males pass out of their bright plumage into one resembling 
that of the females and young birds. In August they suspend 
their oval nests from the twigs of high trees; are shy birds 
frequenting the tops of the forest growth in small family 
parties, but mix with other Finches to drink on the banks 
of the pools and rivers. The eggs collected by Emin are 
described by Mr. Nehrkorn as blue or olive green, measuring 
on an average 0°8 X 0°55. 


Anaplectes rubriceps. 


Ploceus rubriceps, Sundey. Cifv. Vet. Akad. Forh. Stockh. 1850, p. 97 
Limpopo. 
Anaplectes rubriceps, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 411 (1890); Shelley, 
B. Afr. I. No. 478 (1896) ; Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 25 (1904). 
Malimbus rubriceps, Elliot, Ibis, 1876, p. 466, pl. 13, fig. 2. 
Sharpia ayresi, Shelley, Ibis, 1882, p. 353, pl. 7, fig. 2 Tatin R. 
Var. a. 
Ploceus gurneyi, Shelley, Ibis, 1887, p. 17, pl. 1, fig. 1 Caconda. 
Anaplectes gurneyi, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 412 (1890); Shelley, 
B. Afr. I. No. 477 (1896) ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 26 (1904). 
Adult male. Head, neck and entire throat vermilion; back uniform 
greyish ash, usually mottled with red and black towards the neck ; tail dusky 
brown with narrow yellow edges to the feathers; wings blackish brown, 
with yellow edges to the quills, greater coverts and ends of the median 
coverts; these edges are generally paler, often whitish on the inner quills 
and the coyerts ; inner edges of the quills and the under wing-coverts white, 


342 ANAPLECTES RUBRICEPS 


with the edge of the bend of the wings yellow ; a few black feathers in front 
of the eye; breast below the red of the neck, thighs and under tail-coverts 
white. ‘Iris brown; bill light coral, legs and feet brown” (Alexander). 
Total length 5-6 inches, culmen 0-7, wing 2°15, tail 2-1, tarsus 0°8. ¢, 
Transvaal (F. Francis). 

Adult female. Upper parts brownish ash, shading from the mantle, 
which has yellowish edges to the feathers, into dull yellow on the head; tail 
and wings with yellow edges to the feathers; lesser wing-coverts like the 
mantle ; median coverts with broad dull yellowish buff ends; the edges of 
the other wing-feathers deep yellow, fading into white on the inner secon- 
daries ; under coverts and inner margins to the quills white, the former 
tinted with yellow ; sides of head yellow, paler than the crown ; chin and 
throat whitish yellow, darkest on the lower throat; breast, thighs and under 
tail-coverts pure white. ‘Iris reddish brown; bill orange; legs flesh- 
colour.” Total length 5:1 inches, culmen 0:6, wing 3:1, tail 1:9, tarsus 0:8. 
9, 17. 6.85. Lehtaba (W. Ayres). 

Type of Sharpia ayrest. Similar in colouring to the female, but differing 
in the yellow of the crown being slightly darker, with a trace of approaching 
red; forehead margined on the front and sides with black. Feathers of 
wings and tail worn. ¢, 10.12.80. Tatin R. (Jameson). 

Type of A. gurneyi. Similar to the male first described, but differs in 
having the ear-coverts black, slightly washed with red, the chin, space in 
front of the eyes, upper portion and front of cheeks black. Wing 3-1. 3, 
7.78. Caconda (Anchieta). In another specimen the whole of the cheeks 
and ear-coverts are jet black. Nyasaland (Manning). 


The Yellow-winged Anaplectes inhabits Benguela, and 
ranges over Hastern Africa from the Tropic of Cancer to 6° 
8. lat. 

In the British Museum there are examples from Komati 
Poort (Francis), Lehtaba River (W. Ayres), Limpopo (Wahl- 
berg), Tatin River (Jameson), Fort Chiquaque (Sowerby), 
Zambesi (Alexander), Zomba, Fort Hill and Mpimbi (Whyte), 
and two specimens of A. gurneyi from ‘Tanganyika Plateau 
(Manning) and Caconda (Anchieta). These latter, according 
to Prof. Bocage, are only varieties of A. rubriceps and as such 
I am here treating them. 

In Benguela the typical form has been obtained at Quel- 
lengues and in Capangombe, and A. gurneyi in Quissange, at 
Caconda and Humbe; the former, according to Anchieta, 


ANAPLECTES RUBRICEPS 343 


is known to the natives of Quellengues as the ‘‘ Ulojanja,’”’ and 
the latter, at Humbe, as the “ Quicengo.” I do not find any 
further information regarding ifs occurrence on the western 
side of Africa. The type of A. gurneyi came from Caconda. 
The most southern range known to me for the species is 
Komati Poort in the Transvaal, where Mr. Francis found 
colonies of nests of this species, of Hypantornis spilonotus and 
Tevtor niger all in one tree, and took a photograph of them 
which has been beautifully reproduced (Faun. S. Afr. B. i. 
p. 76), showing the lengthened entrance passage to the nests 
of A. rubriceps, which distinguishes them at a glance from the 
more rounded nests of H. spilonotus. He writes: ‘*‘ Common 
in the locality and fairly distributed right through the eastern 
border of the Transvaal.” 

In the month of July Mr. W. Ayres shot two hens out of 
a flock of six or eight of these birds, all of which were in the 
yellowish white plumage, at Rovi-rand. The type of the 
species was discovered by Wahlberg at the Limpopo River. 

To the north of the Limpopo, Mr. T. Ayres writes: “ This 
is by no means a common bird. We found it breeding at the 
Tatin ; it makes a rough, retort-shaped nest, which it hangs, 
mouth downwards, from the outer twigs of rather tall trees. 
Sometimes a new nest is hung on the tube of the last year’s 
structure. Mr. Jameson found a nest to the north of the 
Umfuli in October, with two blue eggs in it, and at the Tatin 
we pulled down one of the double nests, and Mr. Jameson, on 
trying to put his hand up the tube, very nearly got bitten by 
a snake, which was lying in the nest and had swallowed the 
old bird as well as her blue eggs. It is evident, therefore, that 
nests of this shape do not always keep out snakes.” The males 
were apparently all breeding in immature or winter plumage, 
for Jameson informed me that he never saw a specimen with 
a red head while he was in South Africa, and the type of 


344 ANAPLECTES RUBRICEPS 


Sharpia ayresi, a male shot December 10, differs from the 
female plumage in having the forehead margined with blackish 
brown. 

The only specimen met with by Mr. Sowerby, at Fort 
Chiququa, in Mashonaland, November 9, is a male in full 
plumage, but Mr. Guy Marshall writes: “ This handsome 
species is common about Salisbury, occurring in pairs in the 
bush, where it searches the trees and bushes assiduously for 
insects, often hanging back downwards, like a Tit.” The egg 
he describes as pale greenish blue, measuring 0°8 x 0°6. 
From the Zambesi Mr. Boyd Alexander writes: ‘ A rather 
shy species, keeping much to the thick portions of the woods 
in little flocks of five or six birds, in which the male sex pre- 
dominates to a very large extent. On nearly every occasion 
there were on an average four males to one female. The white 
flower of the baobab offer them a good deal of attraction, and 
it is a pretty sight to witness them attacking the pendent 
half-opened buds as they hang head downward from some 
branch above, the immaculate whiteness of the flowers bearing 
a striking contrast to their vermilion-feathered breasts. From 
this habit of suspending themselves from branches, the white 
feathers become very grimy-looking. 

“The amount of vermilion on the breasts of individuals 
varies considerably, while in many of our specimens the upper 
tail-coverts are washed with it as well as the feathers here and 
there on the abdomen and thighs. In freshly moulted females 
the white edgings to the secondaries are broad and con- 
spicuous, but these disappear through abrasion.” 

To the north of the Zambesi Mr. Whyte has procured 
specimens at Zomba and Mpimbi in the Shiré district, and at 
Fort Hill on the southern end of the Masuku Range ; a little 
further north, on the Tanganyika Plateau, Gen. Manning 
obtained a full plumaged example of 4. gurney, the only 


MALIMBUS 345 


specimen of this form yet recorded from beyond the limits of 
Benguela. From German Kast Africa typical A. rubriceps has 
been procured at Langenburg and Songea (Fiilleborn), Ungoni 
(Booth), Morogoro (Emin), Mbusini (Fischer and Stuhlmann), 
and the latter naturalist informs us that he found it known 
to the natives as the ‘‘ Gongo.”’ 


Genus XI. MALIMBUS. 


Bill moderately long and stout, with the culmen rounded at the base ; 
nasal orifice exposed and of a horizontal oval form; chin-angle rounded. 
Wing rounded; primaries 1 nearly half the length of 2; 2 shorter than 6; 
3, 4 and 5 longest and about equal. Tarsi and feet strong. Plumage black, 
with some red. In adults the bill is black or horny white; in immature 
birds both the plumage and bill are browner, and the tarsi and feet some- 
times brownish flesh-colour. 


Type. 
Malimbus, Vieili. Ois. Chant. p. 71, pl. 42 (1805). . . M. malimbicus. 
Sycobius, Vieill. Analyse, p. 33 (1816). . . . . M. malimbicus. 
“‘ Ficophagus, Vieill.” Gray, Gen. B. ii. p. 351 (1849) . M. malimbicus. 
Ataloerous, Elliot, Ibis, 1876, p.458 . . . . : M. rachelia. 


The genus is confined to Tropical Africa and comprises eight known 
species. It has been divided into two, and consists really of three equally 
well-marked groups, which may be readily distinguished by the colour of the 
under tail-coverts. In one the under tail-coverts are black, in the second 
they are red, and in the third group they are yellow. 


KEY TO THE SPECIES. 


a, Plumage entirely black and red. 
a1. Under tail-coverts black. 
a, Under parts entirely black ; forehead, in males red, 
in females black. 

a’, Red on head more orange scarlet . . . . . . rubricollis. 
b3. Red on head more crimson ..... . . .. bartletti. 

b2. Some red on the throat. 
c’, Sides of head mostly red ; forehead and hind neck, 


in males black, in femalesred . . . . . . . malimbicus. 
d’, Sides of head mostly black. 
a*. Crown and entire throatred. . . . . . . cassint. 


b+, Entire head and upper throat black . . . . mnitens. 


346 MALIMBUS RUBRICOLLIS 


b1. Under tail-coverts red. 


c2. Breast black; lower throatred . . . . . . . seutatus. YY 2 
d?. Breastired © . 5 | 2 8 sn cee 2) se eumenybhmogastenmast=st 
b. Plumage with some yellow; under tail-coverts yellow . racheli@. 2-5 


Malimbus rubricollis. 


Ploceus rubricollis, Swains. An. in Menag. p. 306 (1838) Malimba. 

Malimbus rubricollis, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 478 (1890) ; Nehrkorn, 
Kat. Hiers. p. 131 (1899) egg ; Reichen, Vog. Afr. iii. p. 19 (1904). 

Tanagra malimbica, Dand. Ann. Mus. i. p. 151, pl. 10, fig. 2 (1802, 9 


nec g). 
Malimbus malimbicus, Oberholser, Pr. U.S. Nat. Mus. xxii. p. 17 (1899) 
Camaroons. 


Malimbus cristatus, Vieill. Ois. Chant. p. 71, pl. 43 (1805, 9? nec 3). 

“ Textor malimbus, Temm.” Licht. Verz. Doubl. p. 24, note (1823) nom. 
nud. 

Malimbus malimbus, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 479 (1896). 

Fringilla textrix, Licht. Verz. Doubl. p. 24, note (1823) nom. nud. 

Euplectes rufovelatus, Fraser, P. Z. 8. 1842, p. 142 Fernando Po. 

Textor rufovittatus, Eyton (laps. cal.), Cat. Coll. p. 245 (1856), 

Sycobius nuchal, Elliot, Ibis, 1859, p. 393 Gaboon. 

‘‘Malimbus occipitalis, Elliot,’ Gray, Handl. B. ii. p. 43 (1870) nom. 
nud. 

Malimbus rubricollis centralis, Reichen. Orn. Monatsb. 1893, p. 30, 
Nduluma ; id. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 21 (1904). 

Malimbus centralis, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 481 (1806). 


Adult male. Black, with the entire forehead, crown, back and sides of 
neck and end portion of ear-coverts rich scarlet; under surface of quills ashy 
black, slightly paler on the inner margins. ‘‘ Iris hazel; billand feet black ”’ 
(Jackson). Total length 6-9 inches, culmen 0:8, wing 4:28, tail 2°7, tarsus 
10. g, 12.11.02. Fernando Po (Alexander). 

Adult female. Differs only in the forehead and front of crown being 
black. Wing 4:0. 9, 21.10.02. Fernando Po (Alexander). 

Immature. Similar to the female, from which it differs in having the 
forehead, front of crown, sides of head, chin and throat mottled with black 
and scarlet. Bill and feet brown. 


Swainson’s Malimbe ranges from Fernando Po and Cama- 
roons to the Congo and eastward into Uganda. 

On the island of Fernando Po the species is, according to 
Mr. Boyd Alexander, ‘Common at the foot of the hill-ranges, 


MALIMBUS BARTLETTI 347 


resorting to the thick forest-trees.’ On this island Fraser 
procured the type of his Huplectes rufovelatus, and wrote: ‘* A 
very good songster. ‘I'hese birds, although in deep moult (in 
June) appeared to be pairing.” The ege is described by Mr. 
Nehrkorn as being of a dark bluish green colour and measuring 
0-96 x 0°64. 

The species is apparently scarce in Camaroons, but ranges 
eastward into Uganda, where Mr. Jackson and Sir Harry 
Johnston have both collected specimens, which are now in the 
British Museum. These latter specimens should belong to 
the M. rubricollis centralis, Reichen., the type of which came 
in the Emin and Stuhlmann Collection from Nduluma; but 
in my opinion they cannot be distinguished from the true 
M. rubricollis. 

In Gaboon the species was met with by Du Chaillu at 
Cape Lopez and the Camma River. One of Verreaux’s 
specimens from this country, now in the British Museum, is 
the type of Sycobius nuchalis, Elliot. 

The type of the species was procured on the Loango Coast 
at Malimba by Perrein and was figured by Vieilliot as the 
female of Malimbus cristatus (Ois. Chant. pl. 43). On the 
Lower Congo the species has been met with by Lucan and 
Petit at Condé. 


Malimbus bartletti. 


Malimbus bartletti, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 479 (1890) Gold Coast ; 
Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 480 (1896); Reichen. J. f. O. 1902, p. 36 
Togo. 

Malimbus rubricollis bartletti, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 20 (1904). 

Malimbus malimbicus (non Daud.), Bartl. Mon. Weaver-birds, pt. iv. p. 1, 
pl. 1 (1889). 


Adult male. General plumage glossy black, with the forehead, crown, 
back and sides of neck velvety crimson, these crimson feathers having the 
base, or a bar near the base, yellow. “Iris, bill and legs black” (Kemp). 


348 MALIMBUS BARTLETTI 


Total length 7:4 inches, culmen 0:8, wing 4:1, tail 2:5; tarsusMOS (a2 Ole 
Prashu (Alexander). 

Adult female. Differs from the male in the forehead and front half of 
the crown being velvety black, and no yellow base to the feathers. Wing 
41. 9, 15.9.00. Kumassi (Alexander). 

Immature male. Like the female, but the fore part of the crown is 
gradually shading into red, without shedding the feathers, and the yellow 
base of the feathers appears to be the last change. 4, 25. 2.72. Abouri 
(Shelley). 


Bartlett’s Malimbe ranges from Sierra Leone to the Niger 
River. This is the northern representative of M. rubricollis, 
with which it has been frequently confounded, and was first 
separated from that species by Dr, Bowdler Sharpe in 1890. 

The most northern and western range yet known for the 
species is Sierra Leone, where Mr. Kemp found it ‘fairly 
common, frequenting the tops of hgh trees.” At the Sulymah 
River specimens have been collected by Demery, and according 
to Mr. Oberholser it is known to the natives of Liberia as the 
“ Way-see-eh.” Dr. Biittikofer met with the species fre- 
quenting the clearings, where it would perch on the isolated 
trees and stumps to watch for insects, and he remarks that 
his Liberian specimens agree too closely with one from the 
Congo to enable him to distinguish M. bartletti from M. 
rubricollis. The fairly good series of these birds in the British 
Museum is quite sufficient to enable one to appreciate the 
characters for separating these two forms. 

It is, apparently, generally distributed over the more thickly 
wooded parts of the Gold Coast and Togoland. I and my 
friend, ‘I, E. Buckley, met with it at Abrobonko near Cape 
Coast and in the forest around Abouri, inland from Accra. 
Mr. Boyd Alexander obtained specimens at Prahsu, Fumsu, 
Kwissa and Kumassi, and writes: ‘‘ This species keeps to the 
thick portions of the forest, and is seldom seen (like other 
Weaver-birds) in open spots.” In Togoland it has been 


MALIMBUS MALIMBICUS 349 


procured at Batja by Mr, Baumann. It has been recorded 
from the Lower Niger (Ansorge). 


Malimbus malimbicus. 


Tanagra malimbica, Daud. Ann. Mus. Paris, i. p. 151, pl. 10, fig. 1 (1802, 
g nec 9). 

Malimbus malimbicus, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 480 (1890); Nehrkorn, 
Kat. Hiers. p. 131 (1899) egg ; Reichen, J. f. O. 1902, p. 36 Togo ; 
id. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 2L (1904). 

Malimbus eristatus, Vieill. Ois. Chant. p. 71, pl. 42 (1805) Congo; 
Bartlett, Mon. Weavyer-birds, pt. iv. p. 7, pl. 2 (1889); Shelley, 
B. Afr. I. No. 482 (1896). 

‘« Sycobius nigrifrons, Temm.” Hartl. J. f. O. 1855, p. 356 Rio Boutry. 

Sycobius rubriceps, Reichen. J. f. O. 1876, p. 209 Camaroons. 

Malimbus rubriceps, id. Vog. Afr. ili, p. 22 (1904). 

Adult male. General plumage glossy jet black; head somewhat crested 
and bright crimson like the throat, with the feathers surrounding the bill 
and eyes black. ‘Iris brown; bill and feet black” (Biittikofer). Total 
length 5:8 inches, culmen 0°6, wing 3°3, tail 2°3, tarsus 08. 3, 18. 9. 00. 
Fumsu (Alexander). 

Adult female. Differs in having no crest, the red extending over the 
forehead, back and sides of neck and the entire sides of the head; chin and 
throat black, mottled with red, mostly on the lower throat. Wing 3:3. 
Accra (Sharpe’s Coll.). 

Young. Entire head black; lower throat washed with red. Bill never 
entirely black ; plumage generally with a shade of brown. 


he Crested Malimbe ranges from Liberia to the Congo. 

The species has been procured by Demery at the Sulymah 
River, which, as with M. bartletti, is the most northern and 
western range yet known for these Weavers. Dr. Biittikofer 
met with them at Bavia and Paynville, frequenting the under- 
growth of the forests and the bushes around old abandoned 
farms. ‘They are plentiful in our Gold Coast Possessions and 
Togoland, but are probably confined to the forests, for I met 
with the species at Abouri only, Ussher’s specimens came 
from the Denkera forest, and Mr. Boyd Alexander’s from 
Prahsu and Fumsu. In Togoland Mr. Baumann has _pro- 


350 MALIMBUS CASSINI 


cured specimens at Agome Tongwe and at Misahdhe ; but the 
species has not yet been recorded from the country between 
Togoland and Camaroons. From the latter district there are 
in the British Museum two of Crossley’s specimens and one 
procured by Mr. C. L. Bates at the Rio Benito in the French 
Congo. An immature bird, apparently of this species, from 
Camaroons, has been described by Dr. Reichenow as Sycobius 
rubriceps, and I see he refers to it some of the specimens from 
Togoland. In Gaboon Du Chaillu met with the species at 
the Muni and Camma Rivers. On the Loango Coast the type 
was discovered by Perrein at Malimba. Falkenstein met with 
it at Chinchonxo, and there is a specimen in the British 
Museum from Landana, obtained there by my late friend Mr. 
‘l. Thomson, 

The eggs of this species, according to Mr. Nehrkorn, are 


loko 


deep bluish green and measure 0°84 x 0°56. 


Malimbus cassini. 


Sycobius cassini, Elliot, Ibis, 1859, p. 392 Gaboon. 

Malimbus cassini, Elliot, Ibis, 1876, p. 461, pl. 13, fig. 1; Sharpe, Cat. 
B. M. xiii. p. 482 (1890) ; Shelley B. Afr. I. No. 483 (1896) ; Reichen. 
Vog. Afr. iii. p. 19 (1904). 

Adult male. Forehead, crown, hinder half of the ear-coverts, upper half 
of the neck all round and entire front of the neck bright scarlet, remainder 
of the plumage black. ‘ Bill black ; feet and legs brown” (Elliot). Total 
length 6 inches, culmen 0:8, wing 3:6, tail 2-4, tarsus 0°8. Type. 


Cassin’s Malimbe inhabits Gaboon and Angola. 

The type is one of Verreaux’s specimens from Gaboon. I 
suppose Mr. Elliot quoted Verreaux’s notes when he wrote: 
“Tike the other species of the genus, it frequents the edges 
of the forests in small flocks, feeding chiefly on seeds. The 
nest is suspended from the branch of a lofty tree, is roughly 
made, and is entered by an opening in the side. The species 


MALIMBUS NITENS 301 


does not appear to be migratory.” Marche found it at Fernand 
Vaz. 

All that I know with regard to the occurrence of this bird 
in Angola is that Mr. T. Thomson sent me a collection from 
Loanda including an example of this species, which is now in 
the British Museum. 


Malimbus nitens. 


Ploceus nitens, Gray, Zool. Mise. i. p. 7 (1831) Szerra Leone. 

Malimbus nitens, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 481 (1890); Kuschel, J. f. O. 
1895, p. 331 egg; Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 484 (1896); Reichen. 
J. f. O. 1892, p. 36 Togo ; id. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 19 (1904). 

Sycobius nitens, Gray, Gen. B. ii. p. 352, pl. 87 (1849). 

Adults. Lower two-thirds of throat (including the crop) crimson, 
varying from deep crimson almost into vermilion ; remainder of the plumage 
black ; feathers of the head, hind neck, mantle and front of chest jet black, 
with glossy edges to the feathers; remainder of the body, wings and tail 
more sooty black. Iris red; bill bluish horn-colour ; feet dark grey. Total 
length 6 inches, culmen 0°85, wing 3°4, tail 2:3, tarsus 0-'9. Fantee. 

Immature. Head faintly mottled with a shade of crimson. 


Gray’s Malimbe ranges from 11° N. lat. over West Africa 
to the Congo and eastward into the Niam-Niam country. 

The most northern range recorded for the species is the 
Cassini River (Fea) in Portuguese Guinea. M. Oustalet 
received a specimen from Los Island, and remarks that it 
agrees well with others obtained by M. Laurien at Cape 
Palmas. The type was discovered by Sabine at Sierra Leone, 
and is now in the British Museum. Demery procured speci- 
mens at the Sulymah River, and Dr. Biittikofer in Liberia, at 
Bavia, Schieffelinsville, Hill Town, and on Gallilee Mountain, 
and observed that they were less lively than their allies and 
rarely seen outside the forest. 

In our Gold Coast Colony specimens have been collected 
at Wassaw (Blissett), Abrobonko and Denkera (Ussher), 
Boutry River (Pel), Kwissa (Alexander), Aguapin (Riis). 


352 MALIMBUS SCUTATUS 


Probably on the outskirts of this latter forest district Haynes 
procured the specimen, labelled in the British Museum 
‘* Accra,” for it is essentially a woodland bird, and when I was 
there with T. E. Buckley we never saw it on the open Accra 
plains, but found it some twenty-five miles inland, abundant 
in the dense forest surrounding Abouri. In Togoland Dr. 
Biittner found a nest containing eggs, on April 8, at Bismarck- 
burg, which he refers, I thing wrongly, to this species, for he 
describes the nest as ‘oval, with a rather short entrance 
passage and very similar to that of H. cucullatus. The eggs 
were of a yellowish or greenish ground with large rufous 
brown and violet spots, and measured about 0°9 x 0°65 inch.” 
They probably belonged to Hypantornis cucullatus. In the 
comparatively little explored district between Togoland and 
Camaroons I find it recorded only from the Lower Niger 
(Ansorge); but in Camaroons Crossley procured two speci- 
mens, and according to Dr. Reichenow it is generally dis- 
tributed over that country, where it is, however, rarer than 
M. scutatus. Mr, Sjéstedt also records the species as abundant 
at Bonge, Kitta, and Ekundu, and with young, able to fly in 
March. In Gaboon specimens have been collected at Cape 
Lopez (Laurien), Muni, Moonda and Camma Rivers (Du 
Chaillu). Falkensteim met with it on the Loango Coast, and 
no doubt it inhabits the wooded districts generally of West 
Africa, to as far east as the Niam-Niam country, where Bohn- 
dorff procured a specimen at Ndoruma, which is now in the 
British Museum. 


Malimbus scutatus. 


Sycobius scutatus, Cass. Proc. Philad. Ac. 1849, p. 157 Sierra Leone ; id. 
Acad. Philad. 1850, p. 297, pl. 41, figs. 1, 2. 

Malimbus scutatus, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 482 (1890); Shelley, 
B. Afr, I. No. 485 (1896); Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 22 (1904). 

Malimbus rubropersonatus, Shelley, Ibis, 1887, p. 41, pl. 2, fig. 2 Gold 
Coast. 


MALIMBUS SCUTATUS 353 


Malimbus scutopartitus, Reichen. J. f. O. 1894, p. 38 Camaroons ; 
Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 486 (1896). 
Malimbus scutatus scutopartitus, Reichen. Vog. Afr, ii. p. 23 (1904). 


Adult male. Forehead, crown, neck all round and the under tail-coverts 
scarlet vermilion ; remainder of the plumage glossy black; quills with their 
inner margins very slightly paler. ‘Ivis brown; bill black; feet greyish 
brown” (Biittikofer). Total length 6-2 inches, culmen 0°6, wing 3°6, tail 
2:3, tarsus 0°85. g, Wassaw (Blissett). 

Adult females. Differ in having the entire head black, the red being 
confined to the lower throat, crop and under tail-coverts. Wing 3-4. Fantee 
and Gaboon. 

Variety, M. scutopartitus, Reichen. Differs only in the feathers down the 
middle of the red pectoral band being mottled with black. Wing 3-4. ?, 
Camaroons (Crossley). 

Immature. Differs in having the bill pale brown ; red of throat extends 
on to the chin; forehead and sometimes the crown is red, or mottled with 
red. Iris brown; bill pale brown; tarsi and feet brown. Wing 2'6 to 3-4. 
Four specimens, Fantee (Ussher.) 

Nesting. Similar to the last, but differing in the tarsi and feet being flesh 
colour. Fantee (Higgins). 


The Red-shielded Malimbe ranges from Sierra Leone into 
Gaboon., 

The type was discovered by MacDowell at Sierra Leone, 
which is the most northern range known for the species, and 
there are a male and female from this locality in the British 
Museum. Demery met with it at the Sulymah River and Dr. 
Biittikofer at many places in Liberia, where he usually observed 
it in the forest glades. The type of M. rubropersonatus, which 
is now in the British Museum, is a young bird of this species ; 
it was presented to me by my late friend, Governor Ussher, 
who received all his specimens of the present species from 
Denkera, an inland forest of Fantee. In the British Museum 
there are also specimens collected by Godfrey Lagden in 
Ashantee, and by Blissett at Wassaw. Pell procured the 
species at the Boutry River and Mr. Boyd Alexander obtained 
three examples at Fumsu; but it has not yet been recorded 
from Togoland. 


[February, 1905, 23 


354 MALIMBUS SCUTATUS 


According to Dr. Reichenow (V6g. Afr. i. p. 23), the 
typical M, scwtatus ranges from Sierra Leone to the Niger, 
where it meets with a southern subspecies, M. scutatws scuto- 
partitus, which ranges from the Niger into Gaboon. This 
latter form is distinguishable only by black markings on some 
of the feathers down the centre of the red shield-patch on the 
crop, which character is not a constant one, being well marked 
on a female procured by Crossley in Camaroons on February 9, 
1871, and entirely absent in a male obtained by him on the same 
day. Ina male from Onitscha (Forbes) there are a few black 
streaks towards the middle throat and one towards the chest, 
while his immature specimen, from the same locality, is a 
typically coloured M. scutatus. In only one of the Fantee 
birds I have examined have I found a trace of black on the 
red crop-patch. From the above observations I cannot look 
upon the type of S. scutopartitus as more than a variety of 
M. scutatus ; but this variety apparently occurs most frequently 
in Camaroons birds; in a similar manner Anaplectes gurneyt 
seems to be most abundant in Benguela, and both are forms 
that it would be interesting to know more about, and study 
their moult in captivity. 

Dr, Ansorge has procured specimens in April, May, and 
trom August to December in the Lower Niger, and according 
to Dr. Reichenow it is a common species in Camaroons along 
the wooded slopes of the mountains, and he describes the nest 
as being of a retort shape, constructed of dry pliant rootlets 
and measuring 6°7 inches high by 4 wide, with the entrance 
passage 25 inches in length, hanging down and of looser 
structure than the oval part of the nest. He found five of 
these nests on one palm tree, hung at about 20 feet from the 
ground. The eggs, two in number, were pure white and 
measured 0°84 x 0°64. 

In Gaboon, specimens have been collected by Du Chaillu 


MALIMBUS ERYTHROGASTER 355 


at the Muni and Ogowé River, and by Marche at Fernand 
Vaz. 


Malimbus erythrogaster. 


Malimbus erythrogaster, Reichen. J. f. O. 1894, p, 37; 1896, p. 30, pl. 4, 
figs. 3, @ Camaroons ; Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 487 (1896); Reichen. 
Vog. Afr. iii, p. 24 (1904). 

Adult male. Upper part of head, neck and under surface of body 
vermilion, paler on the abdomen, thighs and under tail-coverts; sides of 
head, throat, back, wings and tail black; under surface of wing with 
a grey shade on the inner webs of the quills and on the greater coverts. 
Tris grey; bill black; feet pale horny brown. ‘Total length 6:5 inches, 
culmen 0°8, wing 3°, tail 2-0, tarsus 0-9. g, 3. 11. 02, Jaunde (Zenker). 

Adult female. Differs in having the sides only of the head black, the 
throat being pale vermilion. 


The Red-breasted Malimbe inhabits the Lower Niger and 
Camaroons. 


The types, a male and female, were discovered by Dr. 
Zenker at Jaunde, and specimens have also been recorded from 
Eastern Camaroons (Carnap) and the Lower Niger (Ansorge). 


Malimbus racheiiz. 


Sycobius racheliz, Cass. Proc. Philad. Acad. 1857, p. 36 Muni R.; id. 
Journ. Ac. Philad. 1862, p. 185, pl. 23, fig. 3. 
Malimbus rachelize, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 483 (1890) Gaboon ; 
Sjéstedt, Sv. K. Vet. Ak. Handl. Stockh. 1895, p. 83, pl. 7 Cama- 
roons ; Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 488 (1896); Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. 
p. 24 (1904). 

Adult male. Glossy black, with the crown orange shaded scarlet; sides 
of neck, front of chest and the crop yellow, the latter strongly washed in 
the centre with scarlet; under tail-coverts uniform yellow. Total length 
5:5 inches, culmen 0-7, wing 3-1, tail 2-4, tarsus 0-8. ¢ , Gaboon (Walker). 

Adult female. ‘Glossy black, with the lower throat and crop saffron 
yellow shaded with cochineal red in the middle and with white bars to 
these feathers; under tail-coverts pale saffron yellow. Total length 5:8, 
culmen 0°65, wing 3-1, tail 1:9, tarsus 0°7”’ (Sjdstedt). 


Rachel’s Malimbe inhabits Camaroons and Gaboon. 


CINNAMOPTERYX 


Sy) 
On 
a 


The most northern range known for the species is the 
Ndian River in Camaroons, where Mr. Sjéstedt procured a 
hen bird, the first specimen of this sex known, It had its 
nest suspended, at a height of 25 feet, from the interlaced 
twigs of two trees. The nest was of a retort shape, very 
similar to that of M. scutatus. The type, an adult male, was 
discovered at the Moonda River by Du Chaillu, who also met 
with the species at the Muni or Danger River. In the British 
Museum there is one of Mr. Walker’s collecting from Gaboon. 


Genus XI]. CINNAMOPTERYX. 


Similar to Malimbus in structure, but differs in the colouring, there 
being no red on the plumage. The bright colours are yellow and cinnamon ; 
the former, when present, is confined to the interscapular region; wings and 
tail uniform black (excepting in the female of the type species). Sexes 
sometimes alike in plumage. 

Type. 

Cinnamopteryx, Reichen. Zool. Jahrb. i. p. 126 (1886) C. castaneofusca. 

The genus comprises three species and is confined to West and Central 
Africa. They breed in colonies in the higher trees. 


KEY TO THE SPECIES. 


a. Wings and tail with pale edges to the feathers ; 
general plumage olive shaded brown with some 
dark streaks oe ae , ss ss es ee COSTOMCO;USCOMEON 


2 Wine and tail uniform eae 
. Head entirely black. 
a. Back entirely chestnut . . castaneofusca, f. 
b*. Back black with a yellow interscapular Baten 
sexes similar. 


a’. Abdomen chestnut. . . . . . . . . . tricolor, 25% 


te my 


b*. Abdomen black 2 «4 2 "3 0 9 (a sr ene etlenscapulams ns Gile 


bi Headirufous:; .. 2 « ¢ lee) paves a annem mca COLOT;mmTeLys 


CINNAMOPTERYX CASTANEOFUSCA 557 


Cinnamopteryx castaneofusca. 


Ploceus castaneofuscus, Less. Rev. Zool. 1840, p. 99 Casamanse ; 
Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 53 (1904). 

Cinnamopteryx castaneofusca, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xii. p. 472 (1890) ; 
Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 565 (1896); Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 131 
(1869) egg. 

Ploceus isabellinus, Less. Rev. Zool. 1840, p. 226 Sierra Leone. 


Adult male. Head, neck, wings, upper tail-coverts, tail, chest and thighs 
black; back, abdomen and under tail-coverts deep chestnut. Ivis and legs 
brown; bill black. Total length 5:9 inches, culmen 0°8, wing 3:15, tail 2-1, 
tarsus 0°9. g, 30. 1. 72 Paihrobonke (Shelley). 

Adult female. Upper parts brown, inclining to olive towards the crown 
and to rufous on the upper tail-coverts; top a head and the mantle with 
obscure dark centres to the feathers; tail and most of the wings brownish 
black; lesser coverts like the back; edges of median and greater coverts 
and of the inner secondaries buffy brown, the other quills more narrowly 
edged with brown; under wing-coverts buffy brown like the under parts 
generally ; sides of crop like the ear-coverts, darker and less rufous; chin, 
throat and centre of breast paler and the latter part yellower. Iris brown ; 
bill brown fading into flesh-colour on the lower mandible; legs brown. 
Wing 2°85. 9, 24. 2. 72, Abouri (Shelley). 


The Chestnut-and-black Weaver ranges over West Africa 
from Senegambia to the Congo. 

The type is a male specimen from Casamanse. <A hen bird 
procured at Sierra Leone was described by Lesson, later in 
the same year, 1840, as Ploceus isabellinus; in this district 
MacDowell obtained an adult male, and Mr. Kemp has found 
these Weavers breeding at Bo in October and showed me one 
of their eggs, which is of a uniform pale blue and much 
elongated. According to Dr. Biittikofer the species is common 
throughout Liberia, frequenting the neighbourhood of human 
habitations in preference to the deep forests. In habits it 
resembles Hyphantornis cucullatus, but apparently prefers less 
elevated breeding places, such as reed-jungles, where they 
attach their nests to the tops of one or two of the shafts. 
One December evening, at Robertsport, his attention was 


358 CINNAMOPTERYX CASTANEOFUSCA 


attracted by an unusual noise, caused by a great number of 
these birds flying to and fro, ‘talking palaver,” as his boy 
aptly suggested ; for early next morning a cloud of them came 
and took possession of the tree and immediately began con- 
structing their hanging nests, and continued actively at work 
the whole day, and by sunset he counted fifty-four of their nests 
apparently finished, when the birds flew off together to roost 
elsewhere. The following morning, soon after they had come 
back, he heard again a great chattering and he saw the birds 
examining the nests from all sides, and then, as if by a signal, 
they all took flight together to a cane-grove on the other side 
of the station, where they immediately commenced building 
other nests, which they fastened to the tops of the canes from 
8 to 12 feet from the ground. A few days after they had laid 
their eggs, two to three in number, and he never again saw 
these birds return to the tree where they had first commenced 
building, having, he suggests, possibly been scared away from 
the tree by a colony of ants or a snake they may have 
discovered among the boughs. ‘The eggs were uniform bluish 
green. 

Drs. Reichenow and Liihder found the species breeding in 
colonies near Abokobi, and remark that the nests were of an 
oval form, hung from reeds and bamboos at an elevation of 
from 5 to 20 feet, and the eggs, two in number, were pale blue 
and measured 0°92 x 0°64. Mr, Boyd Alexander obtained the 
species at Pong, and writes: ‘‘ Breeds in May. ‘The nests, 
constructed of coarse grass-blades and lined with fresh 
leaves, are suspended underneath the fronds of the palm-trees 
in damp situations. A large number may be found together. 
Both males and females share in the incubation.” ‘l'hey were 
not breeding in February and March, when I found them fre- 
quenting the thick forests around Abrobonko near Cape Coast, 
and at Abouri in the Aguapim district. Ussher considered 


URULY' pe'roToota} xAueydoureuury 


CINNAMOPTERYX TRICOLOR 309 


them to be very common in Fantee, generally frequenting the 
bamboo and cane-brakes, where hundreds of their pendent 
nests were to be seen. He also procured specimens at the 
Volta River. In Togoland Mr. Baumann found it known to 
the natives at Logba as the “ Karue,” and in Dahome, accord- 
ing to Mr. Francis Newton, it was known at Passé as the 
“Cangole.” In the Niger district specimens have been 
collected at Onitscha (Forbes), Axim (Hartert), and Lower 
Niger (Ansorge). From further south it is known to me only 
from Gaboon (Aubrey Lecomte) and Landana (Lucan and 
Petit). 


Cinnamopteryx tricolor. (Pl. 38.) 


Hyphantornis tricolor, Hartl. J. f. O., 1854, p. 110 Sierra Leone. 

Cinnamopteryx tricolor, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 471 (1890) ; Shelley, 
B. Afr. I. No, 567 (1896). 

Hyphantornis fuscocastanea, Bocage, Jorn. Lisb. 1880, p. 58 Loema R. 

Ploceus fuscocastaneus, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 53 (1904). 

Ploceus rufoniger, Reichen. Orn. Monatsb. 1893, p. 29 Kinjawanga. 


Adult. Upper parts jet black, with a large patch of canary yellow 
extending over the hinder half of the neck and the upper back; portion of 
the inner margins of the quills brownish white; upper and middle throat 
black like the entire head ; remainder of the neck and the breast uniform 
chestnut; thighs and under tail-coverts black. Iris and feet brown; bill 
black. Total length 5°6 inches, culmen 0°75, wing 3°5, tail 2-0, tarsus 0°85. 
24, 2. 72, Abouri (T. E. Buckley). 

Immature. Differs in having the head, neck and front of back chestnut, 
slightly mottled with yellow near the base of the hind neck; front of neck 
and breast dusky brown mottled with pale chestnut ; thighs and under tail- 
coverts blackish. Total length 6:0, culmen 0°8, wing 3°35, tail 2-0, tarsus 
0:85. 24. 2.72, Abouri (T. E. Buckley). 

In the type of H. fuscocastanea the under parts are entirely chestnut ; 
wing 3°30. 


The Yellow-mantled Cinnamon-Weaver ranges from Sierra 
Leone to Loango and eastward to 29° 30’ H. long. 


The species is abundant at Sierra Leone, where the late 
Capt. Sabine discovered the type, a fine specimen, which is 


360 CINNAMOPTERYX TRICOLOR 


now in the British Museum. Mr. Robin Kemp informs me 
that “In the Mission-ground at Bo there stands a large tree, 
which is made use of jointly, as a breeding resort, for both this 
species and Melanopteryx albinucha. A large colony lives in 
the above-mentioned tree, which is adorned with a great 
number of pendent nests, from which I procured all the 
immature specimens, but did not obtain any eggs. From 
April to the beginning of October, while I was there, I noticed 
no signs of change in the colouring of the adults, all of which 
were alike in plumage. ‘This tree during the day appeared 
as a rule tenantless, but towards sundown presented a scene 
of great activity.” In Liberia Dr. Biittikofer obtained a 
full plumaged male at Bavia, and a female in exactly the 
same plumage, in the bush near Schieffelinsville. 

In the Aguapim Mountains of the Gold Coast Rus procured 
a specimen, and while I was there in February, 1872, Buckley 
shot two adults in company with a full grown bird in immature 
plumage, which closely resembles in colouring the type of 
Hyphantornis fuscocastanea, Bocage, which I have figured as 
the young of the present species. I shot a specimen at 
Abokobi on our way back to Accra, and the species has been 
procured by Mr. Boyd Alexander at Prahsu, Fumsu and 
Kwisse, who came to the same conclusion as we did, that these 
Weavers are not uncommon in the forests of the Gold Coast. 
In Togoland Mr. Baumann sexed a male and female which 
were identical in colouring, and in full plumage in July 
and October, and a specimen procured in Camaroons in 
November is also in full plumage. Dr. Ansorge has procured 
a series from the Lower Niger. ‘The occurrence of the 
species further south and east of Camaroons is known to 
me only by the types of Hyphantornis fuscocastanea, Bocage, 
and Ploceus iufoniger, Reichen. The former was procured 
by Lucan and Petit at the Loema River in Loango, and the 


CINNAMOPTERYX INTERSCAPULARIS 561 


latter, which Dr. Reichenow informs us is an immature bird of 
the present species, came from Kingawanga (Stuhlmann), some 
fifty miles north of the Albert Edward Nyanza, in about 
0° 380’ N. lat. by 29° 30’ E. long. 

It is evident that in this species the sexes are similar 
in plumage, and it is almost as certain that the adults are not 
subject to any marked seasonal change of plumage, which is 
also the case with Hyphantornis cucullatus, for I have known of 
two male cage-birds of that species which have retained the 
bright coloured plumage during at least eight years, and one of 
them I have still alive. 


Cinnamopteryx interscapularis. 


Ploceus interscapularis, Reichen. Orn. Monatsb. 1893, p. 29 Bundeko ; 
id. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 53 (1904). 
Malimbus interscapularis, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 490 (1896). 


Type. ‘‘ Black, with the interscapular region yellow. Bill black ; feet 
horny brown; iris pale rufous. Total length 5:6 inches, culmen 0°76, 
wing 3°24, tail 2:0, tarsus 0°76” (Reichenow). 

The Yellow-mantled Black-Weaver inhabits Central Africa. 

The type was discovered at Bundeko in about 1° N. lat. 
29° 50’ KE. long. 

This species is, I believe, known only by the type specimen, 
and it appears to me possible that it may be a black-breasted 
variety of C. tricolor, for the same collection contained an 
immature specimen of the latter species (the type of Ploceus 
rufoniger) obtained at Kingawana, about half-way between 
Bundeko and the Albert Edward Nyanza. 


Genus XII]. MELANOPTERYX, 


Similar to Malimbus in structure, but is characterised by being black 
with no bright colours. The plumage of the sexes is alike excepting in the 
type species, in which the female is pale olive. 


362 MELANOPTERYX NIGERRIMA 


Type. 
Melanopteryx, Reichen. Zool. Jahrb. 1886, p.125.. . . MM. mgerrima. 


The genus is confined to West Africa and Equatorial Central Africa 
and comprises three species. 


KEY TO THE SPECIES. 


a. Ne white bases to any of the feathers. 


peered wing 3°3; tarsi and feet pale brown . . . . . wmigerrima. 
. General plumage black . . . . duces TN 
o Plumage olive, browner above, rolloren benéath, te Me Oke 
. Smaller, wing 2-9; tarsi and feet dark brown. . . maxwell. 
b. Sle pure white bases to many of the feathers, howitay 
mostly on the hind neck; wing3'l . . . . . . . . albinucha. 


Melanopteryx nigerrima. 


Ploceus nigerrimus, Vieill. N. Dict. xxxiy. p. 130 (1819) Congo ; Reichen. 
Vog. Afr. i. p._d0 (1904 pt.). 

Melanopteryx nigerrima, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xin, p. 476 (1890); Shelley, 
b. Afr. I. No. 491 (1896). 

Ploceus niger, Swains. An. in Menag. p. 306 (1838). 

Adult male. Jet black, with the wings slightly browner; under wing- 
coverts and inner edges of the quills a little lighter; base of the feathers 
of the hind neck grey. ‘‘Iris yellow; bill black; tarsi and feet brownish 
flesh-colour’’ (Reichenow). ‘Total length 7 inches, culmen 0:8, wing 3:3, 
tail 2°1, tarsus 0°85. gf, 2. 10. 93, Yambuya (Jameson). 

Adult female. Upper parts brownish olive, with blackish centres to the 
feathers of the hinder crown, neck and mantle, much broader on the latter ; 
lower back and upper tail-coverts more uniform brownish olive, with a few 
narrow blackish terminal edges to the feathers; tail sepia brown, with 
a mere trace of olive edges to the feathers; wing sepia brown, with the 
edges of the inner secondaries, greater and median coverts brownish butt, 
and inclining to olive on the lesser coverts; under surface of wing, with 
the inner edges of the quills ashy white, and the coverts butt, with pale 
brown centres to many of the feathers; sides of head and entire under parts 
yellow, shaded with brownish olive on the ear-coverts, sides of throat and 
the flanks. ‘Iris pale brown; bill greyish brown; tarsi and feet dirty 
flesh-colour”’ (Reichenow). Total length 6°2 inches, wing 3°3.  ¢ , Gaboon 
(Du Chaillu). 


Vieillot’s Black Weaver ranges over West Africa from 
Camaroons into Angola and eastward to Kavirondo. 


MELANOPTERYX MAXWELLI 363 


According to Dr. Reichenow the species is abundant in 
Camaroons up to 3,000 feet. They breed in colonies, suspend- 
ing their nests from the ends of leaves of the cocoanut palms 
and banana trees, often selecting those which grow in the 
native market-places, at other times they will hang them over 
water. ‘The nest is rounded with an entrance passage hanging 
down, and is constructed of fresh grass interwoven with the 
flowers of the maize, and although usually suspended separately, 
sometimes as many as three will be built one on top of the 
other, when the colony is a large one, and space limited. The 
eggs, two or three in number, are bluish green, and measure 
on an average 1‘0 x 0°65. Mr. Bates has obtained the species 
at the Ja River, and it is apparently equally abundant in 
Gaboon and Loango. In Angola the type was discovered by 
Perrein, and Major v. Mechow has obtained the species on the 
Kuango, a tributary of the Congo, along the course of which 
river it has been met with by Bohndorff at Leopoldsville and 
by Jameson at Yambuya. 

It ranges over Equatorial Africa to as far east as Kavirondo, 
where Mr. Jackson, Dr. Ansorge and Mr. Neumann have pro- 
cured specimens, and is apparently not uncommon in Central 
Africa, having been obtained on Sesse Island, Bukoba, in 
Uganda aud Unyoro, and in the Mombuttu district at Tomaja 
and Kudurma. 


Melanopteryx maxwelli. 


Melanopteryx maxwelli, Alexander, Bull. B. O. C. xiii. p. 54 (1903) ; id. 
Ibis, 1903, p. 355 Fernando Po. 

Ploceus maxwelli, Reichen. Vog. Afr. ili. p. 52 (1904). 

Melanopteryx nigerrima (non Vieill.), Bocage, Jorn. Lisb. 1895, p. 10 
Salvad. Acc. KR. Sc. Torino, 1908, p. 114 Hernando Po. 

Ploceus nigerrimus, Reichen. Vog. Afr. ili. p. 50 (1904 pt.) Fernando Po. 

Adult male. Jet black, with the base of all the feathers of the neck grey ; 

under surface of wings dusky, with the inner edges of the quills whitish ash. 


564 MELANOPTERYX ALBINUCHA 


“Tris pale yellow; bill black; tarsi and feet dark brown.” Total length 
5:3 inches, culmen 0:75, wing 2°9, tail 1°8, tarsus 0-7. ¢g, 31. 11. 02, 
Ribola (Alexander). 

“The sexes are alike in plumage and measurements. 

“Tmmature male. General colour above sooty brown, with traces of 
yellowish olive edges to the feathers of the hind neck and crown, the latter 
mottled with black; sides of head and under parts pale yellowish olive, 
inclining to whitish on the under tail-coverts ; thighs light brown ; bill horn- 
brown ; legs and feet dark brown. 

“Immature female. Similar to immature male, but with no yellowish 
edges to the feathers of the hind neck and crown; sides of neck and under 
parts ashy white, inclining to pale tawny on the abdomen and under tail- 
coverts ; outer edge of quills ashy white: iris pale green, legs and feet light 
brown. 

‘This species is a good intermediate form between M. nigerrima and 
M. albinucha. It differs from the former in being smaller, in the jet black 
of the upper parts, throat and breast, and in the brownish black legs and 
feet” (Alexander). 


Maxwell’s Black Weaver is confined to the island of 
Fernando Po, 

This is a well-marked local species, most nearly allied to 
M. albinucha, but intermediate between that form and WM. 
nigerrima. It closely resembles the former in size, but may 
be readily distinguished from it by the entire absence of white 
bases to the feathers, and from the latter by its smaller size, 
the jet-black of the upper parts, throat and breast, and in the 
brownish black tarsi and feet. 

Mr. Boyd Alexander, who discovered the species, writes : 
“We found this Weaver-bird on the lowlands frequenting the 
woods, where it nests in colonies, the tops of thick-leaved 
forest-trees being chosen as nesting sites. The note is a 
running chatter.” 


Melanopteryx albinucha. 


Sycobius albinucha, Bocage, Jorn. Lisb. 1876, p. 247 W. Afr. 

Melanopteryx albinucha, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 477 (1890); Shelley, 
B. Afr. I. No. 492 (1896). 

Ploceus albinucha, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 52 (1904). 


MELANOPTERYX ALBINUCHA 365 


Adult male. Jet black, with the base of all the feathers of the back of 
the neck pure white, which shows through and forms a somewhat defined 
white collar; wings with the under surface paler and more dusky, inner 
edges of the quills brownish ash and the coverts ashy black. ‘Iris pearl- 
white, bill black, tarsi and feet brown” (Kemp). Total length 5:7 inches, 
culmen 0°75, wing 3:1, tail 2:0, tarsus 0°75. Denkera (Ussher). 

The White-naped Black Weaver inhabits West Africa, 
where it ranges from Sierra Leone to the Niger. 

Mr. Robin Kemp, while at Sierra Leone, “found these 
birds breeding in close company with a colony of Cinnamopteryx 
tricolor, on a high tree in the Mission-ground at Bo. They sit 
about in crowds together, and often huddle up in line. A man 
I knew shot thirteen of them with one cartridge.” 

Dr. Buttikofer gives an interesting account of the breeding 
of these birds in Liberia. During his stay at Schieffelinsville 
he found a colony of about twenty nests, all hung closely 
together from the lowest branch of a huge cotton-tree, near 
his station, while the crown was occupied by a large colony 
of Hyphantornis cucullatus, the members of which constantly 
attacked the nests of the former, and robbed the materials for 
the construction or reparation of their own nests. On visiting 
the place a few weeks later, the whole colony of M. albinucha 
had left, evidently driven away by their intolerant congeners. 

In the British Museum there are five full plumaged birds 
and one young one, collected by Ussher, probably from 
Denkera, as he considered it to be decidedly scarce in Fantee. 
Mr. Boyd Alexander, who obtained it at Prahsu and Fumsu, 
writes: ‘Locally distributed, and found in small parties at 
the tops of the highest forest trees. During the day, and 
especially towards evening, the birds may be observed flying 
from their high points of vantage after imsects, and then 
returning to their perches in the manner of Flycatchers.” 

From further along the coast it is known to me only by 
two specimens from the Niger, both in the British Museum. 


366 SYCOBROTUS 


Genus XIV. SYCOBROTUS. 


Bill greyish horn-colour, rather long, as broad as deep at the nostrils, 
culmen rounded and slightly curved, sides straight from the gape to the 
tip ; nasal-orifice well exposed and of a horizontal oval form, with a slight 
Over aUeNE membrane. Wing rounded; primaries 1 half the length of 2; 
2 shorter than 6; 3, 4 and 5 longest and about equal. Tarsi and feet fairly 
strong. 

Plumage of sexes very similar and shows no seasonal variation; upper 
parts nearly uniform black, brown or dark grey; breast and under tail- 
coverts bright yellow. 


Type. 
Eupodes (non Koch, 1835, aus: Jard. and Selby, Ill. 
Orn.n. s.pl 10/836) o : « « S: gregalis: 
Symplectes (nec Symplecta, Meig. 1830, Dipt) Swains. 
Classif. B. ii. p. 279 (18387) . . . Ss of Wugnegales: 
Sycobrotus, Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 182 (1 851) 5: aes . S. gregalis. 


The genus is confined to Tropical and South Africa, and comprises seven 
forms, including S. tephronotus, which might be regarded as a subspecies of 
S. amaurocephalus, and S. nandensis, which is agate not distinct from 
S. mentalis. 


KEY TO THE SPECIES. 


a, Crown brown. 
at, Entire upper Ss and sides of head uniform sepia 


brown. . gregalis. 
bt. Forehead and Ghee Smith white tips to the 
feathers) ¢ $s) 6) eee io, i ke abe eeu SCLCLUT TONS enuche 


b. Crown black. 
ct, Back brown or grey. 
a2, Chin and throat more ashy. 


a®. Back browner . . . « = + + + + » -. amaurocephalus: 
bs. Back greyer . . . -. +. =. » » « « tephronotus. 
b2, Chin jet black. 
c8. Throat yellow. . . . .. .. . . . = mentalis, °%/ 
ds, Upper throat black. . . . . . . . . « mandensis.*’ 
ad. Back*jeti black... ¥\ 1 sa) meen tell 2 RUC SLE Uempotice 


Sycobrotus gregalis. 


Fringilla gregalis, Licht. Verz. Doubl. p. 23 (1823) Kaffraria. 

Ploceus gregalis, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 32 (1904). 

Ploceus chrysogaster, Vigors, P. Z. 8. 1831, p. 92 Algoa Bay. 

Symplectes chrysomus, Swains. B. W. Afr. i. p. 170 (1837) S. Afr., 
Senegal. 


3 H¢ 


SYCOBROTUS GREGALIS 367 


Eupodes xanthosomus, Jard. and Selby, Ill. Orn. n. gs. pl. 10 (1837) 
S. Afr., Sierra Leone. 

Sycobrotus ‘bicolor, Vieill.”” Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 422 (1890) ; 
Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 503 (1896); Shortridge, Ibis, 1904, p. 176 
Pondoland. 

Adults. Upper parts and entire sides of the head glossy sepia brown ; 
an ill-defined yellow band across the rump and a wash of olive on the 
upper tail-coverts ; wings and tail of a more silky and less velvety appear- 
ance; primaries with narrow whitish edges; under surface of wing, with 
the inner edges of the quills and the coverts white, the latter with a 


broadish band of sepia brown at the bend of the wing; chin and upper 


throat white, shading into bright golden yellow on the remainder of the 
under parts; chin and upper throat generally somewhat barred with the 
black bases of the feathers, this character is usually but not always most 
strongly marked in the male; in the middle of the fore chest there are 
a few partly hidden black feathers. ‘ Tvis dark brown; bill pale horny grey, 
shaded with black on the culmen towards the tip; legs lilac pink.” Total 
length 5:8 and 6:0 inches, culmen 0:75, wing 3°5 and 3:35, tail 2:3, tarsus 0-9. 
3, 2, 6. 75, Pinetown (T. L. Ayres). 


The Natal Dark-backed Weaver inhabits Eastern Cape 
Colony, Natal and Zululand. 

It is represented in the British Museum by specimens from 
Grahamstown, Hland’s Post, Kingwilliamstown, Hast London, 
and a fine series from Durban and Pinetown. The type of 
Ploceus chrysogaster was procured by Mr. Henry Ellis near 
Algoa Bay, which is the most western range I can find for the 
species, and it is apparently not uncommon there. Layard 
writes: **The most western point reached by it being Van 
Stadden’s River, near Port Elizabeth, where we obtained it 
in March, 1870, in the wooded kloofs through which that river 
flows. Mr. Rickard tells us that he received several specimens 
from Kraggakamma, near Port Elizabeth. Proceeding east- 
ward, we saw it sparingly near Grahamstown, the Kowie, 
Kat Berg, and Keish Kamma, and Dr. Atherston tells us that 
it is found all along the east coast.” 

In Natal I found it inhabiting the thickest parts of the 
bush, and being of an enquiring mind, it frequently approaches 


368 SYCOBROTUS GREGALIS 


an intruder within a few yards, still keeping concealed 
amongst the thick foliage, though its jarring note is often 
heard as it creeps through the network of boughs. As I sat 
with my gun beside me, skinning my last trophy, I occasion- 
ally saw this bird or another bush frequenter peeping at me 
through the boughs, and the instant they caught my eye they 
disappeared, but a snap-shot in their direction was often 
effective. 

According to Stark, ‘‘ This species differs considerably 
in its habits from the majority of the Ploceine. It is never 
met with in flocks, but almost invariably in single pairs, gener- 
ally in thick forest or bush, where the growth is both high and 
dense. These Weavers attract attention by their loud and 
frequently repeated harsh creaking notes, which have been 
not inaptly compared to the jarring of a rusty hinge. 

‘In addition to insects, which constitute their ordinary 
food, these Weaver-birds occasionally feed on seeds, berries 
and small forest fruit. Their nests, shaped like long-necked 
retorts, are suspended from the extremities of branches, fre- 
quently at a considerable height and often overhanging a 
stream or open space in the bush. They are rather large and 
are coarsely woven from the tendrils of vines without any soft 
lining. <A pair of birds will frequently work for three months 
on the structure of their nest. ‘hey invariably build alone, 
never in colonies. During the month of September or early 
in October they lay two, or occasionally three, eggs of a whitish 
ground colour, rather thickly spotted with pale red. They 
measure about 0°75 x 0°60.” 

That the type of Pyranga icteromelas, Vieill., was a native 
of America, | look upon as impossible; that it and the type 
of Ploceus bicolor, Vieill., belong to one species, as Pucheran 
remarks, is improbable, and that the latter refers to a West 
African species is possible. This leaves Fringilla gregalis, 


THE BIRDS OF AFRICA.PI, XXXIX. 


yeobrotus stictifron 


SYCOBROTUS STICTIFRONS 369 


Licht., as the oldest name we can be certain of, for the South 
African bird, Vieillot’s description of his Pyranga icteromelas 
agrees perhaps best with the immature plumage of S. kersteni. 


Sycobrotus stictifrons. (Pl. 39, fig. 1.) 


Symplectes stictifrons, Fisch. and Reichen. J. f. O. 1885, p. 373 Lindi. 

Sycobrotus stictifrons, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 424 (1890); Shelley 
B. Afr. I. No. 504 (1896). 

Ploceus stictifrons, Reichen. Vog. Afr, iii. p. 33 (1904). 


Adults. Similar to S. gregalis, from which they differ in the upper parts 
being slightly paler and more ashy, especially towards the lower back and 
upper tail-coverts, which are entirely ashy brown; feathers of forehead, 
front of crown and cheeks with white tips, giving to these parts a speckled 
appearance ; chin and upper throat dark brown, with whitish angular shaft- 
stripes; centre of fore chest with a little black, generally hidden by the 
yellow portion of the feathers. ‘Iris reddish brown; bill grey; feet 
yellowish flesh-colour ’’ (Stuhlmann), Total length 6:3 inches, culmen 0°75, 
wing 3:4, tail 2-4, tarsus 0°9. 

Immature. Differs in the pale spots on the head being much less 


sharply defined; chin and upper half of throat yellowish buff. Ntondwe, 
June (A. Sharpe). 


Fischer’s Dark-backed Weaver inhabits Eastern Africa 
between 10° and 24° S. lat. 

The most southern range known for the species is 
Inhambane in Portuguese East Africa, Here, according to 
Mr. Francis: “This Weayer-bird is found all over the 
district, wherever there is thick bush.” I do not otherwise 
find it recorded from south of the Zambesi. M. E. Foa met 
with it up the Zambesi, where he found it known to the natives 
as the “Goti.’ To the north of that river Sir John Kirk 
procured, during the Livingstone Expedition, three specimens 
at the Shiré Cataract, and from the number of specimens 
collected by Mr. Alexander Whyte and Sir Alfred Sharpe it 
must be a common bird throughout Nyasaland. Dr. Stuhl- 


mann obtained a specimen at Quilemaine; the late Joseph 
(February, 190 24 


370 SYCOBROTUS AMAUROCEPHALUS 


Thomson one at the Rovuma River, and Fischer discovered 
the type at Lindi, which is the most northern range known to 
me for the species. No doubt, as Stark has remarked, its 
habits are similar to that of the better known South African 
species, S. gregalis. 


Sycobrotus amaurocephalus. 


Sycobrotus amaurocephalus, Cab. J. f. O. 1880, p. 349, pl. 3, fig. 1 
Angola; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 423 (1890); Shelley, B. Afr. I. 
No. 505 (1896). 

? Ploceus bicolor, Vieill. N. Dict. xxxiv. p. 127 (1819) Senegal. 

‘“‘Ploceus bicolor, Vieill.’’ Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 34 (1904). 


Adults. Similar to those of S. gregalis, from which it differs in the 
paler brown colouring of the back of the neck, back, wings and tail, and 
from S. stict?frons in the uniform brownish black colouring of the top and 
sides of the head, which dark parts are browner and contrast less sharply 
with the back of the neck than in S. tephronotus. Total length 5:7 inches, 
culmen 0-7, wing 3:25, tail 2:3, tarsus 0°8. 9, Tanganyika Plateau 
(Manning). 

Type of Ploceus bicolor, Vieill. ‘‘ Head and nape blackish; back of 
neck, back, wing-coverts and edges of quills brownish olive; rump and 
remainder of wings and tail brown; feathers of throat brown with yellow 
ends; under parts yellow; bill grey ”’ (Vieillot). 


The Angola Dark-backed Weaver ranges over Angola, 
Benguela and the Tanganyika district. 

The type was discovered in Angola at Malandge, by Mr. 
Otto Schutt. There is a specimen in the Tring Museum, 
obtained by Mr. C. H. Pemberton at Dondo on the Quanza 
liver, on the label of which is written: “ ¢, 30. 6. 01; 
iris red brown; feet wainscot brown; bill ditto, with the 
upper mandible darker.’ This specimen agrees perfectly with 
the specimen in the British Museum from the Tanganyika 
plateau. ‘The species has also been recorded from Quissange 
and Quibulla in Benguela (Anchieta), Kibondo (Bohndorff), 
Lukumbi and Lualaba (Bohm). 

The present species is very similar to S. tephronotus, which 


SYCOBROTUS TEPHRONOTUS 371 


is at present known only from Camaroons and Fernando Po, 
so we should not be justified in using the name Ploceus bicolor, 
Vieill., for either of them without comparing the type, which 
I believe has been lost. 


Sycobrotus tephronotus. 


Symplectes tephronotus, Reichen. J. f. O. 1892, pp. 184, 219 Buea. 

Sycobrotus tephronotus, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 506 (1896). 

Ploceus tephronotus, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 34, pl. , fig. 3 (1904). 

Sycobrotus poensis, Alexander, Bull. B. O. C. xiii. p. 38 (1903) 
Fernando Po. 


Adults. Very similar to S. amawrocephalus, from which they differ in 
the top and sides of the head being deeper black and contrasting more 
sharply with the back of the neck, which is of a grey shade like the 
remainder of the upper parts. Total length about 5-7 inches, culmen 0:7 to 
0-75, wing 3:3, tail 2°3, tarsus 0-9. 3, 15. 11. 02, Fernando Po (Alexander), 
and 21. 9. 91, Buea (Preuss). 


The Camaroons Dark-backed Weaver inhabits Camaroons 
and Fernando Po. 

The type was discovered by Dr, Preuss at Buea in the 
highlands of Camaroons and the species has also been recorded 
from Jaunde (Zenker). 

From Fernando Po Mr. Boyd Alexander writes: ‘“ We 
found this species frequenting the thick forest-trees. It 
appeared to be very local and was generally observed in small 
parties. The note may be described as a running voluble 


299 


§ tizz. 


Sycobrotus mentalis. 


Symplectes mentalis, Hartl. J. f. O. 1891, p. 314 Bugquera. 

Ploceus mentalis, Reichen. Vég. Afr. ili. p. 35 (1904). 
Subspecies a. 

Sycobrotus nandensis, Jackson, Ibis, 1899, p. 615 Nandi. 

Ploceus nandensis, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii, p. 35 (1904). 


372 SYCOBROTUS KERSTENI 


Type. Top and sides of head deep black; back grey; wings and tail 
brownish black; under parts yellow, paler on the throat and under tail- 
coverts ; chin black. ‘Iris red; bill bluish grey ; feet reddish flesh-colour.”’ 
Total length 7-48 inches, culmen 0°72, wing 3°48, tail 2:0, tarsus 0°72. 
g,ad.” (Hartlaub). Buguera (Emin). 

Type of S. nandensis. Differs from the above only in having the upper 
half of the throat jet black, with the pale edges to the feathers confined to 
the middle throat and inclining there to bright yellow spots. ‘Iris dull 
crimson; bill horn-blue, with the tip black; feet flesh-colour.” Total 
length 5:5 inches, culmen 0-7, wing 3°15, tail 2:1, tarsus 0°95. 2, 10. 4. 96, 
Nandi (Jackson). 


The Black-chinned Grey-backed Weaver inhabits Central 
Equatorial Africa. 

‘The species is only known by the type discovered by Emin 
at Buguera, close to Wadelai, an adult male, and by the type 
of S. nandensis, a female bird from Nandi, so it is highly 
probable that they represent the two sexes of one species, as 
Dr. Reichenow has suggested (Vog. Afr. il. p. 35); but as this 
has yet to be proved I have treated them as subspecies. 

The measurement of the wing, in the type of S. mentalis, 
as given by Hartlaub, appears to me to be an error, for I 
think it should be the same as in S. tephronotus and NS. 


nandensis. 


Sycobrotus kersteni. 


Sycobrotus kersteni, Finsch and Hartl. Vog. O. Afr. p. 404, pl. 6 (1870) 
Zanzibar ; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 423 (1890); Shelley, B. Afr. 
I. No. 507 (1896). 
Ploceus kersteni, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 31 (1904). 
? Pyranga icteromelas, Vieill. N. Dict. xxviii. p. 291 (1818) America. 
Adults. Head, neck down to the middle throat and the entire upper 
parts glossy jet black; under surface of the wing, with the inner edges of 
the quills and the coverts white, the latter with a broadish black band next 
to the bend of the wing; lower half of throat, breast and under tail-coverts 
golden yellow, with an orange shade towards the crop ; centre of the fore- 
chest with a little black generally hidden by the yellow portion of the 
feathers. ‘Iris deep red brown; bill bluish, feet pale flesh-colour”’ 


SYCOBROTUS KERSTENI 373 
(Fischer). Total length 6:1 inches, culmen 0:8, wing 3:7, tail 2:4, tarsus 0:9. 
Lamu (Kirk). 
Immature. Differs in the chin and upper throat being buff, shaded 
with yellow. Lamu (Kirk). ; 
The type of Pyranga icteromelas, Vieill., is described as having the head, 


hind neck, and upper parts deep black, and the remainder of the plumage 
like that of the immature bird above described. 


Kersten’s Dark-backed Weaver ranges over Hast Africa 
from Zanzibar and Ugogo to the Equator. 

The type was discovered during Baron vy. d. Decken’s 
expedition to the Zanzibar Coast and was named after Dr. 
Kersten. All the information I find regarding the habits of 
this species is given by Fischer, who records it as abundant in 
wooded localities, from Zanzibar Island, and Nguru on the 
border of Ugogo, to Wapokomoland on the Tana River. He 
found them in small parties of six to ten, rarely more, busy 
during the mornings in searching among the leaves and twigs 
for their insect food, the males at imtervals making the woods 
ring with their loud shrill notes, which may be imitated on a 
piano by the notes C, H, G, C. The first C played strongly 
and the last C dwelt upon, which is often followed after a 
short pause by a G. 

When the breeding time approaches the flocks break up 
into pairs, each of which select their own breeding place. 
The nest, like those of its congeners, is suspended from a plant 
twig. One of these he procured on Zanzibar Island, August 
4, is described as retort-shaped, with the entrance passage 6 
inches long, and the body of the nest was 5°2 inches wide by 8 
deep. 

The species has been met with as far west as Lake 
Tanganyika, in the Kawende country, by Bohm, and as far 
north as the Lower Juba River, close to the Equator, by 
Erlanger. 


374 “HETERHYPHANTES * 


Genus XV. HETHRHYPHANTHES. 


Similar to Sycobrotus in most of its structure; but the bill, which is 
black in adults, is generally slightly smaller and shorter; the nostrils have 
less or no overhanging membrane. Sexes never alike in plumage, which 
has always some yellow on the upper parts, including the eyebrows; but 
the upper surface of the wings and tail are entirely black, a character by 
which the members of this and the last four genera may be readily distin- 
guished from all the Weavers which I include after this genus. 

Type. 

Heterhyphantes, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 414 (1890). A. melanogaster. 

Melanhyphantes, Sharpe, Jameson’s pias Rear 

Column, p. 404 (1890). . . . . . . H. nigricollis. 

Phormoplectes, Reichen. J. f. O. 1903, b 149. . . . A. insigms. 


The genus is confined to West and Central Africa and comprises eight 
species. It forms a good connecting link between Sycobrotus and Hyphan- 
twrgus, resembling the former in the uniform black of the wings and tail, 
and Hyphanturgus in the colouring of the sides of the head and the throat, 
in both sexes of Heterhyphantes nigricollis and Hyphanturgus ocularius. 

Three out of the eight species I recognise are somewhat doubtful form, 
for H. dorsomaculatus may prove not to be distinct from H. insignis and 
H. auricomus, ad immature example of one of the two. H. malensis is, 
perhaps, probably not distinct from H. melanoxanthus. 


KEY TO THE SPECIES. 


a. Back yellow or partly so; wings and tail black ; 
breast yellow. 
at. Some black on head; crown chestnut in males, 
black in female. 


a2. Back entirely yellow . . . .. insignis, 478 
b?. Yellow of back confined to a central banal . . dorsomaculatus. 2 7} 
bt, Entire head and neck yellow . . . . . . . auricomus. 278 


b. Back entirely black or brown. 
ct, Breast black, portion of head yellow; chin and 
throat yellow in females. 
. With a yellow crop-band . . . . « melanogaster, 3. 


we Crop black like the throat and era cae stephanophorus, 3 . 25° 


. Breast yellow ; males with the crown yellow ntl 
throat black ; females with the crown black and 
the throat yellow. 
e*. Back, wings and tail sepia brown . . . . . nigricollis. 


HETERHYPHANTES INSIGNIS 375 


f?. Back, wings and tail black 


a’, Black eye-stripe extending forward to the bill. melanoxanthus. FPS 
6’. Black eye-stripe confined to head behind the 
GiGi col AG. oid ue tee o acme malensis. > 


Heterhyphantes insignis. 


Sycobrotus insignis, Sharpe, Ibis, 1891, pp. 117, 253, pl. 6, fig. 1, 9 
Mt. Elgon. 

Heterhyphantes insignis, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 516 (1896). 

Ploceus insignis, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 36 (1904). 

Symplectes croconotus, Reichen. J. f. O. 1892, pp. 185, 219 Buea ; Sjost. 

Sv. Ak. Handl. Stockh. 1895, p. 88, pl. 9, 3. 

Heterhyphantes croconotus, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 517 (1896). 

Symplectes preussi, Reichen. J. f. O. 1892, p. 442, 3 Victoria. 

Heterhyphantes preussi, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 518 (1896). 

Symplectes castanicapillus, Sjost. Orn. Monatsb. 1893, p. 43 Camaroons. 

Heterhyphantes stephanophorus, laps. cal. pro. H. insignis, Sharpe, Bull. 

B. O. C. v. p. 43 (1897). 

Adult male. Forehead and crown chestnut; neck, back, breast, thighs 
and under tail-coverts golden yellow, slightly mottled with black on the 
mantle; sides of head, chin, upper throat, lower half of sides of neck, 
scapulars, wings and tail glossy black; upper tail-coverts black, mottled 
with yellow; inner edges of the quills and the under wing-coverts whitish 
ash, the latter bordered with black at the edge of the wing. ‘‘ Iris crimson 
brown; bill black, feet bluish flesh-colour”’ (Jackson). Total length 5:5 
inches, culmen 0°6, wing 3:5, tail 21, tarsus 0°85. ¢, 2.00, N.E. Kenya 
(Delamere). 

Adult female. Differs in having the entire head, as well as the upper 
third of the neck, jet black ; upper tail-coverts entirely black. 9?, 9. 12. 99, 
Boromo (Delamere). In the type the yellow of the under parts extends 
up the middle throat and the upper tail-coverts are partly washed with 
yellow. ‘‘Iris, bill and feet as in the male.” Wing 3:2. Mt. Elgon 
(Jackson). 


The Yellow-bodied Black-winged Weaver ranges over 
Equatorial Africa from Camaroons into the highlands of 
Nandi, Mau and Mount Kenia, 37° 30’ E. long. 

The type of Symplectes croconotus was procured by Mr. Preuss 
at Buea in the Camaroons highlands, It is a female, in not 
quite such full plumage as the type of the species discovered 


376 HETERHYPHANTES INSIGNIS 


by Mr. Jackson on Mount Elgon and figured, “ Ibis,” 1891, pl. 6, 
fic. 1. A little later Mr. Sjostedt figured the full plumaged 
male (Sv. Ak. Handl. Stockh. 1895, pl. 9), which differs from 
the female in having the forehead and crown bright rufous, 
instead of black like the remainder of the head, and is the 
Symplectes preusst of Dr. Reichenow. 

The species is probably a frequenter of wooded highlands, 
which may account for its not having been recorded from the 
country between Camaroons and Mount Elgon, for I am 
unwilling to look upon the Camaroons S. croconotus as sub- 
specifically distinct from H. insignis. 

The most eastern range known to me for the species is 
Embo, on the north-east side of Mount Kenia, where a specimen 
has been procured by Lord Delamere, February, 1900, and 
there is another of his in the British Museum from Boromo 
on the Kikuyu escarpment, December 9, 1899. Mr. Neumann 
obtained a male on the Mau highland, and Mr. Jackson has 
met with it there, at Nandi and Mount Elgon, and writes: 
“@ and ?, Ravine, June 24, 1896. Iris crimson brown; bill 
black ; feet bluish flesh-colour.” 3, Ravine, March 20, 1897. 
“Feet brown. Found nearly always in pairs. In habits 
these Weaver-birds much resemble our Goldfinch, being found 
in high trees, and twisting and turning into all sorts of 
positions in search of their insect food. The stomach con- 
tained beetles, insects, &c., but no grain or seed.” 

Nandi, 6,500 feet, ¢, June 13, 1896. ‘‘ Feet pale brown. 
Always in pairs. Climbs about big stems and branches lke 
a Tit.’ Nandi, ¢, May 26, 1898. ‘“ Breeding, nest made of 
corkscrew-like tendrils of convolvuli, with long retort-shaped 
spout, woven on to the under side of a branch of a thorn- 
tree, but not suspended from the end of a branch. Eggs two, 
pale blue.” 3, juv., Nandi, July 7, 1898. “Iris brown ; bill 
dusky horn-colour, the lower mandible whitish horn; feet pale 
slaty brown.” 


HETERHYPHANTES DORSOMACULATUS 377 


Dr. Sharpe adds: ‘One of the most interesting of Mr. 
Jackson’s discoveries in the field has been that this Black-and- 
yellow Weaver has a chestnut-headed male, which appears to 
me to be Symplectes croconatus of Sjostedt, hitherto known 
only from the Camaroons. In mentioning this fact in 1897, 
I accidentally referred to the species as Heterhyphantes 
stephanophorus, from a too hasty examination of the numbers 
on the plate in the ‘Ibis’ for 1891. The young male pro- 
cured on July 7 resembles the adult female, but has the 
black wing-coverts edged with yellow and the yellow of the 
back is paler, the entire under surface of the body being pale 
lemon yellow. The crown and sides of the head are olive 
green with black feathers intermingled, showing that in its 
first full plumage the head is black, like that of the old 
female. Even in adult males the amount of black on the 
throat varies, and in one of them the throat is entirely 


yellow.” 


Heterhyphantes dorsomaculatus. 


Symplectes dorsomaculatus, Reichen. Orn. Monatsb. 1893, p. 177 Jaunde ; 
id. J. f. O. 1894, p. 38; 1896, p. 31, pl. 4, upper fig. 

Heterhyphantes dorsomaculatus, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 519 (1896). 

Ploceus dorsomaculatus, Reichen. Voég. Afr. ili. p. 37 (1904). 

‘“« Type. Upper parts black, with the wings, tail and upper tail-coverts 
more dusky ; feathers of the nape and down the middle of the back with 
the outer side or tip yellow; sides of head and neck and the chin black ; 
under parts pale yellow. Bill lead grey; tarsi and feet pale brown. Total 
length 5:6 inches, culmen 0°65, wing 3:0, tail 2-0, tarsus 7:6 ’’ (Reichenow). 


The Mottle- backed Black- winged Weaver inhabits 
Camaroons. 

The species was discovered by Mr. Zenker at Jaunde and 
is known, I believe, by the type only. On comparing the 
figure of this specimen with that of the type of HH. insignis 
(Ibis, 1891, pl. 6, fig. 1), it appears possible that this bird 


378 HETERHYPHANTES AURICOMUS 


may be in one of the plumages of the latter; but there is no 
evidence to support that theory, beyond their both inhabiting 
Camaroons. 


Heterhyphantes auricomus. 


Symplectes auricomus, Sjostedt, Vet. Ak. Handl. Stockh. 1895, p. 86, 
pl. 8 Bonge. 
Ploceus auricomus, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 37 (1904). 


“Type. Similar to H. insignis, but differing in the entire head and 
neck being yellow. General plumage pale yellow, the crown and nape 
washed with chestnut; wings, scapulars, sides of mantle and the tail 
black ; inner tail-feathers and greater wing-coverts margined with yellow ; 
scapulars and lesser wing-coverts edged with yellow; under wing-coverts 
pale brown; axillaries washed with yellow; upper tail-coverts with 
terminal yellow margins. Bill pale; iris brown. Total length 5:6 inches, 
culmen 0°6, wing 3°25, tail 1:75, tarsus 0°7." 9, 11. 91, Bonge (Sjostedt). 


The Golden Black-winged Weaver inhabits Camaroons. 

The type was discovered by Mr. Sjéstedt, November, 1891, 
at Bonge. It is a female, and Mr. Sjéstedt has suggested 
the possibility of its being only an immature specimen of 
H. insignis, 

From the pale coloured bill I have little doubt that Mr. 
Sjéstedt’s bird is quite young, and Mr. Zenker, having met 
with a second specimen, as well as the type of Symplectes 
dorsomaculatus, Reichenow, at Jaunde, is strongly in favour of 
these two forms belonging to one species. I should, however, 
hesitate to refer S. dorsomaculatus to H. isignis, Sharpe, 
although the latter form is apparently the most abundant in 
Camaroons, having been obtained at three different places in 
the highlands of that colony. With our present knowledge 
of the subject I cannot do otherwise than treat these three 
forms as distinct species. 


_— 


HETERHYPHANTES MELANOGASTER 379 


Heterhyphantes melanogaster. 


Ploceus melanogaster, Shelley, P. Z. S. 1887, p. 126, pl. 14, fig. 2, 
? Camaroons ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 43 (1904). 

Heterhyphantes malanogaster, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 417 (1890) ; 
Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 512 (1896). 

Adult male. Forehead, crown, sides of upper neck and a fairly broad 
band round the lower throat bright yellow, with a black spot on the nape; 
sides of head more chestnut-shaded yellow, with a broad black stripe 
through the eye; cheeks in front and below black like the chin, throat 
and remainder of the plumage; under wing-coverts jet black; under 
surface of quills slightly browner, especially along their inner webs. ‘ Iris 
crimson ; bill and legs black’’ (Alexander). Total length 5:5 inches, culmen 
0:8, wing 2°8, tail 2:2, tarsus0°85. g, 15. 5. 91, Buea (Preuss). 

Adult female. Differs in having the hinder third of the crown black ; 
remainder of the head, chin and throat yellow, with the lores and a band 
through the eye black. Wing 2:6. Type, Camaroons (H. H. Johnston). 


Johnston’s Yellow-headed Black Weaver inhabits Camaroons 
and Fernando Po. 

The species is known to me from Fernando Po by two 
males and a female procured by Mr. Boyd Alexander at Moka, 
on the south-eastern side of that island. The type, a female, 
was discovered by Sir Harry Johnston in the highlands of 
Camaroons, and the species has been obtained in that country 
at Buea (Preuss) and Mann’s Well (Knutson). 

This Weaver has been recorded, by error, from British 
Kast Africa, some 1,500 miles further east, owing to Mr. 
Jackson’s female specimens of H. stephanophorus having been 
mistaken for the present species, which they closely resemble, 
but have a narrower yellow frontal band. 


Heterhyphantes stephanophorus. 


Heterhyphantes stephanophorus, Sharpe, Ibis, 1891, pp. 117, 253, pl. 6, 
fig. 2, g Mau; Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 513 (1896). 

Ploceus stephanophorus, Reichen. Vég. Afr. ili. p. 43 (1904). 

Heterhyphantes melanogaster (non Shelley), Jackson, Ibis, 1899, p. 612 
Ravine, Nandt. 


380 HETERHYPHANTES STEPHANOPHORUS 


Type, adult male. Forehead and two-thirds of the crown yellow, which 
colour extends back as a broad margin to the black eye-stripe and joins the 
yellow of the ear-coverts, cheeks and sides of the middle throat; remainder 
of the plumage jet black, with a slight wash of yellow on the under tail- 


coverts. ‘Iris crimson brown; bill black; legs horn blue.’ Total length 
58 inches, culmen 0:7, wing 3:0, tail 2°3, tarsus 0°85. J, 14. 9. 89, Mau 
(Jackson). 


Female. Similar to the female of H. melanogaster, but with the frontal 
patch narrower, measuring only 0°5 inch back from the bill. Total length 
5:75 inches, culmen 0:65, wing 2:9, tail 2:2, tarsus 0°8. 24. 4. 98, Nandi 
(Jackson). 

Immature. Upper parts dusky black, with some rufous yellow edges to 
the feathers of the forehead and crown; remainder of head, chin and throat 
rufous buff, mottled with black on the sides of the head and inclining to 
dusky black in front of the eye; breast and under tail-coverts pale dusky 
brown, darker on the flanks and somewhat mottled on the crop, with 
darker centres to the feathers. Bill brown, much paler below. ¢, 10. 4.98, 
Nandi (Jackson). 


Jackson’s Yellow-headed Black Weaver inhabits the Mau 
and Nandi district of the Equator. 

The species is closely allied to H. melanogaster, but differs 
in the full plumaged birds having less yellow on the top of 
the head, otherwise the females are hard to distinguish, but 
the male is easily recognised by the absence of any yellow 
pectoral collar, the entire throat and breast being uniform 
black. The type, which has been well figured, is an adult 
male discovered by Mr. Jackson in Mau ; at the Eldoma 
Ravine and Nandi he has obtained young birds in July and 
adults of both sexes in April, June and July, and there can, 
I think, be no doubt but the specimens from these localities 
which have been referred to H. melanogaster are females of this 
species, which at present is known only from a very limited 
area, and H. melanogaster is probably a rather local West 
African form. 


HETERHYPHANTES NIGRICOLLIS 381 


Heterhyphantes nigricollis. 


Malimbus nigricollis, Vieill. Ois. Chant. p. 74, pl. 45 (1805), g Congo. 

Heterhyphantes nigricollis, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 415 (1890) ; 
Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 515 (1896). 

Ploceus nigricollis, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 44 (1904). 

Ploceus atricapillus, Vieill. N. Dict. xxxiv. p. 128 (1819), # Congo. 

Ploceus jonquilaceus, Vieill. ¢. c. p. 130, ?. 

Ploceus flavocapillus, Vieill. Ene. Méth. ii. p. 698 (1822). 

Ploceus atrogularis, Voigt. Cuy. Thierr. p. 564 (1831). 

Ploceus tricolor, Hartl. Verz. Hamb. 1850, pp. 28, 46. 

Hyphantornis grayi, J. and E. Verr. Rev. et Mag. Zool. 1851, p. 514. 

Symplectes chrysophrys, J. and E. Verr. Rev. et Mag. Zool. 1855, p. 106 
Gaboon. 

Hyphantornis flavigula, Cass. Pr. Philad. Ac. 1859, p. 134. 

Hyphantornis amauronotus, Reichen. J. f. O. 1877, p. 27 Loango. 


Adult male. Head, sides of neck and the under parts golden yellow, 
slightly shaded with chestnut on the head and crop, and with a band 
through the eye, the chin and centre of the throat jet black; hind neck, 
mantle and wing-coverts deep sepia brown; quills more dusky brown, 
faintly edged with olive; lower back and upper tail-coverts dusky brown, 
washed with olive yellow; tail dark brown, with an olive shade along the 
edges of the feathers ; inner margins of the quills and the under wing- 
coverts buff, mottled with black and yellow at the edge of the wing; 
axillaries pale yellow. ‘‘Iris straw-colour; bill black; feet dusky red.” 
Total length 6:2 inches, culmen 0°65, wing 2:9, tail 2:1, tarsus 0°75. 3, 
23. 6. 83, Bellima (Emin). 

Adult female. Differs from the male in the colouring of the head and 
neck ; forehead and crown black; a complete pale yellow eyebrow separated 
from the yellow ear-coverts and cheeks by a black band; chin and entire 
throat pale yellow. Wing 2°85. Yambuya (Jameson). 

Immature. Similar to the female, from which it differs in the forehead, 
crown and mantle being somewhat shaded with olive yellow, and the bill 
pale, inclining to flesh-colour on the lower mandible. Landana (Petit). 


Vieillot’s Black-and-yellow Weaver ranges from Camaroons 
into Angola and Kavironda. 

In Camaroons Mr. Zenker obtained the species at Jaunde, 
where he found it known to the natives as the ‘ Insoma,” 
It has also been procured in the mountains by Crossley and in 
the Efulen and Ja River districts by Mr, Bates. In Gaboon, 


382 HETERHYPHANTES NIGRICOLLIS 


specimens have been collected at Cape Lopez, Moonda and 
Ogowé Rivers (Du Chaillu), and the types of Hyphantornis 
grayi, Symplectes chrysophrys and Hyphantornis flavigula all 
came from that country. The type of Hyphantornis amauro- 
notus is one of Falkenstein’s specimens from Chinchonxo. It 
has also been recorded from Landana and Condé (Petit). 

The species was discovered by Perrein at the Congo, where 
he procured both sexes, and Vieillot, under the impression 
that they belonged to different species, named the male 
Malimbus nigricollis and the female Ploceus atricayillus, and 
again described the male under the name of Ploceus jon- 
quillaceus from an Angola specimen. In 1850 Hartlaub gave 
the inappropriate name of Ploceus tricolor to a specimen of 
this species, which has caused Dr, Reichenow to reject the 
name Ploceus tricolor, Hartl., 1854, for my Cinnamopterye 
tricolor, as he places that species and the present one both in 
the genus Ploceus. 

In Angola, according to Verreaux, the species is rare, but 
it has been obtained as far south as Loando by Toulson. Up 
the Congo it has been recorded from Yambuya (Jameson), 
Manyangaand Rivariva (Bolndorff). 

Towards the Equator Emin has procured the species at 
Bellima in the Mombuttu country, at Wadelai on the Upper 
White Nile and at Bukoba on Victoria Nyanza. From its most 
eastern known range there is a male obtained by Mr. Jackson 
at Kakomega in Kavirondo, April, 1898, at an elevation of 
5,000 feet. 

With regard to the habits of the species; it is apparently 
not gregarious, but wanders in pairs or family parties through 
the forest districts. The egg has been described by Mr. 
Kuschel as greyish green, with small greyish violet and ashy 
brown spots and freckles inclining to form a zone at the thick 
end, and measures 0°85 x 0-6, 


HETERHYPHANTES MELANOXANTHUS 383 


Heterhyphantes melanoxanthus. 


Hyphanturgus melanoxanthus, Cab. J. f. O. 1878, pp. 205, 232 
Mombasa. 

Heterhyphantes melanoxanthus, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 416 (1890) ; 
Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 514 (1896); Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 128 
(1899) egg. 

Ploceus melanoxanthus, Reichen. Vog. iii. p. 43 (1904). 

Adult male. Forehead and crown orange shaded yellow ; back of head, 
hinder half of neck, back and upper tail-coverts glossy jet black; wings 
and tail uniform, slightly browner black; inner edges of the quills ashy ; 
under wing-coverts buff, mottled with dusky black towards the primaries, 
and with the bend of the wing bright yellow; a band from the upper 
mandible through the eye, and the throat, black; remainder of the plumage 
golden yellow, of an orange shade on the sides of the head and crop, and 
mottled with black on the flanks and thighs. ‘Iris crimson; bill black ; 
legs pinky flesh-colour.’’ Total length 5°5 inches, culmen 0 65, wing 2 8, 
tail 2:0, tarsus 0°85. g, 12. 11. 85, Manda Isl. (Jackson). 

Adult female. Differs in the forehead and crown being black like the 
entire upper parts and sides of the upper half of the head, with the 
exception of a complete broad yellow eyebrow; lower half of the head 
and the entire under parts golden yellow. Wing 27. ¢?, Manda Isl. 
(Jackson). 


Cabanis’s Black-and-yellow Weaver ranges in Eastern 
Africa from the Equator to 7° 8. lat., eastward of 29° E. long. 

The species has been obtained from as far west as Msukali 
in the Ukonju country, to the north of Albert Edward Nyanza, 
by Emin, who also obtained specimens from the western shores 
of Victoria Nyanza, at Bussisi on the southern end of that 
lake, and in the Ugogo district at Tubugwe and Mpapwa, 
where he procured five specimens, so that these Weavers are 
probably abundant there, although they have not been re- 
corded from further south. 

The species was discovered by Hildebrandt at Mombasa, 
where it has also been obtained by Fischer, whose collections 
further contained specimens from Arusha, Kipini, Kagehi and 
the Wapokomo country. At Kipini, on July 17, Fischer 
found a colony of ten nests, suspended from the extremities 


384 HETERHYPHANTES MALENSIS 


of boughs, some nine feet off the ground; they had long 
entrance passages hanging down. The eggs have been 
described as of a cream-colour or yellowish white, with under- 
lying marks of greyish violet overlaid with clear reddish or 
chocolate brown freckles, interspersed with blackish brown 
dots, most numerous towards the thick end, and measuring, 
on an average, 0°84 x 0°55, 

Specimens have been collected by Sir John Kirk at Melinda 
and Lamu, by Mr. Jackson on Manda Island, and by 
Erlanger at Kismaju near the mouth of the Juba River. 
Further north, in the Lake Baringo district, the species is 
probably replaced by an extremely nearly allied form, H. 
malensis, differing only in the black eye-streak in the male not 
extending forward in front of the eye.' 


Heterhyphantes malensis. 


Ploceus melanoxanthus malensis, Neumann, Orn. Monatsb. 1904, p. 162 
Stefanie L., Rudolf L. 


? Heterhophantes melanoxanthus (Non. Cab.), Sharpe, P. Z. S. 1901, 
p. 619 Omo fF. 


Similar to H. melanovanthus, from which it differs only in the black 
eye-stripe in the full plumaged male not extending forward in front of the 
eye. 


The Malo Black-and-yellow Weaver inhabits Western 
Gallaland. 

The types, a male and female, were discovered early in 1901 
by Mr. Oscar Neumann at the Barassa River in Maloland, and 
the species is apparently known only from the country adjoining 
the Lakes Rudolf and Stefanie. To this form should belong 
a hen bird obtained by Dr. Donaldson Smith at the Omo 
River, and now in the British Museum, but as the females are 
not distinguishable from those of H. melanoranthus, the value 
of the one specific character of this form is based on a single 


HYPHANTURGUS OCULARIUS 385 


specimen, which may possibly be only a variety of ZH. 
melanovanthus and not even a local subspecies. 


Genus XVI. HYPHANTURGUS. 


Similar in general characters to the last five genera, from which its 
members may be most readily distinguished by the pale edges to the 
feathers of the wings and tail. It is characterised by the bill being slender 
and somewhat elongated ; sexes alike in plumage excepting in the throat 
being black in the males only; back, closed wing and tail uniform olive 
green. 

Type. 

Hyphanturgus, Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 182 (1851). . . . H. ocularius. 

The genus is confined to Tropical and South Africa, and comprises 
three species. 

These birds are not gregarious and do not breed in colonies. The nest 
is oval and slight, suspended from grass-stalks or leaves, and is constructed 
of grass or fibres, thinly lined with hair and vegetable down. They lay two 
or three whitish eggs spotted with red. 


KEY TO THE SPECIES. 


a. Billblack . . . org: Adults. 
at. Sides of head yellow, san a ‘leek Rend through 
the eye; males with the throat black; females 
with the throat yellow. 
a?. Bill slightly longer with a sharper end; crown 


pale yellow, shading into olive on the nape. . ocularius. 
b2. Bill slightly shorter and less sharply a 
a Entire crown tawny yellow . . , brachypterus, 3 . 
. Entire crown olive . ... brachypterus, 3 . 
61. aes head black ; throat black in eo males a 
chestnut with the chi only black in females . . alienus. 
b. Bill paler and brown; crownolive ...... immature. 


Hyphanturgus ocularius. 


Ploceus ocularius, Smith, Proc. S. Afr. Inst. 1828, Nov.; id. Ill. Zool 
S. Afr. Aves, pl. 30, fig. 2 (1839); Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 45 (1904). 

Hyphanturgus ocularius, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 520 (1896). 

Sitagra ocularia, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 427 (1890); Nehrkorn, Kat 
Hiers. p. 129 (1899) egg ; Shortridge, Ibis, 1904, p. 176 Pondoland. 


(March, 1904. 25 


HYPHANTURGUS OCULARIUS 


Sy) 
io <) 
a 


Ploceus gutturalis, Vig. P. Z. 8. 1831, p. 92 Algoa Bay. 

Hyphantornis crocata, Hartl. Abhandl. nat. Ver. Brem. 1881, p. 100 
Magungo. 

Ploceus ocularius crocatus, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 46 (1904). 

Hyphantornis aurantius (non Vieill.), Bohm, J. f. O. 1885, p. 70 
Msima R. 

Hyphantornis brachypterus (non Swains.), Sharpe and Bouvier, Bull. 
Soe. Zool. France, 1876, p. 309 Landana (pt. ¢ ). 

Sitagra subpersonatus (non Cab.), Grant, Ibis, 1901, p. 621 S. Abyssinia. 

Male in full plumage. Forehead and crown deep golden yellow, passing 
into uniform yellowish olive on the nape, hind neck, back, tail and edges 
of the wing-feathers ; remainder of the wing blackish brown, with the 
inner margins of the quills ashy buff and the under-coverts pale yellow; a 
band from the upper mandible through the eye and another broader one 
down the centre of the throat black; remainder of the plumage golden 
yellow, with a slight chestnut shade on the sides of the head and towards 
the black throat, and an olive shade on the flanks. ‘Iris light golden 
brown ; bill black ; feet slaty grey.’’ Total length 6-2 inches, culmen 0:75, 
wing 3-0, tail 2-4, tarsus 0-9. g, Pinetown (T. S. Ayres). 

Adult female. Similar in colouring to the male, with the exception of 
the chin and throat, which are of the same deep yellow as the cheeks. 
‘Tris pale yellow; bill black ; legs grey.” Wing 2°75. ¢, 5.2.75, Pine- 
town (T. S. Ayres). 

Immature. Similar to the female; but differing in the bill being flesh- 
colour; the olive shade of the upper parts extending forward nearly to the 
forehead and the black eye-stripe less strongly marked. Wing 2-4. Pine- 
town (T. L. Ayres). 


Smith’s Spectacled-Weaver ranges from Loango to the 
Cunene River, and over Eastern Africa generally from Eastern, 
Cape Colony into the Upper White Nile district and South 
Abyssinia. 

The more northern specimens have been separated by 
Hartlaub under the name of Hyphantornis crocata, as being 
slightly smaller and having a shorter bill than the typical 
H. oculavius, but these characters are so extremely shght that 
I cannot draw the line between their geographical range, but 
shall begin with the birds from the Zambesi southward. 

The species has not been found in German South-west Africa 
nor in Western Cape Colony, but towards its eastern border 


HYPHANTURGUS OCULARIUS 387 


the type of the species was discovered by Sir Andrew Smith, 
and Mr. Henry Ellis obtained the type of Ploceus qutturalis 
during an excursion inland from Algoa Bay. Specimens have 
been collected by Atmore at Grahamstown and Eland Post, 
and the Messrs. Woodward procured a fine series at Hschow, 
in Zululand. In the British Museum there are specimens from 
Durban, Pinetown, Maritzburg, Macamac, Swaziland, Mozam- 
bique and the Zambesi. 

Stark writes: “In the forest districts of the Hastern 
Colony this beautiful Weaver-bird is a not uncommon resident. 
Tn Natal and Zululand it is numerous, but is almost invariably 
in single pairs, and is somewhat shy in its habits. Most fre- 
quently it is met with in the more open ‘ Bush’ or on the 
wooded banks of streams ; occasionally it frequents shrubberies 
and gardens. It feeds to a limited extent on seeds and small 
berries, especially those of the wild date palm, but the bulk 
of its food consists of insects, particularly of wood-bugs and 
small beetles that frequent the bark and leaves of trees. 
Sometimes this bird may be seen scraping atong the fallen 
leaves under a bush in its search for insects. The alarm note 
is harsh and several times repeated, the ordinary call a rather 
rapid chattering cry. Of all the South African Weaver-birds 
this species constructs the most beautiful and highly finished 
nest. Shaped like a retort, with the entrance from below 
through a long narrow neck, it is suspended from the extre- 
mity of a drooping branch, usually, but not invariably, over 
water. It is closely and strongly woven with fine pliable 
fibres, generally strips from leaves of the wild date, and 
although it resembles nests of Sycobrotus bicolor in shape, it 
is readily distinguishable by its smaller size and much neater 
and more artistic finish. Occasionally a second and even a 
third entrance neck is added; this is usually about ten inches 
long, but a nest in the Albany Museum at Grahamstown has 


828 HYPHANTURGUS OCULARIUS 


a neck upwards of eight feet long. Another nest of this species 
in the same collection is entirely woven from black horse-hair, 
and is a most finished specimen of bird architecture. These 
Weavers devote several months to the construction of their 
nests, and frequently abandon a partly constructed one to 
commence another close by. Sometimes a new nest will be 
suspended from the old one of the preceding year. Asa rule 
Smith’s Weaver-bird builds a solitary nest, occasionally (wot) 
pairs will build on the same tree, and on one occasion I found 
a pair of these birds nesting in the midst of a colony of the 
Spotted Weaver-bird. 

“The egos are two or three in number, white, rather 
closely spotted with pale red. They measure 0°72 x 0°54.” 

I do not find the species recorded from the country 
between the Limpopo and Zambesi Rivers. From the latter 
locality Capt. Boyd Alexander writes: ‘* Not common. 
Observed singly or in pairs. It commences to build about 
the middle of November, and the vicinity of water is always 
chosen. Attempts at concealing the nest are sometimes made 
by interweaving fragments of the surrounding leaf into the 
network of fibre.” 

In Western Africa the species has been procured by 
Anchieta at Humbe, Capangombe, Quissange and Pungo- 
Andongo, and according to his notes it is known to the natives 
of Benguela as the “ Janja.”’ It has been obtained by Mechow 
at Malange in Angola and by Falkenstein and Petit in Loango. 
Bohndorff met with it at Kasongo on the Tanganyika side of 
the Congo. 

In Nyasaland it is apparently plentiful, having been pro- 
cured by Mr. Whyte at Zomba, Mlosa and Tshiromo, by 
Gen. Manning in Angoniland, and by Mr. J. McClounie at 
Kikomba, Liwonde and Likangula, who records its native 
name as being “ Lichete.”’ 


HYPHANTURGUS BRACHYPTERUS 389 


Bohm met with the species at the Msima River. Fischer 
collected specimens in Usegua, along the Pangani at Kagehi, 
Kipini, Mombasa Naiwasha, in Wapokomoland, and several 
intervening places. They were single or in pairs. A nest ho 
found at Tshara, August 20, was hung about five feet above the 
ground from the end of a leaf of a young cocoanut palm and 
contained two naked nestlings, and the mother allowed herself 
to be caught in the nest. Some of the eggs he took on the 
coast of Formosa Bay are described as bluish white with small 
grey spots towards the thick end, and measured 0°78 to 0:84 
x 0°56. 

Dr. Stuhlmann, who collected specimens at Lewa in Usam- 
bara and at Karogwe on the Rufu River, mentions its native 
names as “ Korombisa”’ and ‘‘ Nguja.” On Kilimanjaro, Sir 
Harry Johnston procured two specimens at elevations of 
3,200 and 6,000 feet. 

On the western side of Victoria Nyanza and in the Upper 
White Nile district the species has been procured by Emin at 
Bukoba, in the Mombuttu country, at Langomeri, and at 
Magungo the type of Hyphantornis ecrocata. In Toru Dr. 
Ansorge has obtained the species, and Mr. Jackson one at 
Butiaba, during the expedition to Ruwenzori. 

According to M. Oustalet it has been found in Somaliland, 
and the specimens shot by Mr. Haywood at Owaramulka in 
South Abyssinia are in winter plumage, but appear to me to 
belong to this species and not to Sitagra subpersonata. Accord- 
ing to Mr. Pease: “ They spent most of their time running 
about the branches and probably feeding on insects.” 


Hyphanturgus brachypterus. 


Ploceus brachypterus, Swains. B. W. Afr. i. p. 168, pl. 10 (1837) 
Senegal. 

Hyphanturgus brachypterus, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 521 (1896). 

Sitagra brachyptera, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 429 (1890); Nehrkorn, 
Kat. Hiers. p. 129 (1899) egg. 


390 HYPHANTURGUS BRACHYPTERUS 


Ploceus ocularius brachypterus, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 47 (1904). 

Ploceus flavigula, Hartl. Rev. Zool. 1845, p. 406 Accra. 

? Ploceus melanops (Non. Des Murs), Hartl. Abhandl. nat. Ver. Hamb. 

ii. p. 46 (1850) Sierra Leone. 

Adult male. Similar to that of S. ocwlariws, from which it differs in the 
yellow of the head extending on to the nape and being slightly more shaded 
with chestnut; the bill is also rather shorter and stouter. Iris yellowish 
brown; bill black; feet slaty grey. Total length 5-6 inches, culmen 0-7, 
wing 3:0, tail 2-2, tarsus 0:9. og, 24.2.72, Abouri (Shelley). 

Adult female. Differs in the olive of the upper parts extending forward 
to the forehead and in the throat being light yellow of a paler shade than 
the cheeks and crop. ‘ Iris pale stone-colour ; bill black; legs light bluish 
grey.” Wing 29. 2, Shonga (orbes). 


Swainson’s Spectacled-Weaver ranges over West Africa 
from Senegambia into Gaboon. 

The species is apparently fairly abundant and evenly 
distributed throughout its range, with perhaps the exception 
of Gaboon. In its habits it closely resembles H. ocularius. 
The nest, according to Dr. Reichenow, is suspended at a short 
distance from the ground to a twig or the leaf of a young 
palm; is oval, with a long entrance passage hanging down of 
some 7°5 inches long, and the body of the nest measured 4°75 
x 325. ‘lhe eggs were two in number, of a pale buish green 
or whitish ground with clear reddish brown spots, and measured 
0-8 x 0°55. Dr, Biittikofer found a nest on November 14, in 
Liberia, containing two eggs of a dirty white, sprinkled all 
over, especially at the thicker end, with reddish brown. ‘Ihe 
nest was most solidly and artistically constructed of long 
elastic fibres and was hung at a height of some eight feet from 
the ground. 

The type of the species was received by Swainson from 
Senegal. Specimens have been procured by Marche and De 
Compiégne at M’bao, by Dr. Rendall at the Gambia, by 
Verreaux at Casamanse, by Fea on Bulama Island, by Dr. 
Hartert on Los Island and by Sabine at Sierra Leone. From 


HYPHANTURGUS BRACHYPTERUS 391 


this latter locality came the type of Ploceus melanops, Hartl., 
which apparently differed from the ordinary female of this 
species in having the two centre tail-feathers black, a very 
abnormal colouring of the tail for any of the Weaver-birds ; 
possibly it was afterwards found that these black centre tail- 
feathers did not truly belong to the specimen, and that may 
account for the type having disappeared. However, this is of 
no great consequence, as the name Ploceus melanops had 
previously been employed by Des Murs in Lefebvre’s ‘* Voyage 
en Abyssinie,” p. 110, to take the place of P. melanotis (non 
Lafr.), Guérin. 

Demery collected a large series of specimens along the 
Sulymah River, and close to Sierra Leone Mr. Kemp found 
the species common at Rotifunk and Bo, and writes: ‘‘ They 
were much lighter sleepers than Spermestes cucullatus and 
S. fringilloides, who roosted in an adjoining tree, and when 
aroused at night the flutter of their wings against the leaves 
made a noise like a waterfall. A palm-tree in the station-yard 
bore considerably more than a hundred of their nests and was 
the scene of great excitement in the mornings and evenings. 
During and after the rains these Weavers assemble sometimes 
in quite large flocks and fly together after the manner of 
Starlings, turning and twisting in the air, changing from 
yellow to green as their breasts or backs became most exposed 
to view.” In Liberia it has been obtained by Dr. Biittikofer 
at Robertsport and Oldfield; on the Gold Coast, Mr. Boyd 
Alexander, who met with the species at Cape Coast, Pralsu, 
Gambaga and Pong, writes: ‘‘ This is a common species in 
the wooded portion of the Colony, but not in the hinterland, 
In the immature bird the upper mandible is pale brown, the 
lower one light horn-colour.”’ Buckley and I frequently met 
with the species in pairs on Connor’s Hill, close to Cape 
Coast, also at Abouri in the Aguapim Mountains and along 


the Accra coast. 


392 HYPHANTURGUS ALIENUS 


A hen bird, the type of Ploceus flavigula, was obtained at 
the latter place, and specimens have been also collected by 
Sintensis at Chama, by Blissett at Bula Road in Wassa, and 
at the Volta River by Ussher. In Togoland the species has 
been obtained by Dr. Biittner at Bismarckburg and by Mr. 
Baumann at Kussuntu and Agome Tongwe. In the British 
Museum there are specimens from Abeokuta, Shonga, 
Fernando Po, Camaroons, and one of Emin’s from Kibiro on 
the west coast of the Albert Nyanza, which is the most eastern 
range known for the species. It is apparently abundant 
throughout Camaroons and on the Island of Fernando Po. 
In Gaboon, Du Chaillu collected specimens at Cape Lopez, 
Rembo and at the Ogowé River, in which district it has been 
procured by Marche at Doumé, and the species has not been 
recorded from further south. 


Hyphanturgus alienus. (PI. 39, fig. 2.) 


Sitagra aliena, Sharpe, Bull. B. O. C. xiii. p. 21 (1902) Ruwenzorz. 
Ploceus alienus, Reichen. Vog. Afr. ii. p. 68 (1904). 


Type, adult male. Hnutire head and the throat black; back and sides 
of neck, back, wing and tail olive yellow; inner webs of quills blackish 
brown, with their margins brownish buff; under wing-coverts dull yellow, 
with a dusky patch near the primaries; a fairly broad chestnut margin 
separating the black of the middle and lower throat from the deep yellow of 
front half of the neck and middle breast; flanks and thighs olive yellow; 
under tail-coverts rufous shaded yellow. Bill black; feet pale brown. Total 
length 5:8 inches, culmen 0°75, wing 2°8, tail 2-2, tarsus 0:8. g, 18. 2. 02, 
Ruwenzori (Jackson). 

Adult female (?) Differing from the type in the throat being deep chestnut, 
with a large black chin-patch. Wing 2°6. 10. 2. 02, Ruwenzori. 

Immature. Differing from the type in the top and sides of the head 
being olive like the back, but mottled with a few black feathers; under 
parts rather paler olive, washed and slightly mottled with rufous and a few 
black feathers on the chin; a central patch on the breast pale yellow. 
Lill brown, with the under mandible whitish. 92, 13. 2. 02, Ruwenzori. 


SITAGRA 393 


The Alien Weaver is a native of the Ruwenzori 
Mountains. 

The species was discovered in the Ruwenzori Mountains, 
where four specimens were collected in February, 1902, 
comprising, what I look upon as adults of both sexes, and an 
immature female with a few of the black feathers showing on 
the head and chin and a trace of an approaching chestnut 
throat. The adults are all marked “male,” but they were not 
sexed by Mr. F. J. Jackson, and I feel confident that one of 
them is in the full breeding female plumage, for these speci- 
mens show that, like the other members of this genus, the 
adult males only have the black throat, and in the structure as 
well as in the peculiar uniform olive colouring of the back, 
wings and tail, the present species closely resembles H. 
ocularius. 


Genus XVII. SITAGRA, 


Most nearly allied to Hyphantornis in both structure and colouring, 
especially evident on comparing the type, S. lwteola, with Hyphantornis 
intermedius ; but the bill is always more slender. 

Type. 

Sitagra, Reichenb. Ay. Syst. pl. 79 (1850) . . . . . . S&S. luteola. 

Icteropsis, Pelz. Verh. z.-b. Ges. Wien. xxxi. p. 149 (1881) S. pelzelni. 

The genus is confined to Tropical and South Africa and comprises four 
species, which are very similar in their habits to Hyphanturgus. 


KEY TO THE SPECIES. 


a. Bill long ; only the hinder third of crown eae 


at, Larger; w ing 2 PR ee tne ee . 2 ©. . subpersonata. 
61. Smaller; wing24. . . . . . » pelzelni. 
6. Bill shorter; quite half of hinder crown yellow ; wing 
2°25. 
ct, Bill more slender ; plumage brighter and darker. . . personata. 


d', Billstouter; plumage paler . . ..... =. ~~ Juteola. 


394 SITAGRA SUBPERSONATA 
Sitagra subpersonata. 


Hyphantornis subpersonata, Cab. J. f. O. 1876, p. 92 Chinchonzo. 

Sitagra subpersonata, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 427 (1890 pt., 3). 

Ploceus subpersonatus, Reichen. Zool. Jahrb. 1886, pl. 5, fig. 4; id. Vog. 

Afr. iii. p. 74 (1904). 

Hyphanturgus subpersonatus, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 523 (1896). 

Adult male. Forehead, most of the crown, sides of head and the throat 
jet black; hinder portion of head, sides of neck, breast, thighs and under 
tail-coverts chestnut shaded yellow; back olive, with a rufous yellow shade 
towards the tail-coverts ; wings and tail brownish black, with olive edges to 
the feathers. Bill black. Total length 5°6 inches, culmen 0°7, wing 2:7, 
tail 1-9, tarsus 0°8. g, 2. 83, Landana (Petit). 


The Loango Slender-billed Weaver inhabits the Loango 
coast. 

The type was discovered by Falkenstein at Chinchonxo. 
In the British Museum the species is represented by a single 
specimen, an adult male obtained by Petit at Landana. 

The other females and immature specimens which have 
been referred to this species from Landana, and from Owara- 
mulka in Southern Abyssinia, I refer to Hyphanturgus ocularius, 
and as a female specimen obtained by Dr. Preuss agrees with 
Dr. Sharpe’s description, taken from the Landana specimens, 
I do not feel justified in extending the known range of S. sub- 
personatus beyond the boundary of the Loango Coast. 


Sitagra pelzelni. 


Sitagra pelzelni, Hartl. Zool. Jahrb. 1887, p. 343, pl. 14, figs. 9, 10 
Magungo; Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 526 (1896). 

Icteropsis pelzelni, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 410, fig. head (1890). 

Ploceus pelzelni, Reichen. Vog. Afr. ili. p. 75 (1904). 

Male in full plumage. Forehead, more than half of the crown, sides 
of head and the throat jet black, remainder of the head and neck bright 
canary yellow like the entire breast, thighs and under tail-coverts ; back 
of neck, back, upper tail-coverts and tail yellowish olive; wings blackish 
brown, with the edges to the feathers olive yellow, inclining to yellowish 
buff at the ends of the median coverts and the edges of the greater coveits 


SITAGRA MONACHA 395 


and inner secondaries; inner margins of the quills and under wing-coverts 
buff, the latter washed with yellow, especially along the bend of the wing. 
“Tris brown; bill black; feet leaden grey.” Total length 5 inches, 
culmen 0°65, wing 2:4, tail 1-7, tarsus 08. g, 10. 8. 85, Wadelai (Emin). 

Adult female. Differs from the last only in having the forehead, front 
of crown, sides of head and the throat yellow of the same shade as the 
breast ; hinder crown olive yellow like the back of the neck and mantle, 
Total length 5:1 inches, culmen 0:6, wing 2:2, tail 1:7, tarsus 0°75. 2, 
10. 8. 85, Wadelai (Emin). 

Immature. Similar to the adult female, but differing in the bill being 
pale and the olive yellow of the upper parts extending forward to the 
forehead. , 


Pelzeln’s Slender-billed Weaver inhabits the Equatorial 
lake district. 

No mention has yet been made regarding its habits, which 
probably resemble those of S. lJuteola, and it is apparently 
partial to the neighbourhood of water, as it ranges round the 
southern and western shores of Victoria Nyanza from Kageyi 
on Speke’s Gulf, where it has been obtained by Fischer, to 
Ntebbe; at the latter place Mr. Jackson collected four speci- 
mens and obtained others at Toro, and on Kama Island, where 
it had previously been met with by Mr. Neumann. ‘The species 
has been procured as far west as the Albert Edward Nyanza 
by Dr. Ansorge, during his halt at Fort George; Emin dis- 
covered the types at Magungo, where the Nile flows out of 
the Albert Nyanza, and he has also collected a fine series 
of specimens at Wadelai, which is the most northern range 
known to me for the species. 


Sitagra monacha. 


Sitagra monacha, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 426 (1890); Shelley, B. 
Afr. I. No. 525 (1896); Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 129 (1899) egg ; 
Hartert, Nov. Zool. 1901, p. 344 Neger. 

Ploceus monachus, Reichen. Vog. Afr. ili. p. 75 (1904). 

Ploceus personatus (non Vieill.), Jard. Contr. Orn. 1849, p. 30, pl. 7. 


396 SITAGRA MONACHA 


Male in full plumage. Similar to S. luteola, from which it differs only 
in the colours being slightly darker and brighter and the black extending 
a little further over the crown. Iris brown; bill black; feet greyish brown. 
Total length 4:5 inches, culmen 0°55, wing 2°25, tail 1:6, tarsus 07. ¢, 
14. 2. 72, Cape Coast (T. E. Buckley). 

Adult female. Differs in having the forehead, front of crown, sides of 
head and the throat golden yellow like the breast, thighs and under tail- 
coverts ; hinder crown and back of the neck uniform olive yellow like the 
entire back. Wing 2-15. ?, 2. 2.72, Cape Coast (Shelley). 

Young. Similar to the female, but slightly duller, and the abdomen 
paler ; bill, with the upper mandible pale horn and the under one white. 
(Sjostedt.) 


The Palm Slender-billed Weaver ranges from the Gold 
Coast to the Congo, 

‘The name of this species was, I believe, entered by accident 
in Dr. P. Rendall’s list of Gambian birds, and it has not other- 
wise been recorded from further north than the Gold Coast. 

In the British Museum it is represented from Ashantee, 
Fantee, Volta River, Niger, Gaboon and Landana. 

When I was on the Gold Coast I found the species well 
known there as the Palm-birds, and the nests, I believe, of this 
species were suspended from beneath the leaves of the cocoa- 
nut palms, as many as four or five hanging from one frond. 
These nests were oval with a short entrance passage and were 
slenderly but strongly built, apparently of shreds of the palm- 
leaves, and were of a pale brownish buff, so they may have 
been built the previous year. We found the males in February 
and March in full plumage, but never saw them in the act 
of building. Ussher during his expedition up the Volta River 
found them tolerably common in small flocks. Yet the species 
is not included in Mr. Boyd Alexander's collection from the 
Gold Coast, nor is it mentioned in any of the collections from 
Togoland. 

Jardine received the species from Old Calabar, Marche met 
with it at Bonny, Dr. Ansorge in this district, and Forbes 


SITAGRA LUTEOLA 397 


procured specimens at Egga. In Camaroons Dr. Reichenow 
found these Weavers plentiful at Wuri along the river-bank, 
suspending their nests from twigs or grass-stalks over- 
hanging the water, and Mr. Sjéstedt found them also in 
abundance at Bibundi, avoiding the thick bush, and he took 
a nest in August containing two pure white eggs. The eggs 
measure 0°7 x 0°52. 

The species has been procured by Du Chaillu at the Camma 
River, by Falkenstein at Chinchonxo, by Petit at Landana, and 
by Bohndorff at Manyanga and Stanley Falls of the Congo 
River, and I cannot trace its range any further south or east. 


Sitagra luteola. 


Fringilla luteola, Licht. Verz. Doubl. p. 23 (1823) Senegambia. 
Sitagra luteola, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 425 (1890) ; Shelley, B. Afr. T. 
No. 524 (1896); Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 128 (1899) egg. 

Ploceus luteolus, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. 76 (1904). 

Ploceus personatus, Vieill. Gal. Ois. i. p. 117, pl. 84 (1834) Senegal. 

Fringilla (Acanthus) chrysomelas, Heugl. Syst. Uebers, p. 41 (1856, nom. 

nud.) Kordofan, Sennar. 

Ploceus minutus, Von. Mill. Naum. 1851, pt. 4, p. 28 S. Nubia. 

Fringilla milleri, Bald. /. c. p. 28. 

Male in full plumage. Forehead, about half of the crown, sides of head 
and the throat black; remainder of the head and neck bright canary 
yellow, like the entire breast, thighs and under tail-coverts; back of neck, 
back, upper tail-coverts and tail yellowish olive; wings blackish brown, 
with the edges of the feathers olive yellow, inclining to yellowish buff at the 
ends of the median coverts, edges of the greater coverts and inner 
secondaries ; inner margins of the quills and the under wing-coverts buff, 
the latter washed with yellow, especially along the bend of the wing. ‘“‘Ivis 
burnt sienna; bill black; legs horn-colour”’ (Blanford). Total length 4:7 
inches, culmen 0:5, wing 2°5, tail 1:6. tarsus 0-7. g, 23. 5. 84, Kiri 
(Emin). 

Adult female. Differs in having no black on the plumage; upper parts 
mostly ashy brown, washed with yellow on the forehead, crown, back of 
neck, rump and upper tail-coverts, and mottled with dark centres to the 
feathers of the mantle ; eyebrows, sides of head and the throat pale yellow ; 
breast white, mottled with yellow; under tail-coverts pale yellow. Bill 
blackish. @, 8. 5. 84, Redjaf (Emin). 


898 SITAGRA LUTEOLA 


Lichtenstein’s Slender-billed Weaver ranges from Sene- 
gambia to the Red Sea and southward into Kavirondo. 

The type came from Senegambia. The species formed 
part of Bulger’s collection from Bulama Island; Marche and 
De Compitgne obtained it at Bathurst, where Dr. P. Rendall 
considered it to be rare, while Mr. J. L. Budgett found it to be 
abundant at Nianimaru, and this is all that is known to me 
regarding its occurrence in West Africa. 

The species has a much wider range on the eastern side of 
the continent and has been met with as far south as Kwa 
Kitoto, in Kavirondo, by Mr. Oscar Neumann. Mr. Jackson 
found these Weavers breeding in August at Elgeyu; he also 
met with them at Njemps and the neighbouring valley of 
Guasa Molo in September, and remarks: ‘* Nest with a long 
pipe to the entrance.” 

Tn the British Museum there are specimens from Larabat 
and Lake Boringo (Delamere), Omo River (Donaldson Smith), 
Uganda (MacCarthy Morrogh), Lado, Keri and Redjaf (Emin), 
Zeraf River (Dunn), Kaka, Fashoda and Goz-abu-Gumar 
(Hawker), Kordofan (Murray), Anseba River (Blanford), 
Bejook and Gonfalon (Jesse). 

Mr. Jesse found these Weavers breeding early in August. 
‘he nest was oval with a long tubular entrance, and contained 
two white eggs. According to Heuglin they assume their 
bright plumage in May, commence breeding about the middle 
of July, and the young are able to fly in October and November. 
They live mostly in pairs, usually frequenting the water-courses 
in wooded districts, avoiding the more desert parts. The 
nest 1s small, of an elongated oval form, lightly constructed of 
shreds of leaves or bark, with a little hair or cotton for a 
lining, and is suspended from the twigs, generally of an 
acacia-tree, at some twenty feet from the ground. ‘The 
eggs, two or three in number, are pure white, measuring 
0°68 x 0°48. 


HY PHANTORNIS 399 


Genus XVIII. HYPHANTORNIS. 


Very similar to the last seven genera I have recognised, with a few 
hair-like plumes on the nape and back of neck; bill fairly stout; culmen 
broad, rounded, moderately curved, the base ending in a shallow angle on the 
forehead ; nostrils opening in front of the frontal feathers ; cutting edges of 
mandibles slightly waved ; wings rounded ; primaries 1 more than a third of 
the length of 2 and reaching beyond the end of the coverts, 3, 4, and 5 
longest and about equal. Tarsi, feet and claws fairly strong, pale brown or 
flesh-colour; hind toe with claw equal in length to middle toe with claw: 
claws sharp and much curved. Plumage of the sexes alike in colouring of 
the wings and tail, which have pale edges to all the feathers ; but the other 
parts, especially the head and neck, are very dissimilar during the breeding 
season, when only the males have the sides of the head and a portion of 
the throat black. 


Type. 
Hyphantornis, Gray, Gen. B. ii. p. 351 (1849). . . . 4H. ees 
Hypermegethes, Reichen. J. f. 0. 1903, p.149. . . . H. grandis. 
KEY TO FULL PLUMAGED MALES. 
a. Throat with the black extending to the crop. 
a’, Head not entirely black, nor the mantle yellow 
with a broad black scapular band on each side. 
a2, Mantle almost uniform yellowish olive. 
a’, Forehead black. 
a‘. Black frontal patch extending back beyond 
the eyes. 
a>. Nape and crop more shaded with rufous . intermedius. 
b>. Nape and crop clearer yellow. . . . . cabanist. 


b+. Less black on the crown. 
c®. Black frontal patch extending back to the 
middle of the eyes. 
a®, Upper parts more sulphur-shaded olive ; 
rump clear sulphur yellow ; mantle with 
narrow dark stripes; wing 30. . . velatus. 
b&, Upper parts duller olive ; rump partly 
washed with olive; mantle more 
strongly striped; wing 31to34. . . mariquensis. 
d®, Black forehead not extending back be- 
yond base of culmen. 
c®, Har-coverts entirely black . . . . tahatali. 
d®, Hinder half of ear-coverts rufous aad 
yellow. 1. . . «© wu « s « « « teniopterus. 


400 HYPHANTORNIS 


b3. Entire forehead and crown golden yellow 
b2. Mantle less uniform; forehead and crown yellow. 
c3, Mantle-feathers olive yellow, with black angular 

Centiresy. rue. 

d’. Mantle-feathers black, ath broad pli paves 

b1. Head entirely black, or the mantle yellow with a 
broad black scapular-band on each side. 
c2. Mantle strongly mottled with yellow and black. 
e®, Mantle evenly mottled, the feathers jet black, 
with broad yellow ends. 
c+. Black of head and throat surrounded by clear 
yellow. . 
d+. Black of head and ‘throat surrounded iy 
chestnut. . 
fee Mantlebright yellow witha broad black poeple 
band on each side. 
e+. Entire head and throat black, margined with 
a broad band of deep chestnut 
f+. Black of crown separated from the hinder 
half of the black ear-coverts by the colour of 
the nape. 

e>. Black of head extending further back on 
the crown, and entirely surrounded by one 
shade of rufous. 

J°. Black of head not extending so ty fee on 
the crown and margined on sides of neck by 
a patch of clear yellow 

d*, Mantle uniform. 

g*. Larger; wing more than 4 inches; culmen 1:1; 
a chestnut collar separating the black head 
from the olive back and yellow breast. 

h8, Smaller; wing not more than 3:5. 

g*. Mantle black or brown. 

g°®. Mantle black; edges of wing-feathers and 
centre of the breast yellow . 

h®. Mantle brown. 

e®. No yellow on plumage; back and chest 
uniform cinnamon . : 
f®. Some yellow on plumage ; back and chest 
chestnut, with base of feathers yellow . 
h*. Mantle yellow or olive. 

75, The bright yellow mantle extends to the 
black of the hind neck and head; under 
parts mostly chestnut, with which the yel- 
low thighs strongly contrast : 


heuglini. %)% 


speket. */% 


spilonotus. — 


mugriceps. “~«/ © 


yes 
(ite 


a 


collaris, “2. 


cucullatus. 2 2 


bohndor fii. 


abyssinicus. 


grandis. & 


weynst. 


rubiginosus. 


badius. 


jacksona. 


> 


HYPHANTORNIS INTERMEDIUS 401 


k>, A yellow collar separating the black head 
from the olive shaded mantle. 
g®. Breast partly shaded with chestnut. 
a’. Entire chest shaded with chestnut ; 


the yellow thighs not contrasting with 
rae 


their surroundings . . . . . dimidiatus. 
b7. Front and centre of cheats only 
shaded with chestnut , . . . . . capitalis. 
h®. Breast entirely yellow. . . . . . melanocephalus. ~ 


b. Throat with the black confined to the upper half, 
ct, Larger; wing more than 3 inches. 


e?, Entire headblack . . . . nyas@. 
f?. Forehead and crown orange yellow, x sa a Pplck 
crescent onthe nape .. . bertrandt. 


d+. Smaller; wing less than 3 maehese some Binck on 
forehead ; no pinch on crown or nape. 
g?. Mantle more uniform, not distinctly striped. 


73, Slightly less black on the forehead. . . . . vitellinus. ° 
k, Slightly more black on the forehead. 
z*. Crop and breast yellower . . . . . . . wluensis. 
k*, Crop and breast more rufous. . . . . . vreichardi. ‘ 
h?. Mantle distinctly striped . . . . . . . . . Ulineolatus. 


Hyphantornis intermedius. 


Ploceus intermedius, Riipp. Syst. Uebers, pp. 71, 76 (1845) Shoa; 
Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 72 (1904). 

Hyphantornis intermedius, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 460 (1890); 
Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 550 (1896). 

Hyphantornis erythrothalmus, Heugl. J. f. O. 1867, p. 386 Abyssinia. 

Hyphantornis cabanisi, Peters, J. f. O. 1868, p. 133 Inhambane ; Sousa, 
Journ. Lisb. 1886, p. 85 Ibo Isl. ; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 461 
(1890) ; Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 551 (1896) ; Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. 
p- 130 (1899) egg. 

Ploceus cabanisi, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 73 (1904). 

Ploceus liibberti, Reichen. Orn. Monatsh. 1902, p. 77 Damara. 

Male in breeding plumage. Entire front half of the head, ear-coverts 
and throat black; remainder of head, sides of neck and the under parts 
golden yellow, slightly shaded with chestnut on the nape and crop ; back 
and upper tail-coverts olive yellow, with indistinct dusky shaft-stripes to 
the feathers of the mantle; tail olive brown, with narrow yellow edges to 
the feathers; wings blackish brown, with pale yellowish edges to the 
feathers; inner edges of the quills brownish buff; under wing-coverts 


(March, 1905, 26 


402 HYPHANTORNIS INTERMEDIUS 


white, partly washed with yellow, and shading into bright yellow along 
the edge of the wing. ‘‘Iris yellow; bill black; legs slate-colour.” 
Total length 5 inches, culmen 0°6, wing 2:8, tail 1:8, tarsus 0°85. ¢, 
18. 3. 01, Daira Aila (Pease). 

Adult female. Differs in having no black on the head; forehead, crown 
and mantle ashy brown, slightly washed with yellow; eyebrows, sides of 
head, throat and crop whitish yellow ; remainder of the under parts white, 
mottled with pale yellow, and shaded with ash on the flanks and thighs. 
“Tris yellow; bill dusky; legs slate-colour.’”’ Wing 2°7. 9, 18. 3. Ol, 
Daira Aila (Pease). 


The Intermediate Masked-Weaver ranges southward from 
Southern Abyssinia, Shoa and Angola into Natal. 

This species is small and so very similar in colouring to 
Sitagra luteola that it really forms an intermediate link between 
the genera Sitagra and Hyphantornis. The species has been 
divided into H. intermedius, Riipp., as a northern form, and 
H. cabanisi, Peters, as its representative subspecies from south 
of the Equator, under the impression that the former has the 
hinder crown and the crop more shaded with chestnut than 
in specimens from south of the Equator, but even this slight 
character, which requires a stretch of imagination to appreciate, 
does not appear to me to be constant. 

like all the members of the genus Hyphantornis, they are 
gregarious throughout the year, breed in colonies and construct 
oval nests, which are suspended from reeds or boughs of trees. 
The eggs of this Weaver have been described by Mr. -Wood- 
ward and Fischer as uniform white; they measure 0°88 x 0°55, 

‘The species is represented in the British Museum by full 
plumaged males from Damaraland, Bamangwato, Matabele, 
Nyasaland, Pangani, Lamu, Daira Aila, and Shoa. The most 
northern range known for the species in West Africa is 
Loanda, where Toulson procured a specimen. It has been 
recorded from the Quanza River on the authority of Mr. 
Whiteley; Anchieta found it at Benguela and Quillengues 


HYPHANTORNIS INTERMEDIUS 403 


known to the natives as the ‘‘Janja.” Prof. Bocage remarks 
that in all these specimens, with the exception of one from 
Quillengues, the rufous shade on the back of the head, throat 
and breast is well marked. From Damaraland there are three 
of Andersson’s specimens in the British Museum, an adult 
male from Omaruru and the other two from the Swakop 
River. 

I cannot trace the range of this species into Namaqualand 
nor Cape Colony, and from Natal it is known to me by a 
female specimen obtained by Mr. T. L. Ayres at Durban. ‘This 
specimen is probably rightly determined, for in Zululand the 
Messrs. Woodward procured two adult males at Hschowe, 
where they were nesting in reeds in the middle of December. 
T. E. Buckley obtained four full plumaged males in Bamang- 
wato in October and one in the Matabele country, where it 
has also been met with by Frank Oates at the Tatti River. 
Mr. Boyd Alexander procured a full plumaged male at the 
Zambesi, and Mr. Whyte a similar specimen at Mpimbi, in 
February ; those collected by Sir Alfred Sharpe at Tshiromo, 
in September, and at Palombe, are in winter plumage, much 
resembling the females of this species and of H. tahatali. 
Along the Mozambique coast Peters obtained the type of 
H. cabanisi at Inhambane, and specimens have been procured 
by Serpa Pinto on Ibo Island, by Fischer at Pangani, Usam- 
bara country, Victoria Nyanza, and at Malinda, and by Sir 
John Kirk at Lamu. 

For those naturalists who prefer to recognise H. cabanist 
as a subspecies of H. intermedius, the following notes would 
refer to the latter. The occurrence of the species in Somali- 
land is known to me by Prince Ruspoli’s specimens and one 
procured by Mr. Pease at Hensa. In Southern Abyssinia 
specimens have been collected by Lord Lovat and Mr. Pease ; 
two of these are males in imperfect plumage, shot December 1 


404 HYPHANTORNIS VELATUS 


and January 18, at Hiiliil and the Kassim River ; the others, 
a pair in full plumage, March 18, at Daira Aila, where they 
were nesting in large trees near the wells in the low country. 
Besides these specimens there is in the British Museum the 
type, which was discovered by the late Sir W. C. Harris in 
Shoa. In this latter country Dr. Ragazzi procured a male in 
breeding plumage at Gherba, August 3; so the species appar- 
ently retains the nuptial dress for the six summer months. 
I do not find the species positively known from further north 
or west in North-east Africa, for the specimens procured by 
Heuglin of his H. erythrothalma were females or males in 
similar plumage, obtained by him at Galabat and Gedaref, and 
although he referred them afterwards to H. intermedius, they 
may belong to the commoner species of that country H. teniop- 
terus, for it is very doubtful if those two species can be dis- 
tinguished by their form or colour when they are in the 
winter or female plumage. 


Hyphantornis velatus. 


Ploceus velatus, Vieill. N. Dict. xxxiv. p. 132 (1819) Namaqua ; Reichen. 
Vog. Afr. ili. p. 78 (1904 pt.). 

Hyphantornis velatus, Bocage, J. f. O. 1876, p. 425 Humbe ; Sharpe, 
Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 464 (1890 pt.) Benguela; Shelley, B. Afr. I. 
No 549 (1896 pt.). 


Male in full plumage. Entire forehead, sides of head and the throat 
black, the black forehead extending back to the middle of the eyes; 
remainder of crown, sides of upper neck and the under parts pale bright 
yellow, very slightly shaded with chestnut on the crown and next to the 
end of the black throat; hind neck and back dull sulphur shaded olive, with 
the rump entirely bright sulphur yellow ; tail yellowish brown, with narrow 
yellow edges to the feathers; wings blackish brown, with pale yellow edges 
partly inclining to ashy buff; inner edges of the quills and the under wing- 
coverts buffy yellow. ‘Iris red; bill black ; feet pale brown.” Total length 
62 inches, culmen 0°65, wing 3:0, tail 2-1, tarsus 09. ¢g, 2.75, Humbe 
(Anchieta). 


HYPHANTORNIS MARIQUENSIS 405 


The Namaqua Masked-Weaver ranges over South-west 
Africa from Benguela into Cape Colony, and is replaced 
further east in South Africa by an extremely nearly allied 
form, H. mariquensis. 

The type of Ploceus velatus, Vieill., came from Namaqualand. 
In the British Museum there are two full plumaged males, 
collected by Anchieta at Humbe, which agree perfectly with 
one of Mr. Butler’s specimens from Cape Colony, probably 
from the western side; in all three the wings measure exactly 
3°0 inches and the black forehead is broad, reaching well 
beyond the base of the culmen, but they differ from other 
males from Cape Colony and Natal in being slightly smaller, 
with a weaker bill, and in the more sulphur yellow shade of 
the upper parts, the rump being clear uniform sulphur yellow. 
The following remarks may apply to this species or to 
H. tahatali, or in part to each of them. 

Anchieta, who has procured specimens also at Benguela, 
Quillengues, gives as their native names ‘ Dicole” and 
* Janja.” Dr. Biittikofer records it in the collection made 
by Kellen during his residence at Humpata in the Upper 
Cunene district. Mr. Andersson’s remark, that it is ‘“‘ com- 
mon in Damaraland and the parts adjacent,’ refers to H. 
tahatali, and probably also to this species, but I have not 
seen a specimen of the true Namaqua Weaver obtained by 


him. 


Hyphantornis mariquensis. 


Ploceus mariquensis, Smith, Ill. Zool. 8. Afr. Aves, pl. 103 (1845) N. of 
Kurrichaine. 

Hyphantornis mariquensis, Gurney, Ibis, 1868, p. 466, pl. 10; Symonds, 
Ibis, 1887, p. 332 Kroonstad. 

? Ploceus personatus (non Vieill.), Swains. An. in Menag. p. 306 (1837). 

Hyphantornis nigrifrons, Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 182 (1851). 

Ploceus chloronotus, Reichenb. Singv. p. 82, pl. 11, figs. 304, 305 (1863). 


406 HYPHANTORNIS MARIQUENSIS 


Hyphantornis xthiops, Heugl. J. f. O. 1867, p. 380. 

Hyphantornis velatus (non Vieill.), Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 464 
(1890 pt.) Cape Col., Natal, Transvaal; Kuschel, J. f. O. 1899, 
p. 333 egg; Nehrkorn, Kat. Eiers. p. 131 (1899) egg; Stark, Faun. 
S. Afr. B. i. p. 58 (1900); Haagner, Ibis, 1901, p. 16; 1902, 
pp. 572, 578, Johannesburg ; Whitehead, This, 1903, p. 223 
Orange R. ; Clarke, Ibis, 1904, p. 524 Bloemfontein. 

Ploceus velatus, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 78 (1904). 

Male in full plumage. Differing very slightly from H. velatus. Rather 
larger; bill stouter; tarsi longer and like the feet larger; upper parts 
slightly darker, mantle greener; rump more golden yellow, with a slight 
olive wash. ‘Tris orange red; bill black; tarsi and feet flesh-colour”’ 
(Stark). Total length 6°5 inches, culmen 0:7, wing 3°35, tail 2-5, tarsus 1:0. 
3, 13. 10. 81, Newcastle (Butler). 

Type, winter plumage. Upper parts ashy brown, slightly shaded with 
yellow on the head, neck, rump and upper tail-coverts; mantle with 
blackish brown shaft-bands ; tail yellowish brown, with narrow yellow edges 
to the feathers; all the wing feathers with pale edges, inclining to bright 
yellow on the quills and greater coverts and fading into buff on the inner 
feathers and ends of the median coverts; lesser coverts browner like the 
mantle ; inner edges of quills and the under wing-coverts yellowish buff; 
sides of head like the crown, but fading on the cheeks into whitish yellow 
like the throat; remainder of the under parts white, with a shade of brown 
on the flanks and across the fore-chest. Bill pale, shading into dark brown 
on the upper mandible. Total length 6:2 inches, culmen 0-7, wing 3:1, 
tail 2:4, tarsus 1:0. 


The Marico Masked-Weaver ranges from Cape Colony over 
Southern and Hastern South Africa, south of the Limpopo 
River. 

The types, being in winter plumage, would be difficult to 
distinguish from H. tahatali by the coloured illustrations or 
the original description, had not the wing measurement been 
given as 3'l inches, which shows that it belongs to the large 
form. The full plumaged male has been well figured as H. 
mariquensis (Ibis, 1868, pl. 10). 

With regard to the habits of the species, Stark writes: 
“These Weaver-Birds are gregarious at all seasons of the year, 
and in summer frequently form very large breeding colonies, 
often consisting of several hundred pairs of birds. Frequently 


HYPHANTORNIS MARIQUENSIS 407 


they commence building their kidney-shaped nests very early 
in the spring, towards the end of July or beginning of August, 
when many of the males still retain their immature or winter 
dress, but the nests are not completed, or the eggs laid, as a 
rule, until the beginning of November. As a breeding place 
these birds prefer reed-beds, if any are available, but should 
there be none, they suspend their nests from trees and bushes 
overhanging water, or occasionally over dry ground. When 
built among reeds, the nests are usually attached to two stems 
by the sides; but when in trees they are suspended from the 
drooping twigs. Like most of the Weaver-Birds this species 
becomes very tame during the breeding season, and it is a 
pleasing sight to watch the busy birds as they are engaged in 
constructing their ingeniously formed nests. They work with 
the greatest energy, the male fetching the long green grass- 
stems out of which the nests are woven, and usually assisting 
from the outside by passing one end through to the female in- 
side the nest, she passing it back again, and so on. Whilst 
engaged at this work the birds frequently hang back down- 
wards with extended wings, swaying gently to and fro, and all 
the time keeping up a ceaseless chattering. In districts where 
the Sanseviera grows the nests of the Masked Weaver-Birds 
are often constructed entirely of the marginal fibres of this 
plant. 

“The entrance to the nest is from below, the nest itself 
being shaped like a retort without a neck, or the shell of a 
garden snail, Although this species subsists largely on grain 
and grass-seed during winter, it feeds freely on sects during 
summer. The young are fed on soft larve, caterpillars and 
small grasshoppers. They remain in the nest for about thirty 
days. The eggs of this Weaver, usually three in number, vary 
remarkably in colour, even in the same nest. They are of 
some shade of white, cream-colour, pink, green, or blue; often 


408 HYPHANTORNIS TAHATALI 


unspotted, but more frequently marked, more or less thickly, 
with small spots and dots of various shades of red and brown ; 
less often they are blotched and clouded heavily with large 
masses of the same colours. 

“They are somewhat elongated in shape and average 
0-93 x 0°58.” 

The species is well represented in the British Museum from 
Cape Colony, Deelfontein, Natal; five of Sir Andrew Smith's 
typical specimens all in winter plumage, also by full plumaged 
males from the Transvaal, Potchefstroom and Macamac. 

Major Clark informs me that they are abundant at Bloem- 
fontein, and were passing into summer plumage about Septem- 
ber 1, and had laid eggs by September 7 in some nests he 
found suspended from a willow over the water; but as they 
also breed in fruit trees they are disliked by the farmers, owing 
to a habit they have of cutting off all the leaves and twigs 
which surround their nests. 


Hyphantornis tahatali. 


Ploceus tahatali, Smith, Rep. Exped. C. Afr. p. 50 (1836) N. of Orange R. 

Ploceus auricapillus, Swains. An. in Menag. p. 346 (1838) S. Afr. ; 
Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 79 (1904). 

Hyphantornis melanops (non Des Murs, and Hartl.), Cab. J. f. O. 1884, 
p. 240, pl. 3, fig. 2 Zambesi ; Reichen. J. f. O. 1885, p. 374. 

Hyphantornis shelleyi, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 464 (1890) Damara, 
Swazi, Tete; Bocage, Jorn. Lisb. 1893, p. 12 Benguela; Shelley, 
B, Afr. I. No. 543 (1896). 

Hyphantornis velatus (non Vieill.), Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 464 (1890 
pt.) Andonga, Damara, Limpopo, Matabele ; Shelley, Ibis, 1894, p. 20 
Zomba ; Marshall, Ibis, 1900, p. 243 Mashona. 

Ploceus finschi, Reichen. Orn. Monatsb. 1903, p. 23 Mossamedes. 

Ploceus auricapillus finschi, Reichen. Vog. Afr. ili. p. 80 (1904). 


Male in full plumage. Front of forehead, sides of head and the throat 
black, the black of the forehead not extending back beyond the base of the 
culmen ; crown, sides of upper neck and remainder of the under parts bright 
golden yellow, very slightly shaded with chestnut on the crown and next to 
the end of the black throat; hinder neck and back yellowish olive; rump 


HYPHANTORNIS TAHATALI 409 


bright golden yellow ; tail yellowish brown, with narrow yellow edges to the 
feathers ; wing blackish brown, with bright yellow edges to all the feathers ; 
inner edges of quills and the under wing-coverts pale yellow. ‘Iris orange 
red; bill black ; tarsi and feet reddish brown” (Alexander). Total length 5-4 
inches, culmen 0°6, wing 2°95, tail 2-1, tarsus 0-9. g, 23. 11. 73, Limpopo 
(Buckley). 

Type, female im breeding plumage. Upper parts pale brown with a 
yellow shade, rump and edges to tail-feathers slightly yellower; mantle with 
broad blackish shaft-stripes to the feathers; wings with the lesser coverts 
like the mantle, ends of median coverts and edges of the other feathers ashy 
buff or yellow ; inner edges of quills and the under wing-coverts yellowish 
buff; sides of head yellowish brown like the crown; cheeks and under parts 
yellow, slightly paler on the throat. Total length 5:75 inches, culmen 0:6, 
wing 2°9, tail 2-1, tarsus 0-9. §. Afr. (Smith’s Coll.). 

Male and female, winter plumage. Similar to the last, but differing in 
the head and mantle being less shaded with yellow, an ill-defined buff eye- 
brow, and the under parts white, with a tinge of yellow on the lower 
throat. 


The Tahatali Masked-Weaver inhabits Africa between about 
12° and 26°S. lat. 

The type, a female in breeding plumage, was discovered by 
Sir Andrew Smith between the Orange River and the Tropic, 
very possibly near Rustenburg, which is the most southern 
range yet positively known for the species. The full plumaged 
male has been figured under the name Ploceus melamps (Cab. 
J. f. O. 1884, pl. 3, fig. 2), and of late years the species has 
been, perhaps best, known as H. shelleyi, which was described 
from specimens collected by Sir John Kirk at Tete on the 
Zambesi. 

Under the latter name Prof. Bocage has recorded the 
species from Benguela, and the type of Ploceus finschi came 
from Mossamedes. In the British Museum there are two 
males in breeding plumage from Ondongo and two females 
from Elephant Vley collected by Andersson, who writes : “ The 
species is common in Damaraland and the parts adjacent; it is 
partial to the neighbourhood of water, where it nests, some- 
times amongst reeds and at others on the extremities of the 


410 HYPHANTORNIS TAHATALI 


boughs of trees overhanging permanent or temporary waters, 
many nests being built on the same tree. The nest is firmly 
composed of strong grasses ; the number of eggs is three; and 
the variation of the eggs in colour, shape and size is astonis- 
Mr. Fleck has also met with it in Damaraland. 


< ” 
ing. 


It is not so surprising to find this species invading the 
dominion of //. velatus in the west when it, in like manner, 
shares the Transvaal district with H. mariquensis, and the habits 
of the three species appear to be alike, excepting, perhaps, that 
the present one is more partial to hanging its nests from the 
trees and HH. mariquensis generally selects reed-beds for breeding 
purposes, In the British Museum there are five specimens of 
this species from Swaziland and the Limpopo River, collected 
by Buckley, and six males of H. mariquensis from Macamac, 
Potchefstroom, and probably other parts of the Transvaal. 

Mr. T. Ayres writes: “The birds that frequent the moun- 
tainous parts of the Rustenburg district, where the country is 
wooded and warm, appear to me to be very much smaller, and 
also much brighter in plumage, as a rule, than those imhabiting 
the more open plains of the same district and other open parts 
of the Transvaal. Adapting their manners to circumstances, 
they hang their nests to low bushes and trees overhanging the 
streams, whereas in the open country their nests are usually 
placed between two reeds in the swamps or on the reed-banks 
of rivers, though even there the nests are occasionally to be 
found hanging from the outer twigs of trees. The eggs of the 
smaller race vary in colour just as those of the larger and less 
gaudy birds.” He saw them commencing their nests in August 
before any of the males had assumed their bright nuptial dress, 
and by October 20, when he first found their eggs, they had 
attained their full breeding plumage. He also writes: ‘ Not 
uncommon about the Inshlangeen, Mr. Jameson found them at 
Palatsie Pan m December, and subsequently I found a nest 


HYPHANTORNIS THZNIOPTERUS 411 


with eggs on the banks of the Makara, a tributary of the 
Moloppo River, where their neatly constructed nests were 
hanging on the bushes fringing the stream.” 

T. E. Buckley saw a tree by the side of the Limpopo 
literally covered with their pendulous nests, in November. Mr. 
Guy Marshall found the species “ fairly common round Salis- 
bury, nesting among the granite kopjes at some distance from 
water.” 

Mr. Boyd Alexander during his expedition up the Zambesi 
found these birds breeding in considerable numbers at Zumbo, 
towards the end of December, and remarked that the females 
assume for the breeding season a bright yellow breast like the 
throat, and writes: ‘ During our stay at Zumbo we had a good 
opportunity of observing the breeding habits of this Weaver. 
The males were continually at work building the nests, while 
the females were hardly ever seen near them, but were always 
abroad, each bird being in the company of another, so much so 
that they impressed us as being male and female till we pro- 
cured specimens.” 

The most northern known range for this species in Kast 
Africa is Nyasaland, where it is apparently abundant, having 
been procured at Katunga, Mpimbi, Zomba and on the 
Dedza highlands in South Angoniland. 


Hyphantornis teniopterus. 


Ploceus teniopterus, Reichenb. Singv. p. 78, pl. 36, figs. 281, 282 (1863) ; 
Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 82 (1904). 

Hyphantornis teniopterus, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 467 (1890) ; Shelley, 
B. Afr. I. No. 544 (1896). 


Male in breeding plumage. Front half of the forehead, front half of face, 
the chin and throat black ; crown and hinder half of face deep chestnut 
in front, fading gradually into golden yellow on the nape and sides of neck ; 
back of neck and the back nearly uniform greenish tinted yellow, with the 
rump bright golden yellow; tail dusky olive, with narrow yellow edges 


412 HYPHANTORNIS TANIOPTERUS 


to the feathers ; wing blackish brown, with pale edges to the feathers; 
these edges are dusky brown with a wash of yellow on the least coverts, 
golden yellow on the median and greater coverts and inner secondaries, and 
ashy yellow on the primary-coverts and remainder of the quills; under 
wing-coverts and inner edges of the quills yellowish white; sides of the 
lower half of the throat, breast, thighs and under tail-coverts bright golden 
yellow, tinted with chestnut on the fore breast and shading into a rich chest- 
nut edging to the black of the throat. ‘Iris brownish red ; bill black ; feet 
reddish brown” (Heuglin). Total length 5-4 inches, culmen 0:7, wing 2°7, 
tail 1:8, tarsus 0°85. g, 10. 7. 82, Bora (Emin). 

Male in winter. Like the female. 

Adult female. Upper parts ashy brown, with large blackish shaft-bands 
to the feathers of the mantle; tail-feathers with narrow yellowish outer 
edges ; lesser wing-coverts like the mantle ; median coverts with broad buff 
terminal margins, greater coverts and quills with olive buff edges, fading into 
white on the inner feathers; inner margins of quills and edge of bend of 
wing yellowish buff; under wing-coverts brownish buff; sides of head ashy 
brown; under parts white, shaded with brown across the crop and on the 
flanks. ‘Iris pale straw-colour; upper mandible dusky, lower one white, 
dusky along upper edges; tarsi and feet pinkish horn-colour.” Wing 2:5. 
9, 0. 3. Ol, Kaka (Hawker). 


Reichenbach’s Masked-Weaver inhabits the White Nile 
district between the Albert Nyanza and Khartoum, and east- 
ward to Lake Stefanie. 

Within its somewhat limited range the species is extremely 
abundant. Heuglin found them assembling in the cornfields 
by flocks, arriving from all sides, and after feeding passed 
away in uninterrupted clouds. Mr. Hawker procured 
specimens on his way up the Nile at Jebel Ahmed-Aghar, 
February 19; at Kawa, February 26; at Fashoda as late as 
April 6, and writes: ‘ Reichenbach’s Weaver-Finch goes 
about in enormous flocks, which appear to be kept continually 
on the move by Hawks, and prove a great nuisance to the 
naturalist. Nearly every bush seems to be full of them, and 
when they fly off they generally frighten every other species 
of small bird that happens to be near, thus making collecting 
very difficult. I never saw any individuals in breeding 
plumage, though I must have seen many millions.” 


HYPHANTORNIS HEUGLINI 415 


Mr. A. L. Butler informs me that he saw them “in 
enormous flocks up the White Nile from February to April, 
literally millions. The flocks look like great wreaths of smoke 
in the distance and pass overhead with a rush like a hurricane. 
Dr. Sukri Dib, Egyptian Army, collected, for me, two full 
plumaged specimens at Fashoda in August, where he found 
them extremely plentiful and breeding.” 

Capt. Dunn, while at the mouth of the Zeraf River, found 
the species acquiring the breeding plumage in May ; Emin 
has collected specimens in the transition stage on May 6, and 
in full dress on July 10, so it is probable that the bright 
plumage lasts from the end of May to the end of December. 
In its more eastern range it has been found in the Magois 
country near lake Stefanie by Dr. Donaldson Smith, and at 
Sagantal by Erlanger. 


Hyphantornis heuglini. 


Ploceus heuglini, Reichen. Zool. Jahrb. 1886, p. 147 Gazelle R., Niger, 
Sassa, Lado; id. J. f. O. 1902, p. 36 Togo; id. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 84 
(1904). 

Hyphantornis heuglini, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 468 (1890) ; Shelley, 
B. Afr. I. No. 547 (1896). 


Male in full plumage. Entire throat and sides of head black ; remainder 
of head, sides of neck and the under parts golden yellow, with a chestnut 
shade towards the lower half of the black throat; the yellow of the crown 
commences at the nape to shade into the olive yellow of the back; mantle 
with very obscurely marked brown centres ; tail yellowish brown, with 
narrow yellower outer edges to the feathers; wings blackish brown, with 
yellowish edges to the feathers; inner edges of quills and under wing- 
coverts ashy buff, the latter mottled with yellow, brightest along the bend 
of the wing. ‘Iris buffy white; bill black; tarsi and feet flesh-colour ” 
(Forbes). Total length 5:5 inches, culmen 0°65, wing 2°8, tail 1-6, tarsus 
0:85. 3, 9. 85, Sassa (Bohndorff). 

Adult female. Differs in the forehead, crown and back being ashy brown, 
with broad dark brown centres to the feathers of the mantle; sides of head 
pale brown, with an indistinct buff eyebrow; under parts buff, slightly 
washed with yellow on the cheeks and throat. 


414 HYPHANTORNIS SPEKEI 


Heuglin’s Masked-Weaver inhabits West Africa, possibly 
from as far north as the Gambia River to the Niger, and 
ranges eastward into the Upper White Nile district. 

The occurrence of this species from further west than 
Togoland rests on a specimen formerly in W. A. Forbes’s 
collection and now in the British Museum, labelled “ Gambia 
(Whiteley).” In Tegoland Lieut. Zech procured a specimen 
at Kratchi. Forbes obtained one at Lokoja on the Niger, and 
Bohndorff one at Sassa in the Niam-Niam country. It is 
apparently arare bird in the aforementioned countries, nor does 
it appear to be common anywhere. HKmin procured a specimen 
at Kudurma, and Heuglin discovered the type near the Gazelle 
River. According to the latter naturalist it lives in pairs 
throughout the year, and suspends its oval nest, which is 
constructed of fresh grass, from the boughs of trees in the 
more open parts of the forest, and lays three or four eggs of 
a dusky green colour, which measure 0°84 x 0°58. Emin also 
met with them in pairs and found their solitary nest suspended 
from grass-stalks in the open country interspersed with 
scattered trees. 


Hyphantornis spekei. (PI. 40, fig. 2.) 


Hyphantornis spekei, Heugl. in Peterm. Mitth. 1861, p. 24 Somalz ; 
Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 469; Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 546 (1896) ; 
Peel, Somaliland, p. 307 (1900); Grant and Reid, Ibis, 1901, p. 622 
S. Abyssinia. 

Ploceus spekei, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 65 (1904). 

Hyphantornis somalensis, Heugl. J. f. O. 1867, p. 8379 Somalv. 

“ Hyphantornis meloxit, Antin.” Salvad. Ann. Mus. Genoy. 1884, p. 188 

Galla. 

Male in breeding plumage. Forehead and crown golden yellow, shading 
into olive yellow on the back of the head and neck ; back olive yellow, with 
angular dusky black centres to the feathers; lesser wing-coverts like the 
mantle ; median coverts with broad yellow terminal edges; greater coverts 
and quills with yellowish margins, often inclining to buff on the greater 
coverts and inner secondaries; under wing-coverts and inner margins of 


RHE, BiRDS (OB ArRIGA, Pr. xds 


1. Hyphantornis mgricey 
y) ” spekel 


HYPHANTORNIS SPEKEL 415 


the quills ashy buff, the former mottled with yellow mostly at the edge 
of the pinion; tail yellowish brown, with narrow yellow outer edges to the 
feathers ; sides of head and the throat black; sides of upper neck and the 
under parts golden yellow, with a chestnut shade next to the black throat. 
“Tris pale yellow; bill black; feet light brown.’ Total length 5:3 inches, 
culmen 0:7, wing 3°25, tail 1-9, tarsus 0°95. g, 6. 2. 97, Sogsoda Plain 
(E. L. Phillips). 

Adult female. Forehead, crown, back of neck and the back ashy brown, 
with broad dark brown centres to the feathers of the mantle; wing and tail 
as in the male; an indistinct eyebrow and the under parts buff, with 
a slight shade of yellow on the throat and under tail-coverts; sides of 
head ashy brown. ‘Iris light brown; bill brown; legs pale brown.” 
Wing 3:1. 9, 5. 11. 99, Athi River (Delamere). 


Speke’s Weaver inhabits Hastern Africa between 3° S. lat. 
and 11° N. lat. 

The species was discovered in Somaliland by Speke who 
writes: ‘‘I found this little Baya-bird on the plateau in con- 
siderable numbers, feeding where there were long grasses and 
plants in flower.” Mr, Pease also met with the species in open 
grass-country to the south of Adis Ababa, and Antinori pro- 
cured the type of his H. melovit in Gallaland. 

Dr. Hinde found these Weavers abundant and breeding in 
colonies among the hills of Moa and Lemoyo and at Machako’s. 
They will, he writes, “build a nest in about a day; but a pair 
will often build four or five before they get one sufficiently 
well bound to the branch to support its weight, and in conse- 
quence, where twenty or thirty of these birds are building in 
a single tree, the ground beneath the tree is strewn with nests 
in every stage of completeness. I have counted as many as 243 
nests lying on the ground beneath a single tree.” Antinori 


gives a very different description of their nesting habits in 
Shoa. Here the nests were not pendent nor flask-shaped, as 
with H, vitellina and H. galbula, but had their entire upper sur- 
face attached to the under side of a bough, so differed greatly 
in shape, which he calls “ cake-like,” although constructed of 


416 HYPHANTORNIS SPILONOTUS 


similar grass materials. During the first days in May the 
males appeared and, having selected a site, began constructing 
the nests, which in eight or ten days were roughly completed. 
The females then arrived and, after flirting and quarrelling 
with the males for two or three days, made them finish the 
decoration of the dwellings, they only contributing by laying 
the soft lining for the eggs to rest on. Unfortunately for these 
Weavers, they were at times ousted by the Sparrows (Passer 
diffusus), which often took possession of their nests. 

The species is represented in the British Museum from 
Machako’s (Hinde), Athi River, Nairobe, Lake Nakuru, Msara, 
Minisu (Delamere), Somali (Phillips), Guelan (Pease) and Shoa 
(Antinori). Among these specimens there are full plumaged 
males collected in February, March, April, September and 
November, and two males in immature plumage obtained in 
November and February, From this it would appear that the 
species has no special winter plumage, and that the males, once 
they have acquired the black and yellow plumage, retain their 
bright colouring throughout the year. 

Mr. Jackson’s collection contains specimens of this Weaver 
from the Nyando Valley close to Ntebbe, which is the most 
western range known for the species. 


Hyphantornis spilonotus. 


Ploceus spilonotus, Vigors, P. Z. 8. 1831, p. 92 (June) Algoa Bay ; 
Smith, Ill. Zool. 5. Af. Av. pl. 66, fig. 1 (1841); Reichen. Vog. Afr. 
iii. p. 64 (1904). 

Hyphantornis spilonotus, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 468 (1890) ; Shelley, 
B. Afr. I. No. 545 (1896); Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 131 (1899) 
egg ; Shortridge, Ibis, 1904, p. 175 Pondoland. 

Ploceus stictonotus, Smith, 8. Afr. Quart. Journ. 1831, p. 11 (Oct.) 
Eastern Cape Colony. 

“ Ploceus chrysostictos, Licht.’’ Bp. Consp. i. p. 441 (1850). 

Ploceus ecyclospilus, Reichenb. Singy. p. 80, pl. 38, figs. 295, 296 (1863). 

Ploceus brandti, Reichenb. t. c. p. 82, pl. 40, fig. 306. 


HYPHANTORNIS SPILONOTUS 417 


Full plumaged male. Entire forehead and crown canary yellow of the 
same shade as the sides of the neck, the breast and under tail-coverts; hind 
neck and the mantle black, with broad terminal bright yellow edges to the 
feathers ; lower back brownish ash, most of the upper tail-coverts black, 
both these parts mottled with some broad yellow ends to the feathers, tail 
and terminal tail-coverts olive brown with a wash of yellow; wings brownish 
black, with yellow edges to the feathers, these edges broadest and inclining 
to buff at the ends of the median and greater coyerts ; inner margins of the 
quills and the under coverts yellowish buff, the latter inclining to bright 
yellow at the edge of the wing, and mottled with dusky brown towards the 
primaries ; sides of the head and the throat black, the black of the throat 
much compressed at the sides by the pale yellow of the neck, but extends, 
as an imperfect streak, down the centre of the chest. “Iris deep red; bill 
black ; tarsi and feet flesh-colour ”’ (Stark). Total length 6-1 inches, culmen 
0°8, wing 3°45, tail 2°2, tarsus 0-95. ¢g, 16. 10. 75, Pinetown (T. L. Ayres). 

Winter plumage of both sexes is alike. Forehead, crown and _ back 
of neck yellowish brown; mantle ashy brown with dark brown centres 
to the feathers ; a pale yellow eyebrow; sides of head olive yellow, inclining 
to white in front of the eyes and passing into pale yellow on the cheeks and 
throat ; breast and under tail-coverts white; bill flesh-colour, shading into 
dark brown on the upper mandible. 

Female in breeding plumage. Differs from the last in the breast, thighs 
and under tail-coverts being mostly yellow and the bill almost black. Wing 
3:15. 9,16. 10. 75, Pinetown (T. L. Ayres). 


The Natal Yellow-crowned Masked-Weaver is confined to 
South Africa, where it ranges from the Lake Ngami district 
into Hastern Cape Colony and Zululand, and eastward to 
the Mozambique coast. 

All that we know regarding its north-western range is 
summed up by Andersson who writes: ‘I ar not aware that 
this species is an inhabitant of either Damara- or Great Nama- 
qualand; but I have received specimens from the Lake 
country.” 

The type was discovered inland of Algoa Bay, and 
described by Vigors in 1831, Sir Andrew Smith met with 
the species in about the same locality and redescribed it a 
few months later under the name of Ploceus stictonotus, and 
wrote: ‘ Inhabits the eastern parts of the colony, particularly 


(March, 1905, 27 


418 HYPHANTORNIS SPILONOTUS 


about the banks of the Reiskamma River, and upon the trees 
and bushes which skirt the edges of that beautiful stream it 
builds its pendulous nest.” Ten years later he adds: “I have 
not seen nor heard of its having been found to the westward 
of Kafirland. Specimens are but rarely discovered, and these 
are generally found upon the margins of the rivers.” Dr. 
Bowdler Sharpe, in his edition of ‘* Layard’s Birds of South 
Africa,” writes: “We have received the species from Kuru- 
man, and several have been shot at Outlands, close to 
Grahamstown.” 

According to Stark, ‘‘This species is probably the com- 
monest Weaver-Bird in the lower districts of Natal and Zulu- 
land. Like (H. maviquensis) it is of a very social nature, 
remaining in flocks all the year round and breeds in colonies, 
often covering several adjacent trees with its nests. These 
resemble those of (H. mariquensis) in being kidney-shaped 
with an opening below, but as far as I have observed they 
are never built among reeds, but invariably suspended from 
the outer twigs of a tree or bush, and preferably over water. 
The nest is roughly woven out of long green grass-stems, and 
since the introduction of the Australian Blue Gum and Black 
Wattle into Natal, are invariably thickly lined with the long 
narrow leaves of these trees. Although the nests of this 
species are usually constructed without any projecting 
entrance neck, one is occasionally added, and in the Museum 
at Grahamstown is a nest ascribed to this bird with a neck 
about twelve feet long. When engaged in building these 
Weavers keep up an incessant chattering, and if undisturbed 
become extremely tame and familiar, especially the males, 
who take an active part in the labour by fetching the grass 
and helping in the weaving from the outside of the nest, to 
which they cling with their sharp claws, generally back down- 
wards with expanded wings. The females remain inside and 


HYPHANTORNIS NIGRICEPS 419 


assist by pulling one end of the grass through, then pushing 
it back again to the male. Many nests are abandoned before 
completion and others commenced, probably by the young 
beginners ; other nests fall down from the twig to which they 
are attached giving way; so that the ground below the tree 
in which these Weaver-Birds are building is often covered with 
nests in all stages of construction.” A somewhat similar 
remark is made by Dr. Hinde with regard to H. spekei. 

“The eggs of the Spotted Weaver-Bird varies greatly in 
colour, almost as much so as those of H. mariquensis. They 
are white, blue, or green, frequently plain, but as often 
speckled and spotted with brown and reddish brown. They 
measure about 0°75 x 0°56, and are usually three in number. 

“These Weaver-Birds feed on grass-seeds and grain, as 
well as on insects, the nectar of aloes, the Australian ‘ bottle- 
brush,’ and other flowering shrubs. The young are largely 
fed on soft insects, caterpillars, and various larve.” 

This species is very similar in size and colouring to H. 
nigriceps, with the exception of the top of the head, which 
is entirely bright yellow in full plumaged males. 


Hyphantornis nigriceps. (PI. 40, fig. 1.) 


Hyphantornis nigriceps, Layard, B. 5. Afr. p. 180 (1867) Kuruman ; 
Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 456 (1890) ; Shelley B. Afr. I. No. 561 
(1896) ; Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers, p. 130 (1899) egg. 

Ploceus nigriceps, Reichen. Vog. Afr. ili. p, 62 (1904). 


Male in full plumage. Entire head and the throat black ; remainder of 
the neck and the under parts bright golden yellow; in some specimens from 
Nyasaland the yellow of the hind neck encroached on the black of the crown, 
in others it is divided by a broad black parting mottled with yellow spots ; 
back mottled black, with broad bright yellow ends to the feathers and ashy 
grey bases, the latter sometimes showing on the lower back; upper tail- 
coverts and tail olive brown washed with yellow; wings blackish brown, 
with yellow edges to the feathers; under wing-coverts and broad inner 
edges to the quills yellowish buff, the former mottled with dusky brown on 


420 HYPHANTORNIS NIGRICEPS 


the pinions; the black of the throat ends in a point on the crop, and the 
adjoining yellow is sometimes slightly tinged with chestnut. ‘‘ Iris orange ; 
bill black ; feet horn-brown”’ (Stark). Total length 6 inches, culmen 0°8, 
wing 3:3, tail 2:0, tarsus 0-9. g , Zomba (A. Whyte). 

Adult female. Differs in having no black on the plumage; forehead and 
crown of a yellower shade than the back, which is ashy brown with darker 
centres to the feathers of the mantle; eyebrows, sides of head and the 
throat yellow; under parts white, with a slight brownish shade on the crop 
and flanks. ‘Iris hazel ; upper mandible light dusky brown, lower one pale 
yellowish; tarsi and feet pale brown.” Wing 3-4. 9, 25. 9. 80, Umfuli 
River (Jameson). 


Layard’s Black-headed Weaver ranges from Benguela to 
Natal and over the whole of Eastern Africa to as far north as 
Somaliland. 

The occurrence of the species in Benguela was made known 
by Anchieta who informs us that it is known there by the 
natives of Capangombe as the * Dicole,” and at Caconda as the 
* Tiatala.”” Dr. Finsch has kindly informed me that there is 
a specimen in the Leyden Museum, procured by van der 
Kellen at Gambos. To the south of the Cunene River the 
species has not been recorded from further west than the Lake 
Negami district and Kuruman. Andersson wrote: ‘I am not 
aware that this species is an inhabitant of either Damara- or 
Great Namaqualand; but I have received specimens from 
the Lake country.’’ The type was discovered by the late Dr. 
Moffat at Kuruman, and the species has been recorded from 
Natal and Zululand; but is apparently scarce to the south of 
the Limpopo. 

At the Umfuli River, in Mashonaland, Mr. Guy Marshall 
found these Weavers fairly common, in small flocks, searching 
the trees for insects. In this district Jameson and Ayres met 
with them breeding in colonies amongst the reeds, from the 
ends of which they suspend their nests. The eggs, according 
to Stark, are “ white, blue, green, or cream-colour, sometimes 
plain, but often spotted all over with red or brown, or more 


HYPHANTORNIS NIGRICEPS 421 


sparingly marked with large blotches of reddish brown. They 
average 0°90 x 0°60.” Along the Zambesi, according to Mr. 
Boyd Alexander, it is “the commonest of the Yellow Weavers, 
especially from Tete downwards, consorting with other 
Weavers and Finches on waste land near the river. They 
breed in large colonies, hanging their nests to the fish-cane that 
fringes the water’s edge. Such a spot presents an animated 
appearance in the breeding season, these bright-coloured birds 
rushing backward and forward among the deep green reeds, 
intent upon their building operations, while the brown nests 
of the previous season present a notable contrast to those 
newly made, and are hardly distinguishable in colour from the 
reeds.” Above the Victoria Falls Mr. Foa informs us that it 
is known to the natives as the “ Tchete.” Dr. Stuhlmann 
found it known at Quilimane as the “ Gugumira,” and Serpa 
Pinto as the ‘‘ Hsse”’ on Ibo Island. 

These Weavers are generally distributed over Hastern 
Africa from the Zambesi to Somaliland, but are most abundant 
to the south of the Equator. They have been included in 
seven of the collections from Nyasaland. Storms procured 
the species on the western side of Lake Tanganyika, and Bohm 
at Kakomo, Karema, the Luvule River, and along the banks of 
the Itambe Lake, where he found these birds in flocks frequent- 
ing the marshy ground and constantly uttering their shrill note 
as they assembled in colonies to construct their nests in the 
Acacia trees, about March. Fischer met with the species 
throughout the country from Bagamoio to Barawa on the 
Somali coast, breeding in colonies of 60 to 100 in all kinds 
of large trees, and remarked that the eggs varied greatly in 
colour. He also saw them feeding in large flocks in company 
with other Weavers and Sparrows. Mr. Jackson, who has 
collected specimens on Manda Island, at Tangani, Nairobe, 
Makarunga, Witu and Kibwesi, writes: ‘ Very plentiful 


422 HYPHANTORNIS COLLARIS 


throughout the country. I have noticed that this Weaver 
builds its nest very much higher from the ground than most 
other Weavers. At Kibwesi there was a colony breeding in a 
tall acacia tree some 40 to 50 feet from the ground. I have 
also seen other colonies at Witu, on the coast, which have 
chosen the top of a tall cotton-wood tree for their nests, which 
were placed some 80 to 90 feet above the ground.” It is 
curious that these Weavers should select for their breeding 
places high trees in Hast Africa and reeds in South 
Africa. 

In Somaliland the species is apparently confined to the 
south-western corner, including Barawa and the Lower Juba 
River, in which iatter district it has been procured by Erlanger, 
and by Jackson at Yonte. 


Hyphantornis collaris. 


Ploceus collaris, Vieill. N. Dict. xxxiv. p. 129 (1819) Congo, Angola ; 
Reichen. Vog. Afr. ii. p. 61 (1904). 

Hyphantornis collaris, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 455 (1890); Shelley, 
B. Afr. I. No. 560 (1896); Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 130 (1899) 
egg. 

Hyphantornis cinctus, Cass. Pr. Philad. Ac. 1859, p. 133 Gaboon ; id. 
Journ. Philad. Acad. 1862, p. 184, pl. 23, fig. 2. 


Adult male. Entire head, sides and front of the upper neck black, 
extending into a point on the lower throat; hind neck black, with rufous 
terminal edges to the feathers; mantle, scapulars, lesser and median wing- 
coverts black, with broad bright yellow edges to the feathers, middle and 
lower back more uniform yellow; afew of the under tail-coverts and the 
tail yellowish olive; remainder of the wings brownish black, with the edges 
of the greater coverts and inner secondaries bright yellow, and those of the 
other quills and primary-coverts narrower and more olive; under wing- 
coverts and inner margins of the quills pale yellow; breast, thighs and 
under tail-coverts golden yellow, rapidly shading into a broad rufous collar 
which extends over the crop and sides of the middle throat and completes 
the separation of the black of the head and throat from the remainder of the 
plumage. ‘Iris red; bill black; feet flesh-colour’’ (Anchieta). Total 
length 6-2 inches, culmen 0:8, wing 3°36, tail 2-0, tarsus 1:0. 3, 30. 10. 68, 
Katumbella (Sala). 

Female. Similar to that of H. cucullatus. 


HYPHANTORNIS CUCULLATUS 423 


Vieillot’s Collared-Weaver ranges from Gaboon into Ben- 
cuela. 

In the British Museum the species is represented by the 
following specimens: Gaboon (Skirchley) ; Landana, Malimba, 
Ungamungo (Petit); Congo (Sperling) ; Kattembella (Sala) ; 
Benguela (Monteiro). 

Besides the above localities, the species has been procured 
by Marche and De Compitgne in the Ogowé district, by Du 
Chaillu at the Camma River, by Van der Kellen at Vista, and 
by Bohndorff at Leopoldsville on the Lower Congo. In Angola 
Major v. Mechow met with it at the Kambo and Kuanga 
tributaries of the Congo and at the Quanza River. 

In habits they are very similar to the common West African 
Weaver, H. cucullatus. Falkenstein observed them during his 
stay at Chinchonxo in Loango, and remarked that they bred in 
colonies sometimes in company with Melunopterye nigerrimus, 
and for the construction of their nests stripped off the leaves 
of the palm trees into fibres to such an extent that they left 
only the stems of the leaves on some of the trees. The eggs, 
according to Dr. Reichenow, are bright bluish green freckled 
with rufous brown, and measure 0°96 x 0°6, 

Mr. Monteiro found the species to be not uncommon near 
the town of Benguela, and Anchieta also met with it in that 
district at Novo- Redondo. Vieillot, who first named the 
species, mentions as localities for it, Congo, Angola and Sene- 
gal; the latter is undoubtedly an error. 

The adult males apparently retain their bright plumage 
throughout the year, but that has not yet been proved. 


Hyphantornis cucullatus. 


Oriolus cucullatus, P. L. 8. Miill. 8. N. Suppl. p. 87 (1776). 

Hyphantornis cucullatus, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 451 (1890) ; Shelley, 
B. Afr. I. No. 562 (1896); Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 130 (1899) 
egg. 


424 HYPHANTORNIS CUCULLATUS 


Ploceus cucullatus, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 59 (1904). 

Oriolus textor, Gm. 8. N. i. p. 390 (1788) Senegal. 

Fringilla longirostris, Vieill. Ene. Méth. iii. p. 951 (1823). 

Ploceus senegalensis, Steph. Gen. Zool. xiv. p. 34 (1826). 

Ploceus modestus, Hartl. Rev. Zool. 1845, p. 406 (¢). 

‘‘ Hyphantornis magnirostris, Verr.’’ Hartl. Orn. W. Afr. p. 127 (1857, 2) 

Senegal. 

Hyphantornis gambiensis, Heugl. Orn. N. O. Afr. p. 552 (1871). 

Adult male. Head and upper throat jet black, the black extending be- 
yond the ear-coverts and ending in a point on the lower throat, and is 
margined all round with dark rufous brown, which latter colour extends over 
the entire hind neck and upper half of the sides of the neck; back bright 
yellow, with a broad uniform black patch on each side from the base of the 
neck and meeting on the middle back; upper tail-coverts mostly yellowish 
olive like the tail, but the feathers of the latter have pale yellow inner 
margins ; wings blackish, with broad yellow terminal edges to the coverts ; 
the edges to the primary-coverts and quills more olive yellow, becoming 
bright yellow on the inner secondaries ; under wing-coverts and broad inner 
margins to the quills pale bright yellow ; lower throat, breast, thighs and 
under tail-coverts bright golden yellow, with a slight rufous tinge on the 
front and sides of the breast and margined with deep rufous brown next to 
the black of the throat. Iris crimson; bill black; tarsi and feet flesh- 
colour. Total length 6-2 inches, culmen 0°85, wing 3°5, tail 2-2, tarsus 1:0. 
Niger (Heywood). 

Adult female. Forehead, crown and upper tail-coverts olive yellow ; 
back and sides of neck and the back ashy brown, with slightly darker brown 
centres to the feathers of the mantle; wings and tail similar to those of the 
full plumaged male but slightly paler; ear-coverts shaded with olive; eye- 
brow, remainder of sides of head, chin, throat, breast, thighs, and under 
tail-coverts pale yellow, fading into white on the abdomen and flanks. Bill 
brown, fading into flesh-colour on the under half of the lower mandible. 
Wing 3:2. ¢@, 12. 12. 02, Fernando Po (Alexander). 


The Western Black and Yellow-mantled Weaver inhabits 
West Africa from Senegambia to Gaboon. 

The well-marked group to which this species belongs 
comprises two other nearly allied forms, as similar in habits as 
they are in their plumage. These are H. bohndorffi, ranging 
from Camaroons into Angola, and H. abyssinicus, the represen- 
tative Weaver in North-east and Central Africa, ranging west- 
ward into the Northern Congo district. 


HYPHANTORNIS CUCULLATUS 425 


The males assume their full plumage within the first twelve 
months and never lose it afterwards. They have a loud shrill 
note, are very active and gregarious, breeding in colonies and 
generally selecting for that purpose the large trees in towns or 
villages, apparently appreciating the protection thus afforded 
them against snakes and monkeys, which are no doubt their 
worst enemies during the breeding season. The nest is of a 
rounded form with a short side entrance passage hanging 
down, and is constructed of grass and shreds of the leaves 
generally of the Banana or Palm-tree, is carefully and solidly 
woven, and strongly attached to the twigs from which it 
hangs, and the lining of the nests, I examined at Cape Coast, 
consisted of soft dry grass and a few feathers, According to 
Dr. Biittikofer, the eggs are two or occasionally three in num- 
ber, of a pale green colour sparsely freckled with brown, and 
measure 0°9 X 0°6. 

They show little fear of man, and are hardy, interesting 
cage-birds, weaving on to the bars of their cage any string, 
grass, or suitable materials they are supplied with, regardless of 
the season of the year. A male which I have now had in a 
cage for over twelve years I have fed upon seeds, but it will 
eat almost anything and is specially fond of grasshoppers, and 
will take all kinds of insect food. 

Gordon (Contrib. Orn, 1849, p. 9) records thus a marvellous 
instance of the intelligence of ‘‘a similar species which is very 
common in India during the grain season, is occasionally 
taught tricks by the natives, such as loading and firing a small 
cannon, &c. I have myself witnessed a most extraordinary 
arrangement in the nest of this bird; on one side of the in- 
terior a piece of clay may be seen adherent to the nest; into 
this the bird, during the season of incubation, places a glow- 
worm or fire-fly during the night.” 

In the British Museum there is a specimen from Rufisque 


426 HYPHANTORNIS CUCULLATUS 


(Laglaise). Near Bathurst Dr. P. Rendall found the species 
breeding in colonies, and Mr. Budgett calls it very common 
there during the rainy season. Fea records it as abundant on 
the Island of Bulama, and Mr. Kemp writes from Sierra 
Leone: “I met with these Weavers in April, May, June, 
August and September, at Bo, where they do great damage on 
the rice-farms. They commence building in August and con- 
tinue building or patching up their nests throughout September 
and into October. The nesting colonies are invariably in the 
vicinity of towns, villages, or noisy places like a. railway 
station. There are many hundreds of their nests, constructed 
out of the fibres stripped from banana leaves, built in the large 
trees at Bo, and although the birds are generally here in num- 
bers, the bulk of them often go away for several consecutive 
days. They fly usually in parties of 20 to 50 from the large 
trees to some neighbouring rice clearing.” 

In Liberia Dr. Biittikofer found the present species and 
Cinnamopteryx castaneofusca to be the commonest of the 
Weavers, both frequenting the larger trees to breed in colonies. 
In the village of Robertsport he saw a combined company of 
these two species breeding in one tree, with their nests inter- 
mixed. They kept up a continuous, deafening chatter while 
constructing their nest, which took about a day to build. 
Often, as soon as one bird has brought some material and 
departed for more, a neighbour tears it away to use it for 
its own nest, which generally resulted in a free fight. These 
birds would also build in the less frequented parts of the 
forest, generally selecting the trees in which Gypohierax 
angolensis was breeding, for he remarked that, in the Cape 
Mount district, he rarely met with the eyrie of the Eagle with- 
out its being surrounded by a colony of nests of these noisy 
Weavers. 


On the Gold Coast the species is equally abundant, and 


HYPHANTORNIS CUCULLATUS 427 


in February I saw them in numbers frequenting a large tree, 
full of their nests, in the centre of the market-place of Cape 
Town. Gordon found them breeding at Cape Coast in June. 
Mr. Boyd Alexander writes: ‘‘In the hinterland the bird 
again becomes common, the big boabab-trees around the native 
villages forming the centres of its nesting colonies. In May 
the colonies are full of activity—new nests are constructed 
close to those of the previous season, and the loud running 
chatter of the males may be heard as they court their mates 
at the entrance of their nests of basketwork, from which they 
hang, fanning their wings the whole time to and fro like birds 
with their feet caught in meshwort. 

“In June the young males are similar in plumage to the 
adult female, but have the upper parts uniformly washed with 
olive yellow and the under parts with bright yellow; upper 
mandible brownish horn-colour. By the end of the year the 
feathers from the breast downwards become white, turning 
to earthy brown on the sides of the chest and flanks. The 
olive yellow wash also disappears from the brown feathers 
of the upper parts, with the exception of the crown, which 
still remains olive yellow. In the beginning of February a 
direct moult is undergone. The scapulars and rump are the 
first to assume the adult plumage, and the iris becomes red. 
By the end of March the bill has become entirely black; iris 
bright orange; feathers of the crown, sides of face, chin, and 
throat black; collar deep chestnut ; mantle and back parti- 
coloured ; remainder of the under parts splashed with bright 
orange-yellow ; legs and feet light brown. About the middle 
of May the complete adult plumage has been assumed. 

“T do not think that the adult male assumes a winter 
dress, since I have observed individuals throughout the year 
in the same plumage as that of the breeding season.” 

Drs. Reichenow and Liihder found both young birds and 


428 HYPHANTORNIS BOHNDORFFI 


fresh eggs in August when they were at Accra and Abokobi. 
Ussher procured the species at the Volta River and remarks 
that these Weavers are very good eating. The species is 
apparently equally abundant and generally spread over the 
country eastward to the Niger. On tke island of Fernando 
Po, Mr. Boyd Alexander informs us that it is ‘‘ very common. 
Nesting in all the palm-trees round the native huts. Breeds 
in November.” 

In the British Museum there are the following adult males : 
one of Crossley’s from Camaroons and one of Verreaux’s from 
Gaboon ; also two males of H. bohndorffi obtained by Mr. ©, L. 
Bates at Efulen in Camaroons. I have not seen a male 
specimen of the true H. eveullatus from further south than 
Gaboon, which I therefore take as its boundary in this direc- 
tion and believe that it is entirely replaced by H. bohndorffi in 
the Congo and Angola districts, this latter form being so 
extremely similar that it has not been generally recognised. 


Hyphantornis bohndorffi. 


Ploceus bohndorffi, Reichen. J. f. O. 1887, pp. 214, 307 Stanley Falls. 
Hyphantornis bohndorffi, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 455 (1890) ; 
Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 564 (1896). 

Ploceus abyssinicus bohndorffi, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 58 (1904). 

Hyphantornis cucullatus (nee Miill.), Sharpe, Ibis, 1902, p. 96 Hfulen. 

Adult male. Similar to that of H. cucullatus, with the same amount of 
rufous brown on the sides of the neck, but differing in the brown of the 
neck extending forward on to the hinder crown and margins the entire 
hinder half of the black ear-coverts. Iris crimson; bill black; legs pale 
brown. Total length 6:8 inches, culmen 0°85, wing 3°45, tail 2:1, tarsus 1:1. 
3, 8. 6. 01, Efulen (€. L. Bates). 

Adult female. Similar to that of H. cucullatus. 


Bohndorff’s Black and Yellow-mantled Weaver ranges from 
Camaroons into the Congo district and Angola. 
In Camaroons, at Efulen, Mr. G, L. Bates procured in May 


HYPHANTORNIS ABYSSINICUS 429 


and June, 1901, two adult males and a female, and informs us 
that they were known to the natives as the “‘ Nyas,” a name 
which they would apply also to H. eucullatus, as the two species 
meet in this country and it requires very close inspection to 
distinguish them. 

All the specimens I have seen from Tingasi and British 
Hast Africa belong to the nearly allied H. abyssinicus, so I 
doubt the present species having been procured in Central 
Africa eastward of 30° EH. long. 

The type of H. bohndorfi was discovered by Mr. Bohndorff 
at the Stanley Falls of the Congo River, and in the British 
Museum there are two specimens from Yambuya_ procured 
there by Jameson and Guy Burrows. That the species 
extends southward to Lake Tanganyika and into Angola is 
probable. Captain Storms’s Tanganyika collection contained 
among the Weavers a female which has been referred to H. 
abyssinicus and another specimen to H. cucullatus. Henderson 
also procured a Weaver in Angola which has been referred by 
Hartlaub to H, textor (Gm.). 


Hyphantornis abyssinicus. 


Loxia abyssinica, Gm. 8. N. i. p. 860 (1788). 

Hyphantornis abyssinicus, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 453 (1890) ; 
Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 563 (1896); Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 130 
(1899) egg ; Grant, Ibis, 1904, p. 259 S. Abyssinia. 

Ploceus abyssinicus, Reichen. Vog. Afr. ii. p. 57 (1904). 

Ploceus larvatus, Riipp. N. Wirb. Vog. p. 91, pl. 32, fig. 1 (1835-40). 

Ploceus flaviviridis, Rupp. Syst. Uebers, pp. 69, 76, pl. 29 (1845). 

“Ploceus solitarius, Wiirtt.’’ Heugl. J. f. O. 1867, p. 297 Fazokl. 

Adult male. Similar to H. cucullatus, from which it differs only in the 
black of the top of the head not extending on to the nape and the sides and 
back of the neck being bright yellow. Hinder crown from above the middle 
of the ear-coverts and the nape yellowish chestnut; sides of neck up to the 
black of the head yellow, of no more rufous shade than the breast. Iris 
crimson ; bill black; legs flesh-colour. Total length 6-9 inches, culmen 0-9, 
wing 3:5, tail 2:0, tarsus1:0. 3, 16. 6, 80, Lado (Emin). 


430 HYPHANTORNIS GRANDIS 


Adult female. Similar to that of H. cucullatus, but the lower throat, 
breast and under tail-coverts are buff. Tigré (Blanford). 


The Abyssinian Black and Yellow-mantled Weaver ranges 
over the eastern half of Northern Tropical Africa. 

his Weaver is similar in habits to H. cucullatus and differs 
slightly only in the colouring of the head and neck in the full 
plumaged males. 

In its western range it is separated from H. cucullatus by 
the country between the lake district of Equatorial Africa and 
Camaroonsand from fH. bohndorffi by the watershed of the Nile 
and Congo. I have seen H. abyssinicus from as far west as 
Tingasi, and have never seen one of H. bohndorffi from east of 
30° HE. long. 

The species is well represented in the British Museum by 
full plumaged males from Lado, Kiri, Uganda, Omo River, the 
Mau Ravine, Shoa and Abyssinia. Mr. Jackson’s collection 
contains many specimens, including adult males from as far 
west as Uganda and Butiaba on the Albert Nyanza, and Dr. 
Ansorge has obtained the species at Fort George on the Albert 
Edward Nyanza. I have no doubt but that all the other 
specimens of this group, procured in Central Equatorial Africa, 
by Emin Pasha, Dr. Ansorge and Mr. Oscar Neumann, belong 
to this species and not to H. bohndorffi,as Dr. Reichenow has 
already remarked. 

The egg has been described by Heuglin as pale greenish 
blue, with a few violet brown spots most numerous at the 
thicker end, and measures 9°8 x 6°2. 


Hyhpantornis grandis. 


Hyphantornis grandis, Gray, Gen. B. ii. p. 351 (1849) St. Thomas Isl. ; 
Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 450 (1890); Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 559 
(1896); Bocage, Jorn. Lisb. 1904, p. 80 St. Thomas Isl. 

Ploceus grandis, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 66 (1904). 


HYPHANTORNIS GRANDIS 431 


Ploceus collaris (non Vieill.), Fraser, P. Z. S. 1842, p. 142 St. Thomas 
Isl. ; id. Zool. Types, pl. 45 (1849). 


Adult male. Head, chin and upper throat jet black; neck dark chestnut, 
which colour extends somewhat on to the nape; mantle yellowish olive, 
with indistinct blackish shaft-stripes and shading into fairly bright yellow on 
the lower back and upper tail-coverts ; tail entirely yellowish olive; wings 
blackish brown, the lesser coverts and scapulars broadly edged with olive 
yellow; median coverts with broad yellow ends; greater coverts and inner 
secondaries with yellow edges; remainder of quills and the primary-coverts 
with more obscure olive yellow edges; inner margins of quills yellowish 
buff; under wing-coverts bright yellow like the breast, thighs and under tail- 
coverts; the rufous brown of the throat extending slightly on to the chest. 
Iris yellow; bill black; legs horny brown. Total length 8 inches, 
culmen 1:2, wing 4-4, tail 2°8, tarsus 13. g, 10. 68, St. Thomas Isl. 
(Monteiro). 

Adult female. Upper parts ashy olive, with blackish shaft-stripes and 
terminal edges to the feathers of the top of the head and back of neck, and 
broad dark centres to those of the mantle and scapuiars; lower back, upper 
tail-coverts and tail uniform, the olive brightest on the edges of the feathers ; 
wings as in the male, but the yellow is paler and nearly white on the under- 
coverts and bend of the wing; sides of head and neck brownish olive ; 
under parts white, shaded with rust brown on the crop and sides of the 
throat; flanks duller brown; thighs with the hinder part dusky ash. Bill 
brown, fading into flesh-colour on the lower part of the under mandible. 
Wing 4:3. 2, 22. 10. 88, St. Thomas Isl. (IF. Newton). 


The Great Black-headed Weaver inhabits the Island of St. 
Thomas. 

This handsome species, the largest of the Weaver-Birds, 
was first described by Fraser as Ploceus collaris, but that name 
having been previously give to another species by Vieillot 
in 1819, Gould renamed it Hyphantornis grandis. It is a very 
abundant bird on the Island of St. Thomas, to which it is 
apparently restricted, and is known there, according to Mr. F. 
Newton, as the “ Camicella.”’ In habits it closely resembles 
H. cucullatus, its common representative on the West African 
coast. An egg supposed to belong to this bird is remarkably 
small, it is described by Prof. Bocage as uniform yellowish 
white and measuring only 0°8 x 0°68. 


432 HYPHANTORNIS WEYNSI 


Hyphantornis weynsi. 


Melanopteryx weynsi, Dubois, Orn. Monatsb. 1900, p. 69 Bumba. 

Ploceus weynsi, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iil. p. 56 (1904). 

Adult male. Head, neck, back, scapulars and lesser wing-coverts black, 
in less perfect plumaged birds the rump and upper tail-coverts are mottled 
with dull yellow; tail yellowish dusky brown, with pale narrow inner 
margins to most of the feathers; remainder of wing-feathers black, with 
yellow edges, most sharply defined on the inner secondaries and greater- 
coverts and forming broad yellow ends to the median-coverts ; under surface 
of quills dusky brown, with the inner edges bright yellow like the under 
wing-coverts and axillaries; breast, thighs and under tail-coverts bright 
yellow, with the sides of the breast deep chestnut. Iris red; bill black ; 
feet brown. Total length 6-0 inches, culmen 0-7, wing 3:3, tail 2-0, tarsus 
0:8. ¢g, 10. 3. 01, Ntebbe (Jackson). 

Female. Upper parts olive; wing-coverts and scapulars black, edged 
with olive; greater coverts with yellow ends; tail-feathers dusky, edged 
with olive; throat yellowish; chest yellow, washed with olive; abdomen 
and under tail-coverts white; flanks ashy olive ; under wing-coverts yellow. 
Bill and feet dusky. Wing 29. 9, 10. 3. 01, Ntebbe (Jackson). 


Weyns’s Black-headed Weaver ranges from the Upper 
Congo into Uganda. 

The types, male and female, were discovered by Comman- 
dant Weyns at Bumba on the Congo, in 22° 30’ H. long, The 
species was originally referred to the genus Melanopteryx, but 
really belongs to Hyphantornis, as I have defined it. It has . 
recently been procured by Mr. Jackson at Ntebbe in Uganda, 
where he collected two full plumaged males and two females, 
March 10, 1901. 


Hyphantornis rubiginosus. 


Ploceus rubiginosus, Riipp. N. Wirb. Vog. p. 93, pl. 33, fig. 1 (1835-40) 
Abyssiuia ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. ii. p. 55 (1904). 

Cinnamopteryx rubiginosa, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 473 (1890) ; 
Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 566 (1896). 

Hyphantornis castanosoma, Reichen. J. f. O. 1881, p. 334 Bardera. 


Adult male. Head and upper throat jet black; neck, back, breast, 
thighs and under tail-coverts bright chestnut ; scapulars chestnut, with black 


HYPHANTORNIS RUBIGINOSUS 433 


shaft-bands ; wings and tail brownish black, with pale edges to the feathers ; 
these edges are mostly ashy brown on the lesser-coverts, form broad chest- 
nut ends to the median-coverts, broadish buff edges to the greater-coverts 
and inner secondaries, and duller narrower edges to the primary-coverts, 
quills and tail-feathers; inner margins of the quills and the under wing- 
coverts white, the latter mottled with chestnut. ‘ Ivis red brown ; bill black ; 
legs dusky reddish” (Heuglin). Total length 5 inches, culmen 0-7, wing 3:2, 
tail 2-1, tarsus 0°85. 3, 1. 10. 01, Harar (Zaphiro). 

Adult female. Forehead, crown and back pale brown, with small dark 
centres to the feathers of the forehead and crown, mantle more boldly 
striped ; wings and tail dark brown, with pale edges to the feathers; inner 
edges of the quills and the under wing-coverts buff; sides of head pale 
brown, with an eyebrow and the lower half of the cheeks buff; chin and 
throat buff; breast, thighs and under tail-coverts white; crop and flanks 
shaded with tawny buff. ‘Iris bright reddish brown; bill dusky black ; 
legs pale horn blue.” Total length 5-9 inches, culmen 0-7, wing 3:0, tail 2:0, 
tarsus 0'8. 9, 13. 7. 90, Njemps (Jackson). 


Riippell’s Chestnut-Weaver ranges from Benguela and 
Ugogo into Abyssinia. 

The most southern and western locality yet recorded for 
the species is the Katembella River in about 12° 30’ 8. lat., 
where, we are informed by Prof. Bocage (Jorn. Lisb. 1893, 
p- 13), that it has been obtained by Anchieta. 

In Eastern Africa specimens have been collected at Konko, 
Igonda and Mdaburo (Bohm), Usambiro (Emin), Mombasa 
(Wakefield), Ndi (Hildebrandt), Tsavo River and in Taveta 
(Neumann), Lake Nakuro (Delamere), Mambrui and Barawa 
(Fischer), Bardera (Erlanger), Darar (Donaldson Smith), 
Harar (Zaphiro), and the type from Abyssinia (Riippell). 

Mr. Jackson, who found it at Gula-Gula, Kimani and 
Njemps, writes: ‘‘ This bird is decidedly local, and I have met 
with it only in a very few places. At Njemps, near Lake 
Baringo, in July, 1890, I found it breeding in enormous 
number in the thorn-trees.” From Southern Abyssinia Mr. 
Pease writes: ““We were at Owaramulka in December, but 
did not see the Chestnut Weaver-Finch there till our return 


(March, 1905, 28 


434 HYPHANTORNIS BADIUS 


in March, when we found it common among the tall trees.” 
Riippell discovered the species in the warm valley of Abyssinia, 
and Heuglin, not meeting with it in that country, considered 
it to be migratory. 


Hyphantornis badius. 


Hyphantornis badius, Cass. Pr. Philad. Acad. 1850, p. 57 Fazokl ; 
Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 460 (1890); Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 558 
(1896). 

Ploceus badius, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 67 (1904). 

Ploceus rufocitrinus, Mill. Naum. 1851, pt. iv. p. 28 S. Nubza. 

Ploceus mordoreus, Bp. Rey. et Mag. Zool. 1855, p. 76. 

Textor castaneoauratus, Antin. Cat. p. 65 (1864) Blue Nile. 

Hyphantornis axillaris, Heugl. J. f. O. 1867, p. 381. 


Adult male. Head and throat black; remainder of neck and the crop 
chestnut; back bright yellow mottled with chestnut; tail olive brown, 
washed with yellow and with yellow edges to the feathers; wings blackish 
brown, the lesser wing-coverts with olive green edges, median and greater 
coverts edged with yellow, sometimes tinted with rufous ; quills with duller 
yellow outer edges and their inner edges and under wing-coverts bright 
yellow; breast chestnut, fading into yellow on the under tail-coverts. Bill 
black; feet flesh-colour. Total length 5-5 inches, culmen 0-7, wing 2-9, 
tail 1:9, tarsus 0-9 (Heuglin). 

Female. Differs in having the forehead and crown olive green ; 
mantle blackish brown, with broad pale tawny yellowish brown edges to the 
feathers, and passing into uniform rufous on the lower back ; eyebrows, 
sides of head, crop and flanks brownish yellow, fading into white on the 
throat and remainder of the under parts. Bill horny brown, paler beneath ; 
feet pale brown (Reichenow). 


Cassin’s Masked-Weaver inhabits Abyssinia and the White 
Nile. 

The type of the species was procured at Fazokl, on the Blue 
Nile, at which river Antinori found his type of Ploceus castaneo- 
auratus, and the type of Ploceus rufocitrinus, Mill., came from 
Southern Nubia. 

The range of the species is comparitively limited ; Heuglin 
found it in large flocks along the White Nile in March and 


HYPHANTORNIS JACKSONI 435 


April, when it was beginning to assume the breeding plumage, 
which was attained in May and the beginning of June, when he 
met with them at Sennar, on the Blue Nile, in the Taka district 
and along the Atbara. During the day they feed in pairs or 
small flocks on the grassy plains, retiring with noisy cries and 
aloud fluttering of the wings to roost in tall, thickly foliaged 
trees as the night approaches. 


Hyphantornis jacksoni. 


Ploceus jacksoni, Shelley, Ibis, 1888, p. 293, pl. 7 Kilimanjaro ; Reichen. 
Vog. Afr. iii. p. 68 (1904). 

Hyphantornis jacksoni, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 557 (1896). 

Hyphantornis dimidiatus (non Salvad.), Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 459 
(1890). 

Ploceus dimidiatus, Reichen. Zool. Jahrb. 1886, p. 130, pl. 5, fig. 3. 


Type, adult male. Head and neck black; entire back canary yellow ; 
tail yellowish olive, with broad pale yellow inner edges to the feathers ; 
scapulars like the back, but with blackish angular stripes on their outer 
webs ; wings brownish black, with the lesser coverts mostly olive and the 
margins of the other feathers yellow, broadest and brightest on the ends of 
the median-coverts and on the inner half of the wing ; under wing-coverts 
and broad inner edges to the quills bright pale yellow. The black of the 
throat ends in a point on the crop; remainder of the front half of the throat, 
front and sides of the breast deep chestnut; centre of breast, thighs and 
under tail-coverts canary yellow, with a wash of rufous on the smaller tail- 


coverts. ‘Iris orange red; bill black; legs pale reddish brown.” Total 
length 5:5 inches, culmen 0°6, wing 2°85, tail 1:9, tarsus 0-9. Kilimanjaro 
(Jackson). 


Male, winter plumage. Differs in the upper parts being ashy brown, with 
a slight yellowish tinge, yellower on the rump and mottled with dark brown 
centres to the feathers; sides of head and the under parts buff, the breast 
slightly mottled with chestnut. With the exception of the brown mottling 
of the breast it probably resembles the full plumaged female, which is not 
known to me. Iris orange; bill and legs pale. g¢.12. 1. 00, Lake Baringo 
(Delamere). 


Jackson’s Golden-backed Weaver ranges from the Albert 
Nyanza and Victoria Nyanza to the Indian Ocean. 
The type was discovered by Mr. Jackson on Kilimanjaro, 


436 HYPHANTORNIS DIMIDIATUS 


and he has since procured specimens at Butiaba on the Albert 
Nyanza, Ntebbi in Uganda, Elgeyo, Nandi and Lake Baringo. 
Mr. Oscar Neumann obtained several examples in Kavirondo 
in March. Fischer’s collection contained two males from 
Arusha in March and four males and a female from Kagehi in 
November. I have seen full plumaged males, killed in March, 
July and November, so possibly they retain their bright 
plumage throughout the year, and that three specimens in 
moult procured by Mr. Jackson in January are immature birds ; 
but as yet we have no notes from the field naturalists regarding 
this species. The eggs, probably like those of many of the 
allied species, vary considerably in colouring. 


Hyphantornis dimidiatus. 


Hyphantornis dimidiatus, Salvad. and Ant. Att. R. Ac. Torino, 1873, 
p. 360; id. Ann. Mus. Genoy. 1873, p. 483, pl. 3 Kassala ; Shelley, 
B. Afr. I. No. 556 (1896). 

Ploceus dimidiatus, Reichen. Voég. Afr. iii. p. 69 (1904). 

Pioceus fischeri, Reichen. J. f. O. 1887, p. 69; id. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 70 
(1904). 

Hyphantornis fischeri, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 458 (1890) ; Nehrkorn, 
Kat. Hiers. p. 130 (1899) egg. 

Male in full plumage. Similar to H. capitalis in colouring, with the 
exception of the crop and breast being more strongly shaded with chestnut. 
It is also rather larger. ‘Iris brown; bill black; feet pale reddish brown.” 
Total length 5:7 inches, culmen 0:7, wing 2:8, tail 1:9, tarsus 0°85. ¢, 
16. 8.85, Wadelai (Emin). 

Adult female. Differs in having no black on the plumage; forehead and 
crown olive-shaded brown ; back ashy brown, with broad dark centres to the 
feathers of the mantle; an obscure yellowish buff eyebrow; sides of head 
and neck, throat, front and sides of breast, thighs and under tail-coverts butfy 
brown, fading into white towards the chin and centre of the breast. “Iris 
pearly; bill, upper mandible dusky brown, lower one paler; feet pale 
reddish brown.’ Wing 2:85. 9,14. 8. 85, Wadelai (Emin). 


Antinori’s Black-headed Weaver ranges over the Victoria 
Nyanza and Nile districts between 3° 8. lat. and 16° N. lat. 


HYPHANTORNIS DIMIDIATUS 437 


The most southern range known to me for this species is 
Kagehi, at the southern end of Victoria Nyanza, where 
Fischer procured the types of Ploceus fischeri in November and 
December, and met with at the same locality H. jacksoni, 
which latter allied species is apparently more at home in the 
Masai district, while the present one belongs rather to the 
Nile region. Mr. Jackson’s collection contains specimens 
from Butiaba on the Albert Nyanza. Dr. Ansorge found the 
species at the Albert Edward Nyanza and in Unyoro, and 
brought home thirteen of their eggs all out of one colony of 
nests. These are described by Mr. Hartert as very variable 
in colouring. ‘‘Some are bluish green, others bluish green 
with brown spots, or plain dark rufous brown, or plain 
brownish olive, almost like a nightingale’s egg; or brown 
spotted with darker brown.’ ‘They measure on an average 


0°86 x 0:60. 

“These birds,” according to Dr. Ansorge, “ fed chiefly on 
the ‘matama’ (Kaffre corn). The males were noticed to be 
most vigorous nest-builders, selecting the extreme tip of a 
branch, on which they fastened the strips of grass they had 
brought in their beaks. The female occasionally came to 
inspect the work, and the male sometimes left its work 
unfinished and vigorously began another nest. The female 
occasionally took part in bringing some soft grass for the 
inner lining of the nest. When the nest was finished, the 
male most vigorously persecuted every other bird that ven- 
tured to alight on his chosen twig, but it never came to real 
fighting between them. In other species of Hyphantornis 
both sexes were observed to be equally busy in building.” 

In the British Museum there are fifteen specimens from 
Magungo in Unyoro and Wadelai, collected by Emin, who also 
procured the species at Agaru. From the wide tract of coun- 
try between the latter place and Kassala it has not been 


438 HYPHANTORNIS CAPITALIS 


recorded, unless to this species belongs the Ploceus affinis, 
Heuglin, which was never described. At Kassala,in one of the 
gardens of the town, the type was procured by Antinori’s 
dragoman, Kohn, in September, 1871, and has been figured. 
This is the eastern representative of H. melanocephalus ; 
H. capitalis from the Niger district is an intermediate form, 
and both might be regarded as subspecies of H. melanocephalus. 


Hyphantornis capitalis. 


Tanagra capitalis, Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 482 (1790). 

Hyphantornis capitalis, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 458 (1890); Shelley, 
B. Afr. I. No. 554 (1896). 

Ploceus capitalis, Shelley, Ibis, 1887, p. 34, pl. 2, fig. 1: Reichen. Vog. 
Afr. iii. p. 71 (1904). 

Male in full plumage. Differs from that of H. melanocephalus only in 
being smaller and in having a shade of chestnut on the crop and down the 
centre of the breast; entire head and the throat black; remainder of the 
neck and the under parts golden yellow, washed with chestnut on the crop 
and, less so, down the centre of the breast ; back yellow, with an olive shade 
on the mantle and upper tail-coverts ; tail olive brown, washed with yellow 
at the edges of the feathers ; wings blackish brown, with broad bright yellow 
edges to all the feathers excepting the lesser coverts, which are like the 
mantle ; under wing-coverts and broad inner edges to the quills bright 
yellow. ‘Iris brown; bill black; feet flesh-colour.” Total length 4:9 
inches, culmen 0:6, wing 2°65, tail 1:8, tarsus 0:85. 3, 8. 82, Abutschi 
(Forbes). 

Adult female. Differs in having the forehead, crown, back and upper 
tail-coverts uniform yellowish olive; pale edges of the wing-feathers olive 
yellow and yellowish buff; eyebrows, sides of head, chin and throat pale 
yellow; breast and under tail-coverts white, with a slight ashy shade on 
the flanks and thighs. Wing 2°6. ¢, 8. 82, Abutschi (Forbes). 


The Niger Black-headed Weaver inhabits Nigeria. 

It is a small representative of H. melanocephalus. As far 
as I can ascertain, the occurrence of this species in Sene- 
gambia rests on its being mentioned by Hartlaub from that 
country on the authority of Lichtenstein, and from Casamanse 


HYPHANTORNIS MELANOCEPHALUS 439 


on that of Gujon. If these localities are correct, the specimens 
referred to probably belong to H. melanocephalus. 

In the Niger district it has been obtained by Forbes at 
Abutschi and Shonga and by Mr. Hartert at Loko. 

I likewise doubt its being a native of St. Thomas Island ; 
but Prof. Barboza du Bocage refers to this species a specimen 
in the Lisbon Museum which was nominally obtained on that 
island in 1861 by Sig. Gomes Roberto, and apparently it is this 
identical specimen which Sousa has referred to H. intermedius. 
Were it indigenous to that island, one would expect it to have 
been met with there by Mr, F. Newton or Mr. L. Fea. 

Since I wrote the above I find that Dr. Reichenow admits 
Senegal (Bullock) and Bulama Island (I. Newton) as evidence 
of its occurrence in the Senegambian district. It appears to 
me more probable that there is an error in these localities 
or in the determination of the names, than that the present 
species should occur in the same country as its extremely near 
ally and that neither should be known from the large tract 
of country between Senegambia and the Niger. 


Hyphantornis melanocephalus. 


Loxia melanocephala, Linn. S. N. (x.) p. 175 (1858); (xii.) i. p. 305 
(1766) Guinea. 

Hyphantornis melanocephalus, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 457 (1890) ; 
Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 553 (1896). 

Ploceus melanocephalus, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 71 (1904). 

Ploceus duboisi, Hartl. Bull. Mus. H. Nat. Belg. 1886, p. 144, pl. 4, fig. 1 
Tanganyika. 


Male in full plumage. Entire head and the throat black ; remainder of 
the neck and the under parts bright canary -yellow; back yellow; with an 
olive shade on the mantle and upper tail-coyerts; tail olive brown, washed 
with olive on the edges of the feathers; wings blackish brown, with broad 
bright yellow edges to all the feathers excepting the lesser coverts, which 
are like the mantle; under wing-coverts and broad inner edges to the quills 


440 HYPHANTORNIS MELANOCEPHALUS 


pale bright yellow. Total length 5-8 inches, culmen 0:65, wing 3:1, tail 2:1, 
tarsus 0-9. ¢, Gambia (Rendall). 
Adult female. Very similar to that of H. capitalis, but slightly larger. 
Male in winter plumage. Similar to the female, but with a wash of 
grey on the cheeks and the mantle of a rather more rufous shade. ‘ Bill 
ashy grey, shading into slate-colour on the upper part; feet flesh-pink”’ 
(A. G. Butler). 


The Gambia Black-headed Weaver inhabits Senegambia. 

In the British Museum there are specimens from the 
Gambia River collected by Sir A. Maloney and Dr, P. Rendall. 
The latter naturalist writes: ‘‘This bird, which more frequently 
is to be seen than any other member of the family, prefers the 
lower branches of the mimosa, common in the marshy ground 
between the mangrove swamps; and though it also builds in 
colonies, I have seldom seen more than two nests on a single 
tree; they were usually about six or seven feet from the ground- 
level. Their eggs, which present every variation in colour 
between olive green and russet brown, are seldom in clutches 
of more than two, though once or twice I have taken three from 
a nest.” 

The species has also been procured at Casamanse and 
Galam; but in the Niger district it is apparently entirely re- 
placed by H. capitalis. 

The type of Ploceus duboisi, Hartl., which belongs to this 
species, formed part of Storms’s Tanganyika collection, and I 
would suggest that the specimen may have been taken on board 
from the Senegambia coast, as I find no evidence for supposing 
the species to be a native of any other country. 

Regarding the moult, Dr. A. G. Butler kindly informs me 
that he had a live specimen out of colour in 1898, which soon 
acquired the full breeding plumage and retained it uninter- 
ruptedly for six years, up to last winter, when it passed into 
the duller plumage resembling that of the female. 


THE BIRDS OF AFRICA,PL.XLL 


1 
2.Hyphantornis nyasé 


HYPHANTORNIS NYAS# 441 


Hyphantornis nyase. (PI. 40, fig. 1.) 


Hyphantornis nyasx, Shelley, Ibis, 1894, p. 20 Zomba, Milanji; id. 
B. Afr. I. No. 552 (1896). 

Ploceus nyase, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 72 (1904). 

Ploceus fiilleborni, Reichen. Orn. Monatsb. 1900, p. 99 Rupira. 

Full pluwmaged male. Entire head black; neck all round golden yellow, 
the black of the chin not extending to the middle throat; hinder neck 
shading into the uniform olive yellow of the back, upper tail-coverts, tail, 
lesser wing-coverts and outer edges of the other wing-feathers; inner mar- 
gin of quills yellowish buff ; under wing-coverts pale yellow; breast, thighs 
and under tail-coverts yellow like the neck. Total length 6-6 inches, culmen 
0-8, wing 3:1, tail 2:3, tarsus 09. g, 8. 92, Milanji Plains (A. Whyte). 

Male, winter plumage. Differing only in the absence of black on the 
head ; forehead and crown olive and the chin and under parts yellow; bill 
brown, inclining to flesh-colour on the lower mandible. ¢ , Zomba, July 
(A. Whyte). The female, which I have not seen, is probably like this at all 
seasons and would closely resemble in plumage dull specimens of Xantho- 
philus xanthops, from which it would be most readily distinguished by its 
longer and more pointed bill. 


The Nyasa Black-headed Weaver inhabits British Central 
Africa and Southern German Kast Africa. 

It is represented in the British Museum by five specimens, 
four collected by Mr. Whyte, who discovered the types at 
Zomba and on the Milanji Plateau, and one by Mr. MacClounie 
in South Angoniland. 

To the north of Lake Nyasa, in German East Africa, Dr. 
Fiilleborn procured the type of Ploceus fulleborni at Rupira, 
and has also obtained the species at Songea. 


Hyphantornis bertrandi. 


Hyphantornis bertrandi, Shelley, Ibis, 1893, p. 23, pl. 2 Zomba, Milanyt ; 
id. B. Afr. I. No. 548 (1896). 

Ploceus bertrandi, Reichen. Vég. Afr. ili. p. 77 (1904). 

Adult male, type. Crown rufous shaded yellow, a crescent across the 
nape, sides of head and the upper half of the throat black, followed by 
golden yellow, which extends almost across the hind neck and separates the 
black nuchal patch from the ear-coverts; remainder of the upper parts 


442 HYPHANTORNIS VITELLINUS 


uniform olive yellow, with slight indications of brown shafts to the feathers 
of the mantle; median and greater wing coverts and the quills dark brown, 
broadly edged with bright olive yellow; remainder of under parts rich 
golden yellow, with a very faint rufous shade on the middle of the throat ; 
under wing-coverts, shafts and inner margins of the quills bright yellow. 
Bill black; tarsi, feet and claws pale brown. Total length 6:3 inches, 
culmen 0:86, wing 3°3, tail 2:6, tarsus 10. ¢, 7. 8. 91, Zomba 
(A. Whyte). 

Adult female. Differing in having no black on the head nor yellow on 
the crown; forehead, crown, nape and ear-coverts olive, like the back; 
cheeks, chin and throat rather dull yellow, like the under parts, which are 
slightly shaded with olive on the sides of the crop and the flanks. Wing 3:3. 
Songwe (A. Whyte). 


Bertrand’s Masked-Weaver inhabits East Africa between 
the Zambesi and Zanzibar. 

The species was discovered by Mr. Alexander Whyte at 
Zomba and on the Milanji plains, and named after Dr. P. L. 
Sclater’s son, Bertrand Lutley Sclater, then Commander of the 
Police Force of British Central Africa, and who died a few 
years later in Ugando, much regretted by all who knew him. 

This fine, well-marked Weaver has also been procured in 
the highlands, at the northern extremity of Lake Nyasa, and 
at Songea, by Dr. Filleborn, and in the Ulugura country on 
the Upper Kingani River by Dr. Stulhmann. 


Hyphantornis vitellinus. 


Fringilla vitellina, Licht. Verz. Doubl. p. 23 (1823) Senegambia. 

Hyphantornis vitellinus, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 462 (1890); Shelley, 
B. Afr. I. No. 541 (1896) ; Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 130 (1899) egg. 

Ploceus vitellinus, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 81 (1904). 

Ploceus ruficeps, Swains. B. W. Afr. ii. p. 262 (1837) Gambia. 

Ploceus sublarvatus, Mill. Naum. pt. iv. 1851, p. 28; Beitr. 1854, pl. 12. 

Xanthophilus sulphureus, Reichenb. Singy. p. 84, pl. 42, fig. 313 (1863), 
Q Sennar. 

Textor chrysopygus, Heugl. J. f. O. 1864, p. 246 Nubia. 

“ Ploceus flavomarginatus, Wiirt.”’ Heugl. J. f. O. 1867, p. 299, ¢. 


HYPHANTORNIS VITELLINUS 443 


Hyphantornis vitellinus uluensis, Neumann, J. f. O. 1900, p. 282 
Ulu Mts. 


Ploceus vitellinus uluensis, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 82 (1904). 


Adult male. Sides of forehead, sides of head, chin and upper throat 
black; remainder of the head and the under parts golden yellow, shading 
gradually into chestnut on the front of the crown, and the middle of the 
lower throat is slightly washed with that colour; back of neck and the 
mantle uniform olive yellow; lower back and upper tail-coverts golden 
yellow ; tail olive brown washed with yellow, and with yellowish edges to 
the feathers ; under wing-coverts and inner margins of the quills pale yellow. 
“Tris orange red; bill black; feet flesh-colour” (Jackson). Total length 
5'5 inches, culmen 0°6, wing 2°8, tail 2:0, tarsus 0°8. Accra (Ussher). 

Adult female. Differs from the full plumaged male in the forehead, 
crown and back being ashy brown, with broad dark brown centres to the 
feathers of the mantle and only a slight wash of yellow on the lower back 
and upper tail-coverts; lesser wing-coverts ashy brown; median and greater 
wing-coverts and the inner secondaries broadly edged with buff; under 
parts buff, slightly shaded with yellow on the cheeks and throat. Iris 
brown; bill brown; lower mandible whitish; feet brownish flesh-colour. 
Wing 26. 2, 10. 2. 72, Accra (T. E. Buckley). 


The Vitelline Masked- Weaver ranges from 18° N. lat. 
southward to the Ulu highlands, 2° S. lat. 

Mr. Oscar Neumann has separated as a subspecies (H. 
vitellinus uluensis) his specimens from the Ulu Mountains and 
Neguruman; I have not seen the types, but it appears to me 
extremely improbable that they should differ from Mr. 
Jackson’s series from Kamassia and Elgeyu and from Kmin’s 
from Wadelai, which all agree perfectly with specimens in the 
British Museum from Accra and Senegambia. The specimen 
with the least black on the forehead, I have seen, is labelled 
‘“‘ Nubia (Verreaux)” in the British Museum. 

The type of H. vitellinus came from Senegambia, and the 
species is represented from that country, by a full plumaged 
male in the British Museum and one from Gorée in the Lisbon 
Museum. It has not been recorded from Liberia, but on the 
Gold Coast it is fairly evenly distributed, at least towards the 
coast, where T. HE. Buckley and myself met with it near Cape 


444 HYPHANTORNIS VITELLINUS 


Coast and at Accra. The Drs. Reichenow and Liihder found 
these Weavers breeding both at Accra and at Abokobi, with 
fresh eggs inthe middle of August. The nests were hung from 
bushes at five to eight feet from the ground, one or more being 
suspended irom the same bough, but were not in large colonies. 
The nests were of the usual oval form, with the entrance-tube 
hanging down. The eggs, bluish white with pale reddish blue 
or violet markings, measure 0°38 x 0°6. 

The occurrence of the species in the Niger district is 
known to me only by a female specimen obtained by W. A. 
Forbes at Abutschi. 

In North-east Africa Heuglin met with these birds in small 
flocks from May to July, at Berbera and up the White and 
Blue Niles. Their favourite resorts were small groups of 
acacia and other thorny trees in damp situations, on islands, 
and in the maize-fields. They were feeding on grain and 
insects, and their call-note was a shrill chirp. The males 
moult into their bright breeding plumage in June. The nest 
is woven out of fresh green grass and suspended from a 
twig at a height from the ground varying from three to twenty 
feet; many of these nests were empty and apparently used only 
as shelters for the males. The eggs vary greatly in colouring, 
from whitish to clay-colour or bluish green, some having only 
dusky bluish grey dots and freckles, while others are thickly 
spotted with reddish brown. He never found more than five 
eggs in a nest, and in their second brood there were generally 
only three. The eggs are figured in his work (Orn, N. O. Afr. 
pl. 47, figs. 8 to 12). When the young are able to fly they 
assemble in flocks in the open country and maize-fields and 
wander southward in November. 

The Hon. N. C. Rothschild and Mr, Wollaston write: 
“The adult male is a very conspicuous bird, and his long- 
drawn, wheezy call-note might be heard about every fifty yards 


HYPHANTORNIS REICHARDI 445 


in the thick scrub. Several of their hanging bottle-shaped 
nests were found, sometimes three or four depending from the 
same branch; one pair of birds was observed building at 
intervals for three or four weeks, but no eggs were laid during 
our stay at Shendi.” This is the most northern range known 
to me for the species. 

In Equatorial Africa specimens have been collected by 
Emin at Agaru and Wadelai; by Mr. Jackson at Kamassia, 
Ntebbi and Elgeyu; at the latter place they were breeding in 
small colonies in August. 


Hyphantornis reichardi. 


Ploceus reichardi, Reichen. Zool. Jahrb. 1886, p. 150, Karema; id. 
J. £. O. 1886, pl. 2, fig. 3; id. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 83 (1904). 

Hyphantornis reichardi, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 463 (1890); Shelley, 
B. Afr. I. No. 542 (1896). 


Type. “Forehead, sides of head and the upper half of the throat black; 
crown rufous; back and sides of neck and the upper tail-coverts golden 
yellow ; crop golden rufous; breast and under tail-coverts golden yellow 
washed with rufous; wings blackish brown, with broad yellow edges to the 
feathers; under wing-coverts and inner edges of the quills yellow; tail 
brown washed with olive yellow, and with yellow edges to the feathers. 
Tris orange yellow; bill black; feet brownish flesh-colour. Total length 
5 inches, culmen 0:6, wing 2°7, tail 2:0 tarsus 0°8”’ (Reichenow). 

Reichard’s Vitelline Weaver ranges from Usegua to Lake 
Tanganyika. 

The typical specimens were procured by Bohm at Sim- 
bamweni in Usegua and near Kerema on Lake Tanganyika, 
both places in about 7° S. lat. Storms also found the species 
on the western side of that lake. Bohm mentions (J. f. O. 
1885, p. 70) meeting with a colony of these Weavers breeding 
on March 17; some of the nests contained young birds and 
others eggs, but he never saw more than two ina brood. The 
eggs he describes as of a bluish or greyish green shade, with 
spots or more confused marking of dusky brown, and measur- 
ing 0°38 x 06. 


446 BRACHYCOPE ANOMALA 
Hyphantornis lineolatus. 


Hyphantornis lineolatus, Sharpe, M. 8. in Brit. Mus. Somalz. 

Type. Similar to H. vitellinus, but differing in the upper parts, from 
the nape to the end of the tail, being greener, and in having the mantle 
strongly streaked with black shaft-stripes to the feathers. ‘Iris red.” 
Total length 5-4 inches, culmen 0-6, wing 2°8, tail 2:0, tarsus 0:8. g, 
28. 9. 94, Sheik Hassein (I. Gillett). 

Male in imperfect plumage. Differs only in the olive extending forward 
through the middle of the crown and expanding over the whole forehead ; 
sides of head, chin and upper throat mottled with black. @, juv. 13. 12. 98, 
Hargeisa (Lovat). 

Female. Very like that of H. vitellinus, but with a slightly more olive 
shade on the rump. Somaliland (J. J. Harrison). 


The Striped Vitelline Weaver inhabits Somaliland. 

I have described the only three specimens I have seen of 
this species. It probably entirely replaces H. vitellinus in 
Somaliland, so the specimen obtained by Dr. Donaldson Smith 
in the Darro Mountain should belong to this form. 


Genus XIX. BRACHYCOPE. 


Most nearly allied in general characters to Hyphantornis ; but differs 
from all the other Ploceine in the comparatively short first primary, which 
does not quite reach to the end of the wing-coverts, and in the tail being 
very short, not more than half the length of the wing. Bill rather stout. 

Type. 

Brachycope, Reichen. J. f. O. 1900, p. 249. . . . . . B.anomala. 


The genus is represented by a single species from the Upper Congo 
district. 


Brachycope anomala. 


Ploceus anomalus, Reichen. J. f. O. 1887, pp. 214, 307 Stanley Falls. 
Brachycope anomala, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 97 (1904). 


Male in full plumage. Upper parts brown, shading into yellow on the 
front half of the crown, brightest on the forehead, where there are a few 


PACHYPHANTES 447 


‘ 


black marks; remainder of crown and back of neck pale brown slightly 
mottled with brownish black; mantle, wings and tail blackish brown, with 
rather narrow pale brown edges to the feathers; lower back and upper 
tail-coverts pale brown; under surface of quills dark brown, with the inner 
margins isabelline like the under wing-coverts; sides of head, chin and 
throat black, with the sides of the lower throat and the crop yellow; breast, 
thighs and under tail-coverts isabelline, with broad black ends to a few of 
the feathers on the front of the chest. Iris dark brown, bill black, feet 
pale brown. Total length about 4 inches, culmen 0:5, wing 2:4, tail 1-1, 
tarsus 0°8. 26. 3. 04, Jabbir (J. J. Harrison). 

Female. Differs from the full plumaged male in having no yellow nor 
black on the plumage ; forehead and crown pale brown; sides of head, chin, 
throat and crop isabelline like the entire under parts. Culmen 0-5, wing 
12°15, tail 0-1, tarsus 0°8. Yambuya (Bonny). 


The Anomalous Weaver inhabits the Upper Congo district. 

The type, a male in imperfect plumage, was discovered by 
Bohndortf at Stanley Falls, on the Equator. In the Tring 
Museum there are three specimens, obtained by Bonny during 
the time he was stationed at Yambuya with the unlucky rear- 
column of the Stanley Expedition for the relief of Emin Pasha. 
These include a male and two in the plumage I here describe, 
as that of the female. Recently the British Museum has been 
presented with two, apparently fully adult males, by Mr. J. J. 
Harrison, who obtained them at Jabbir on the Bomikandi 
River, a northern tributary of the Congo, and this is all that 
is known regarding the species. 


Genus XX. PACH YPHANTES. 


Characterised by the very stout bill and in the throat being black in full 
plumaged birds of both sexes. It is similar to Hyphantornis in general 
structure, but is rather compactly built and resembles Othyphantes in the 
females having as much black on the head as in the males, in this case more, 
the crown being black in full plumaged females and yellow in the males. 

Type. 

Pachyphantes, Shelley, B. Afr. I. p. 36 (1896). . . . P. superciliosus. 


448 PACHYPHANTES SUPERCILIOSUS 


The genus, which includes only one known species, is confined to 
Western Tropical Africa. 


Pachyphantes superciliosus. 


Hyphantornis superciliosus, Shelley, Ibis, 1873, p. 140 W. Africa; 
Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 470, pl. 14 (1890). 

Pachyphantes superciliosus, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 494 (1896). 

Ploceus superciliosus, Reichen. J. f. O. 1902, p. 36 Togo; id. Vog. Afr. 
iii. p. 96 (1904). 

Ploceus pachyrhynchus, Reichen. Orn. Monatsb. 1893, p. 29 Karevia. 

Pachyphantes pachyrhynchus, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 495 (1896). 


Adult male. Crown golden yellow, strongly shaded with chestnut on the 
forehead, and passing into yellowish olive on the nape; back of neck, back 
and upper tail-coverts yellowish olive, with brownish black centres to the 
feathers, most strongly marked on the mantle; tail and wings dark brown, 
with narrow pale edges to the feathers ; under wing-coverts and inner edges 
of the quills sandy buff; sides of head, chin and middle throat black, the 
black ending in a point just in front of the crop, which is golden yellow, of 
a rather more tawny shade than the yellow of the sides of the upper neck 
and breast; abdomen, thighs and under tail-coverts sandy buff. ‘“ Iris 
brown; upper mandible horny black, lower one blue grey; legs brownish 
flesh-colour”’ (Forbes). Total length 5 inches, culmen 0°75, wing 2°5, tail 
1:8, tarsus 0°8. Fantee (Sharpe Coll.). 

Adult female. Differs in having the forehead and crown black, with a 
few olive yellow tips to the feathers; sides of forehead chestnut, passing into 
a broad golden yellow eyebrow; the yellow of the upper neck encroaches 
somewhat upon the ear-coverts. ‘Iris, bill and legs as in the male”’ 
(Forbes). Wing 2°5. West Africa (Brit. Mus.). 

Male in winter. No yellow on the plumage. Upper parts sandy brown, 
shading into dull black on the crown; mantle striped, with blackish centres 
to the feathers; pale edges to the feathers of the wings and tail broader ; 
sides of forehead and a broad eyebrow rufous buff, separated by a black band 
through the eye from the rufous buff of the cheek and ear-coverts, which 
colour spreads over the throat, sides of neck, body and the under tail-coverts, 
fading into white on the centre of the breast. 


The Compact Weaver ranges from Liberia to the Congo 
and eastward into the Upper White Nile district. 

In Northern Liberia Demery procured a male specimen in 
a cane jungle near Juring, while on his expedition up the 


OTHYPHANTES 449 


Sulymah River. This is the only record I find of its 
occurrence north of the Gold Coast. 

The types of the species are females, one in breeding, or 
summer, plumage, obtained somewhere in West Africa by 
Wilson Saunders, and the other beginning to pass out of the 
winter plumage, was procured for me by my late friend, John 
Smith, of Accra, in the beginning of March, 1872. The speci- 
mens sent to Ussher by Aubinn probably came from Denkera. 
Mr. Boyd Alexander writes: ‘‘ Not by any means a common 
Weaver-Bird, but obtained at Pong.” In Togoland specimens 
have been collected at Bismarkburg (Biithner) and at Sebbe 
(Baumann). 

Falkenstem met with the species at Bonny, and Forbes 
obtained four specimens at Shonga from November 17 to 
December 1, which show that the species passes out of the 
summer plumage towards the end of December, and the Accra 
specimen indicates that the spring moult begins early in 
March. 

The species has not been recorded from Camaroons nor 
Gaboon, but on the Loango coast it has been procured by 
Falkenstein and Petit, and on the Lower Congo, at Manyanga, 
by Bohndorff. 

The type of Ploceus pachyrhynchus is a full plumaged male 
contained in Emin and Stuhlmann’s collection from Kerevia 
in the Ukonju country near the Albert Edward Nyanza. 
Emin also procured a male in breeding plumage in April at 
Nyangabo, not far from Masindi in the Upper White Nile 
district, where it has likewise been found by Dr. Ansorge. 


Genus XXI. OTHYPHANTBES. 


Very similar to Hyphantornis in structure and also in the colouring aud 
pattern of the wings; but differing in the adults having the entire throat 
uniform bright yellow; females generally with more, never with less, black 


(March, 1905. 29 


450 OTHYPHANTES 


on the head than the males; plumage of the sexes sometimes alike, some- 
times distinguished by the top of the head being black in the females and 
yellow, or partly so, in the males; lower back uniform brown, yellow or 
olive, contrasting generally very strongly with the mantle in both sexes, and 
in adults of both sexes the abdomen and under tail-coverts are alike, bright 
yellow or white. 
Type. 

Othyphantes, Shelley, B. Afr. I. p. 87 (1896). . . . . O. reichenowt. 

The genus is confined to Tropical Africa, and I have divided it into seven 
species, but as two of these, 0. sharpei and O. lovati, are known only by 
single specimens, they may prove to be varieties of the species to which 
they show close affinities. 


KEY TO THE SPECIES. 


a. Abdomen yellow like the throat, breast and under 
tail-coverts. 
aw. Lower back uniform yellowish olive. 
a2. Back of head black, 


8 


a®. Mantle uniform black in adults. 
a*, Forehead yellow. . . reichenowt, 3 . 
b+. Forehead black, like the crown one Hes 
of head. 
es Ghinyellow . =. ..-.. . : « *eichenowy 9° 
= Chintblacks =) e.0 nigrimentum. \& ; 


o3: ee olive yellow with cae crsline) to fats 
feathers; top and sides of head black. 
c+. Hind neck and back blacker, the olive 
yellow of these parts more confined to 
the sides of the feathers . . . sharpe. 

d+. Hind neck and mantle more Give: the 
feathers being entirely surrounded with 

olive yellow .. . stuhlmanm, 3, 2. 
b2, Back of head ashy olive ; forehead! and nats 6 
crown yellow; back olive yellow with dusky 


centres to the feathers of the mantle. . . . lovati. % < 
bt. Lower back ashy brown; back of head yellowish 
olive . . « baglafecht. & 


5. Abdomen and under tail- coer eaten or prowaish 
buff; lower back ashy brown. 
ct, Throat and front of chest clear yellow. 
c?, Forehead yellow . . 2. « © Cmin, fo, ad. 
d?. Entire upper half of head black ee emini, 9, ad. 
d'. Throat and front of chest not yellow _Tpaeior and winter plumage 
of the last three species. 


\ 


OTHYPHANTES REICHENOWI 451 
Othyphantes reichenowi. 


Sycobrotus reichenowi, Fischer, J. f. O. 1884, p. 180 Great Arusha. 

Othyphantes reichenowi, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 508 (1896). 

Hyphantornis reichenowi, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 418 (1890). 

Ploceus reichenowi, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 38, pl. , AS Se Liisa One 

Adult male. Forehead, most of the crown, a band round the back of the 
ear-coverts, sides of upper neck, cheeks and entire under parts canary 
yellow, slightly tinged with chestnut near the forehead; back of head and 
neck and the mantle brownish black ; remainder of back and the upper tail- 
coverts olive yellow; tail olive brown; wings brownish black, with rather 
dull yellow edges to the feathers; these edges are confined to the ends of the 
lesser and median coverts, the outer edges of the greater coverts and quills ; 
under surface of wings, with broadish inner edges to the quills and the 
coverts yellowish buff, edge of pinion bright yellow; sides of head with a 
large patch of black extending back from the upper mandible and including 
the ear-coverts. ‘Iris pale yellow; bill black; legs pale brown.’ Total 
length 5:8 inches, culmen 0-7, wing 3-4, tail 2-4, tarsus 1:0. g,1. 1.00, Lake 
Nakuro (Delamere). 

Adult female. Differs in having the entire top and sides of the head 
black. Wing 3:1. 9, 29. 11. 99, Nairobe (Delamere). 

Immature. Similar to the female, but differs in the black feathers of the 
upper parts being edged with yellowish olive. ‘Iris yellow; bill and legs 
brown.” 3, 29. 11. 99, Nairobe (Delamere). 


Reichenow’s Weaver ranges over the eastern side of Hast 
Africa between 5° S. lat. and 1° N. lat. 

The typical specimens were discovered by Fischer at 
Sigirari in Arusha and at Lake Naiwasha. Specimens have 
been collected by Sir Harry Johnston on Kilimanjaro, between 
5,000 and 6,000 feet; by Dr. Hinde at Machako’s and Ngong ; 
by Mr. Neumann in Kavirondo, at Elmentata and Guassa 
Masai; by Dr. Ansorge at Nairobe in Kikuyu, and by Mr, 
Jackson on Mount Elgon, Lake Elmentata, Mau Ravine, in 
Nandi, at Toro, Elgeyu, and at Elmekita in Masailand. Many 
of these specimens are now in the British Museum, where 
there are also eleven others procured by Lord Delamere in the 
Kikuyu country and to the north of Mount Kenia. 

According to Dr. Hinde they breed both in October and 


452 OTHYPHANTES REICHENOWI 


May. Mr. Jackson found them breeding at Nandi, July 6, 
1896, and wrote: “ Nest like that of the common Yellow 
Weaver-Bird, in a small tree like a mountain ash, about ten 
feet from the ground. Three eggs, white, with large rusty 
brown spots.” He also writes from Nandi, May 24, 1898: 
“The nests vary in size, some being much more compact than 
others. They are made entirely of grass, mostly green, but it 
soon becomes dry. The ceiling is composed of green grass- 
seed heads beautifully arranged, and the floor where the eggs 
rest is also lined with seed-heads, and very often with soft 
down of groundsel and thistles. Most of the eggs were very 
much incubated by the end of June, many of the nests con- 
taining young.” ‘Two days later he remarks: “ Breeding. 
Nest with three blue eggs, no spots, much incubated ; another 
with young. Nest woven on to the stem of a low tree or bush, 
not suspended to ends of twigs, made of coarse grass, lined 
with seed-heads, which form a roof and porch.” At ‘* Ravine, 
7,900 feet, February 25, 1897. Very plentiful. Seen singly, 
and two or three together, sometimes as many as eight or ten ; 
but this, I think, is only for a short time after the breeding- 
season.” On May 30, 1898, he found a nest with two eggs, 
blue, with large brown spots. 

Dr. Bowdler Sharpe makes the following comment upon 
Mr. Jackson’s specimens: ‘ Young birds are olive yellowish 
brown, with broad streaks of dark brown or black on the 
back; the crown uniform olive yellow, as also the sides of the 
face and neck, these being slightly darker; the entire under 
surface of the body is yellow, inclining to orange on the throat 
and chest. Such is the plumage of specimens procured in 
August. In March and July (when fully adult birds were also 
obtained) Mr. Jackson got some assuming a black head, but 
otherwise in the plumage of the young bird with the back 
streaked. Is it possible that there can be a striped winter 
dress for this Weaver-Bird ? ” 


OTHYPHANTES NIGRIMENTUM 453 


Othyphantes nigrimentum. 


Ploceus nigrimentum, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 39 (1904) Galanga. 

Type. ‘Very similar to the female of O. reichenowi, but differs in having 
the chin black. Ivis greenish yellow; bill black: feet reddish brown. 
Total length 6:8, culmen 0:72, wing 3-4, tail 2-2, tarsus 1:0. Galanga”’ 
(Reichenow). 


The Black-chinned Weaver inhabits Benguela. 

The type was discovered by Anchieta, who records its 
native name to be “* Xiguengue,”’ and I am not aware of a 
second specimen haying been yet procured. 


Othyphantes sharpei. 


Otyphantes sharpii, Shelley, Ibis, 1898, p. 557 Nyasaland. 

Ploceus sharpei, Reichen. Vég. Afr. p. 39 (1904). 

Type. Very similar to O. stuhlmanni, from which it differs in the greater 
amount of black on the hind neck and mantle. Upper surface entirely 
olive yellow and black; under surface entirely bright golden yellow; lores, 
cheeks, ear-coverts, top and back of the head jet black, the plumage 
gradually shading off into uniform olive yellow on the lower back, upper 
tail-coverts and tail; the feathers of the upper back, and all the wing- 
coverts and the quills black, broadly edged with olive yellow, becoming 
clearer yellow on the quills; under wing-coverts and inner margins of the 
quills yellow. Bill black; tarsi and feet pale brown. Total length 6-2 
inches, culmen 0:7, wing 3:15, tarsus 0°95. 


Sharpe’s Weaver inhabits Nyasaland. 

This form is known only by the type which was sent to the 
British Museum by Sir Alfred Sharpe from Nyasaland, and no 
locality or date was noted on the label. It is extremely nearly 
allied to O. stuhlmanint. 


Othyphantes stuhlmanni. 
Symplectes stuhlmanni, Reichen. Orn. Monatsb. 1893, p. 29 Wallia, 
Karevia, Bukoba. 
Hyphanturgus stuhlmanni, Shelley, b. Afr. I. No. 522 (1896). 
Ploceus stuhlmanni, Reichen. Vég. Aly. iii. p. 40, pl. , fig. 3, g (1904). 
Adult male. Forehead, crown, nape and sides of the head jet black ; 
remainder of the upper parts olive green, the mantle with sharply 


454 OTHYPHANTES BAGLAFECHT 


defined black centres to the feathers, tail with yellower edges to the 
feathers; wings brownish black, with broad olive green edges to the lesser 
coverts and more yellowish olive edges to the other feathers ; inner margins 
of the quills yellowish buff; under wing-coverts whitish yellow, shading into 
bright yellow along the edge of the wing; chin, throat, breast, thighs and 
under tail-coverts bright yellow, flanks and back of thighs washed with 
olive. ‘Iris yellow; bill black; feet flesh-colour.” Total length 5:9 inches, 
culmen 0-7, wing 3:1, tail 1:4, tarsus 0:95. Ruwenzori (Jackson). 

Adult female. Exactly like the male in plumage. Wing 3:0. 9, 19.3. 9, 
Kampala (Jackson). 


Stuhlmann’s Weaver ranges from the Ruwenzori Mountains 
and Uganda to Lake Nyasa. 

The type specimens were collected by Emin and Stuhlmann 
at Walia on the Albert Edward Nyanza, and at Karevia and 
Bukoba on the western side of the Victoria Nyanza. Dr. 
Ansorge has met with the species in Uganda, Toru and 
Unyoro. 

Mr. Jackson’s collection contains the full plumaged speci- 
mens I have described from the Ruwenzori Mountains, and 
from Kampala in Uganda, which confirm the statement already 
made, that the sexes are alike in colouring, and that the black 
crown is not a character of the female only, as is the case in 
its near ally O. reichenowi, of which the present species may 
be looked upon as the western representative form in Central 
Africa from Uganda to Lake Nyasa, The present species has 
been recorded from Ngomingi (Marwitz), Tandalla, and from 
Bulongwa in the Livingstone Mountains (Fiilleborn), and it is 
possible that O. sharpet may represent a plumage of this 
species. 


Othyphantes baglafecht. 


Ploceus baglafecht, Vieill. N. Dict. xxxiv. p. 127 (1819); Reichen. Vég. 
Afr. iii. p. 40 (1904). 

Othyphantes baglafecht, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 509 (1896). 

Heterhyphantes baglafecht, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 419 (1890); 
Grant, Ibis, 1904, p. 258 Harar, Hararmeyer, Adis Ababa, Godjam. 


OTHYPHANTES BAGLAFECHT 455 


Ploceus melanotis (non Swains.), Guér. Rey. Zool. p- 321 (1843). 
Hyphantornisguerini, Lefr. in Ferr. and Gal. Voy. Abyss. iii. p. 229 (1845) 
Ploceus melanops, Des Murs in Lefebyre’s Voy. Abyss. p. 110 (1845-50). 
Ploceus auricularis, Des Murs, ¢. c. Atlas, ple ohio: 

Ploceus melanogenis, v. Miill. Naum. pt. iv. 1851, p. 28. 

Ploceus leucopthalmus, Heugl. Syst. Uebers, p. 38 (1856) nom. nud. 
Symplectes eremobius, Hartl. Zool. Jahrb. 1887, p. 321. 


Male, breeding plumage. Forehead and crown golden yellow, of a slightly 
deeper shade in front; back of head and neck yellowish olive, like the 
mantle and upper tail-coverts; lower half of back ashy brown; tail olive 
brown with narrow yellower edges to the feathers; wings blackish brown 
with pale olive yellow edges to the feathers, confined to the ends of the 
lesser and median coverts, and the outer margins of the greater coverts and 
quills ; inner margin of quills and the under wing-coverts sandy buff; edge 
of pinion bright yellow, like the entire under parts; sides of head jet black. 
“Tris yellowish grey; bill black; tarsi and feet flesh-colour.’”’ Total length 
5 inches, culmen 0°65; wing 3:0, tail 2:2, tarsus 0-9. g, 29. 5. 68, Senafé 
(Blanford). 

Female, breeding plumage. Differing from the last in having no yellow 
or black on the head; forehead and crown olive like the mantle; sides of 
head dusky olive. 

Moulting. Under parts white mottled with yellow. 

Winter plumage. Sexes alike. Upper parts ashy brown, with black 
shaft stripes to the feathers of the head and mantle, broadest on the latter 
part; upper tail-coverts slightly shaded with olive, tail feathers more so, 
especially on the outer webs ; wings brownish black, with broad olive yellow 
edges to the feathers, inclining to buff on the inner secondaries ; forehead, 
lores, cheeks and front of ear-coverts black, fading into ashy brown on the 
remainder of the head and sides of neck; chin, throat, breast, thighs and 
under tail-coverts isabelline buff. ‘‘ Iris pale yellow; bill black; feet pale.” 
Wing 3:1. ¢, 5. 1. 99, Derru (Lovat). 


The Baglafecht Weaver ranges from the Upper White Nile 
and Southern Abyssinia into Bogosland. 

Emin procured the type of Symplectes eremolius in the 
Upper White Nile district, where he found the species singly 
or in pairs frequenting the high grassy plateaus. Heuglin 
met with these Weavers as far north as T'sad-Amba, near 
Keren, and records them as very plentiful at Mensa, Adowa, 
Gonda, Begemeder, and in Wollo-Gallaland, inhabiting the 
highlands between 5,000 and 12,000 feet. It was generally 


456 OTHYPHANTES BAGLAFECHT 


observed singly or in pairs, but during the winter months 
assembled in small parties of five to ten in the trees and 
bushes. In September they were breeding in isolated nests, 
not in colonies, in large trees near water. The nest he de- 
scribes as a large flask-shaped structure of green grass, and 
the eggs, two to four in number, are of a flesh-colour or pale 
bluish green with large spots and dots of rufous or purplish 
brown, and measure on an average 0°85 X 0°62. The eggs 
have been figured (Heug]l. Orn. N. O. Afr. pl. 47, figs. 6, 7). 
Dr. Blanford writes: ‘‘Common throughout the highlands, 
and seen at nearly 10,000 feet, though in general more common 
at a rather lower elevation. Specimens shot at the end of 
May had assumed the full breeding plumage.” Antinori pro- 
cured the species in June near Keren and in the upper part 
of the Anseba Valley, which is the most northern range known 
for these birds. 

In Shoa, Antinori found the species in winter plumage in 
March and in full breeding plumage in August; those pro- 
cured in May and June were passing out of the winter dress, 
and a specimen obtained in January was also in the transition 
stage. Count Salvadori remarks that this fine series of speci- 
mens from Shoa shows that the plumage of the sexes becomes 
different for the breeding season, especially in the colouring 
of their heads. The young have the upper parts ashy brown 
with blackish shaft-stripes and a slight olive tinge, under 
parts buffy brown. 

Dr. Bowdler Sharpe, in his description of the winter 
plumage (Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 420), calls the ‘“‘ lower back and 
upper tail-coverts olive greenish.” I have examined the seven 
specimens which were then in the British Museum, collected 
in January, March, May and July, and all have a well-marked 
clear, ashy brown lower back, in which character they differ 
from O. lovati, 


OTHYPHANTES LOVATI 157 


In Southern Abyssinia Lord Lovat procured three speci- 
mens, January and March, in the winter plumage I have 
described, and on March 14 of the same year the full 
plumaged bird I have made the type of O. lovati. <A little 
further eastward Mr. Edward Degen has collected seven speci- 
mens between Harar and Adis Ababa in January, March and 


April, in various stages of plumage, but all with the lower 
back uniform ashy brown. 


Othyphantes lovati. 


Heteryphantes baglafecht, Grant, Ibis, 1900, p. 132, pt. Lekamte. 


Type, adult male. Similar to the male in breeding plumage of O. bag- 
lafecht, but differing in having the entire lower back yellowish olive like the 
upper tail-coverts; hinder crown and back of neck uniform ashy brown, 
slightly washed with olive. ‘Iris pale yellow; bill black; tarsi and feet 
light brown.” Total length 6:3 inches, culmen 0:75, wing 3-2, tail 2-4, 
tarsus 0-95. 3, 16. 3.99, Lakamte (Lovat). 


Lovat’s Weaver inhabits Southern Abyssinia and probably 
ranges into Somaliland. 

The species is known to me by one apparently full 
plumaged male, the type discovered by Lord Lovat at Lekamte 
in Southern Abyssinia. Other specimens, which may belong 
to this species, have been collected by Lord Lovat at Derru, 
Beroma and Jumjum, and by Mr. Pease at Harar, but as all 
these four specimens, three males and a female, are in winter 
plumage, they present none of the characters which distinguish 
the type of O. lovati from the full plumaged male of O. bagla- 
fecht, and the characters for distinguishing these species may 
be confined to specimens in breeding plumage only. 

This form may be only a variety, but I think it more 
probably represents a southern species or subspecies, for there 
is no shirking the fact that in the type of 0. lovati there is no 


458 OTHYPHANTES EMINI 


trace of the brown on the lower back, which is a character I 
have met with in all the many specimens I have seen of the 
true O. baglafecht. 


Othyphantes emini. 


Sycobrotus emini, Hartl. Orn. Centralb. 1882, p. 92 ; id. J. f. O. 1882, pl. 1, 
figs.1 g @ Agaru. 

Othyphantes emini, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 511 (1896). 

Heterhyphantes emini, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 420 (1890); Peel, 
Somaliland, p. 308 (1900) Sheik Mahomed. 

Ploceus emini, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 39 (1904). 

Sycobrotus zaphiroi, Grant, Bull. B. O. C. xiii. p. 22 (1902) Harar. 


Male, breeding plumage. Forehead, most of crown, a band round the 
back of the ear-coverts, sides of upper neck, cheeks, throat and front of 
breast clear yellow, with a slight tinge of chestnut near the forehead, 
remainder of the head and neck and the mantle brownish black; lower half 
of back ashy brown; a few of the longest tail-coverts olive yellow, tail 
olive brown; wings brownish black with rather dull yellow edges to the 
feathers, confined to the ends of the lesser and median coverts and the 
outer edges of the greater coverts and quills; wing-lining with broadish 
inner edges to the quills and the coverts yellowish buff; edge of pinion 
bright yellow; lower half of breast, thighs and under tail-coverts buff. 
‘Tris pale yellow; bill black; tarsi and feet pale reddish brown” (Emin). 
Total length 6 inches, culmen 0°75, wing 3:2, tail 2°4, tarsus 0°9. gf, Adis 
Ababa (Welby). 

Female in breeding plumage. Differs in having the entire top and sides 
of head black. Wing 3:0. 3, 10. 6. 92, Harar (Zaphiro, type of Syco- 
brotus zaphirot): 


Emin’s Weaver ranges from the Upper White Nile into 
Somaliland and Southern Abyssinia. 

In the Upper White Nile district Emin discovered the 
type at Agaru, from whence there are specimens in the 
British Museum showing that the mottled plumage of the 
mantle, which is present up to April, is gradually discarded 
during the next two months for the uniform black of the nape 
and upper back which characterises the breeding plumage, 
and the type of Sycobrotus zaphirot. 

Specimens have also been procured by Emin at Buguera ; 


NELICURVIUS NELICOURVI 459 


by Dr. Ansorge at Masindi; by Dr. Donaldson Smith at Fort 
Berkeley on the Victoria Nyanza, and at Sheik Mahomed in 
Somaliland. ‘To the north-east, at Harar, two adult females 
were obtained by Mr. Zaphiro, one, the type of Sycobrotus 
zaphiroi, being shot off its nest, which contained two eggs, 
July 10, 1892, and Capt. Welby has procured the species at 
Adis Ababa. It has also been obtained at Harar and in Arussi 
Gallaland by Erlanger. 


Genus XXII. NHLICURVILUS. 


Resembles Hyphantornis and Othyphantes in general characters, and 
especially the latter in the chin and throat being entirely yellow in both 
sexes, which differ only in the colouring of the head being black in the 
males, and mostly yellow with some olive in the females. It is dis- 
tinguished from all its allies by the breast being grey and the under tail- 
coverts chestnut. 


Type. 
Nelicurvius, Bp. Consp. i. p. 439 (1850) . . . . . . N. nelicourvi. 


The genus is represented by a single species, which is confined to 
the Island of Madagascar. 


Nelicurvius nelicourvi. 


Parus nelicourvi, Scop. Del. Faun. et Flor. Insub. p. 96 (1786). 

Nelicurvius nelicourvi, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 436 (1890) Madagas- 
car; Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 493 (1896) ; Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 129 
(1899) egg ; Oberholser, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. xxii. p. 246 (1900) 
Madagascar. 

Ploceus nelicourvi, Shelley, Ibis, 1887, p. 14. 

Loxia pensilis, Gm. 8. N. 1. p. 860 (1783) ; 

Ploceus pensilis, Milne, Edw. and Grand. Hist. Madag. Ois. p. 446, pls. 

177a, fig. 2; 179,180, 304, fig. 8 egg (1879); Sibree, Ibis, 1891, 
p. 441, 

Male, adult. Top and sides of head black ; upper neck, chin and throat 
bright yellow; remainder of neck and the upper parts olive green; tail 
blackish brown, with imperfect narrow olive margins to the feathers ; quills 
blackish brown, with olive edges, broadest on the secondaries ; under surface 


460 NELICURVIUS NELICOURVI 


of quills brownish black, with their inner edges whitish ash like the under 
wing-coverts ; a shade of yellow along the bend of the wing; the olive green 
of the lower neck extending across the crop, separating the yellow throat 
from the dusky grey under surface of the body ; under tail-coverts chestnut. 
Iris brown; bill black; tarsi and feet reddish brown. ‘Total length 5:8 
inches, culmen 0:7, wing 3:15, tail 2:25, tarsus 0°85. Saralalam 
(Crossley). 

Female, adult. Differing in the colouring of the head only, which is 
yellow, with the back of it olive green, passing into black on the hinder half 
of the ear-coverts, and there is an olive black band through the eye. Wing 
2:95. Nosi Vola (Crossley). 

Immature. Differing from the last in the forehead, crown, back of neck 
and dark parts of sides of head being olive green like the back. 


Nelicoury’s Weaver is confined to the Island of Mada- 
gascar. 

According to M. Grandidier, it inhabits the forests of the 
coast, especially those of the east and north-east of the island, 
where it is to be met with in fairly large flocks, and Pollen 
found them associating with Shrikes, such as Artamia bicolor 
and Calicalicus. They are active in their habits and noisy, 
especially in the mornings and evenings, and feed on seeds, 
berries and insects. Like most other Weavers, they roost in 
colonies; their nests, artistically constructed of blades of 
grass firmly woven and tied together, are described as of the 
form of a gourd with a long slender neck bent downwards 
forming the entrance passage. They are hung from slender, 
flexible boughs, so that they sway with the slightest wind, and 
as many as thirty or forty may be counted on the same tree. 
The eggs, four or five in number, are pure green, and measure 
0-8 to 0°88 x 0°64, 

These birds are known to the natives as the ‘‘ Fodisay,” 
which means Inferior Finches. 


XANTHOPHILUS 461 


Genus XXIII. XANTHOPHIDUS. 


Similar to Hyphantornis and Ploceus in its general characters, but is 
distinguished from all the previously mentioned allied genera by neither sex 
having either a black band through the eye or the sides of the head black, 
and from Plocews in the colouring of the breast and under tail-coverts being 
bright yellow or white. The sexes are often alike in plumage at all times of 
the year. 


Type. 
Xanthophilus, Reichenb. Singv. p. 84 (1863)... 2). X. bogeri. 
Oriolinus, Reichenb. /.c. me ae : . . X. subaureus. 


The genus is confined to Tropical aia South Attia, and comprises 
sixteen species. 


KEY TO THE SPECIES. 


a. Bill proportionately longer and more slender. 
at. Larger; wing not less than 3-4 inches. 
a?. Culmen straighter. 
a*, Bill slightly longer, culmen less curved, hinder 
part of crown olive like the back. 
a*, Head and neck with no rufous shade. . . . capensis. 
b+, Head and throat shaded with rufous. . . olivaceus. 
b*, Bill slightly shorter ; culmen more curved, entire 
crown yellow, contrasting sharply with the olive 


Oluhemhindineck@ ts So) a 4. 4) ws eemporalis: 
b2. Culmen more curved; in males, crown and hind 
neck chestnut ; in females, abdomen white . . . princeps. 


bt. Smaller ; wing not more than 3 inches. 
c?. Back and more than half of the wings clear yellow ; 
cheeks and throat brown . . . . . . . . « «wanthopterus. 
d*. Upper parts less yellow. 
c3. Yellow parts of a less orange shade; no black 
feathers in front of the eyes. 


c*. Chin and throat brown . . castanops. 
d*, Chin and upper throat olive like the Ten Sal 
OEKAic «Sn oo eae olivaceiceps. 
d, Head, neck and breast orange yellow, with a few 
black feathers in front of ae eyes . . . . « aurantius. 


b, Bill stouter. 
ct, Smaller; wing not more than 3 inches. 
e2. Upper parts less yellow. 
e3, Entire head and neck chestnut. . . . . . . dicrocephalus. 


462 XANTHOPHILUS CAPENSIS 


f®. Less chestnut on the head and neck. 
e+. Front of head above the gape deep chestnut . galbula. %*7% 
f*. Chestnut shade on head confined to the crown ; 
nape and an ill-defined collar shaded with 
Giese f 5G 6 6 6 oo 6 ob 6 6 0 CORUMHOg IRS 7)" 
f2. Upper parts yellower; quite half of wings clear 
yellow. 
g. Bill slightly stouter; top of head clearer yellow. auwreoflavus. “7 - 
h’. Bill slightly more compressed ; an indistinct 
chestnut shaded band across the crop. 
g*. Forehead and front of crown of a more chestnut 


Runvw ge no G6 6 0 2 5 6 o 6 0 3 /Ualleranpilidais ‘2s 
h*. Head shaded with reddish orange. . . . . bojer. 
d1. Larger ; wing 3-2 to 3-6 inches. 
g2. Yellower; quite half of wing clear yellow. . . . subaureus. ¥ °2 
h?. Less yellow; less than half of wings yellow. . . axanthops. + 


Xanthophilus capensis. 


Oriolus capensis, Linn. 8. N. i. p. 163 (1766) Cape of Good Hope. 

Xanthophilus capensis, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 530 (1896). 

Ploceus capensis, Smith, Ill. Z. §. Afr. Av. pl. 66, fig. 2 (1841); Reichen. 
Vog. Afr. iii. p. 86 (1904). 

Sitagra capensis, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 480 Cape Col. ; Nehrkorn, 
Kat. Eiers. p. 129 (1899) egg; Harris, Essays and Photographs, p. 
105, pl. 25 (1901) nest. 

Ploceus aurifrons, Temm. PI. Col. iii. pls. 175, 176 (1823). 

Ploceus icterocephalus, Swains. Class. B. i. p. 189 (1837). 

“ Fringilla chrysopis, Licht.’ Reichen. Z. Jahrb. 1886, p. 116. 


Adult male. Upper parts olive yellow, passing into golden yellow on the 
crown and forehead; feathers of the mantle with obscurely marked dusky 
centres inclining to shaft-stripes; wings blackish brown, with broad olive 
yellow edges to the lesser coverts; the ends of the median coverts and the 
edges of the greater coverts and quills of a paler and yellower shade than 
the back; inner edges of quills and the under wing-coverts yellowish ash, 
with the edge of the pinion buff; remainder of the plumage golden yellow, 
with a dusky olive tinge on the sides of the head, and down the centre of 
the throat; sides of the crop and the flanks slightly shaded with olive. 
“Tris light red ; bill black ; tarsi and feet flesh-colour’’ (Stark). Total length 
6:1 inches, culmen 0:9, wing 3°55, tail 2-4, tarsus 1:0. g, 4. 9. 65, Cape 
Town (Andersson). 

Adult female. Differs in having the upper half of the head, back of neck 
and the back ashy brown, with a faint olive yellow shade; wings and tail 


XANTHOPHILUS CAPENSIS 163 


slightly duller; remainder of plumage yellowish buff, shaded with ashy 
brown on the sides of the crop and the flanks. ‘“Ivis and bill brown” 
(Stark). Wing 3:25. 9, 3.9. 74, Quatel Fontein (J. Butler). 


The Cape Golden-Weaver inhabits Western Cape Colony, 
ranging northward to the Orange River and eastward to 
Algoa Bay. 

“This large and robustly built species,” Stark writes, ‘is 
very generally distributed, in flocks of from ten to fifty or 
sixty individuals, over Western Cape Colony, and although it 
shows a certain preference for the neighbourhood of vleis and 
marshy ground, it is also found in very arid localities at a 
considerable distance from the nearest water. Its flight is 
rather heavy and undulating. The Cape Weaver feeds to a 
considerable extent upon seed and grain, but at times upon 
insects. It is also fond of sipping the saccharine juice of the 
Cape aloe and of various proteas, and individuals may be 
sometimes met with their frontal feathers stained and matted 
together with the mingled nectar and pollen of these plants. 

“They build their large kidney-shaped nests in colonies, 
frequently suspending them from the boughs of a tree over- 
hanging water, but just as often over dry ground. If unmo- 
lested they prefer a tree standing close to a house as a nesting 
site. The nests are compactly woven with coarse grass or 
strips of reeds and sedge, the interior being warmly lined with 
fine grass-stems as well as the flowering tops. The entrance 
to the nest is from below, a narrow bar at the inner extremity 
dividing it from the interior, and preventing the eggs or 
young from falling out in windy weather. The eggs, four or 
five in number, are of a uniform deep blue. They measure 
0:90 x 0°66.” 

Mr. Henry HE. Harris, in his “ Essays and Photographs,” 
gives some interesting illustrations of this bird and its nest, 
and the following amusing account of its honeymoon : “I once 


464 XANTHOPHILUS CAPENSIS 


watched these birds building their nests, which they often 
begin in June or July. A commencement is made by the 
bird twisting long strands of grass round the end of some 
pendent twig, and making a loop of this grass about six inches 
in diameter, fastened again to the same twig; this is the 
foundation of the nest. The bird stands in this ring every 
time he returns to the nest with fresh material, and works 
from this position, pushing one end of the strand of grass 
through the ring, and then putting himself into all sorts of 
attitudes to enable him to catch hold of it from the other side, 
when he pulls it through, after the manner of sewing with a 
needle and cotton. The foundation for both portions of the 
nest are done in much the same way, several long ends of 
grass being left out at each side of the ring, and then fastened 
into the ring again, thus making loops which act as support 
for the bulb at either side of the nest; other strands are then 
woven on to this framework. ‘The bird seems to bring a nest 
into a fair semblance of itself in about a couple of days, but 
after that it worked at it for a long time, patching it up and 
strengthening it. ‘The male birds constructed the whole of the 
nests during the time that I watched them, and made a great 
fuss over the operation, bestowing praise loudly and unceas- 
ingly upon themselves as they hurried to and from the nests, 
of which there would often be ten or twenty in the same tree. 
These, when first woven, are green, but their colour soon 
changes after they have been hanging for a few days. When 
the nests are beginning to assume finished proportions, the 
birds go inside and do some work from the interior, or hang 
in a horizontal position from the opening of the nests and 
critically examine their work, holding their heads back the 
while, in much the same way as an artist would retire from a 
picture he was painting, to enable him to view it to better 
purpose. The female birds were placed in rather an awkward 


XANTHOPHILUS OLIVACEUS 465 


position, they were evidently anxious to assist, but were on 
no conditions allowed to; they had to strike a mean; if they 
attempted to help they were immediately driven away, with 
two or three sharp tweaks on the head, to drive the lesson 
home, whereas if they sulked and went too far away, they 
were brought back in order that they might watch their 
industrious husbands. 

“At sunset, when one would think there should be 
peace and harmony, there was more noise than ever. At 
this time the hen birds are allowed to go into the nests, 
but their husbands have no intention of leaving them 
alone. They fly up, clinging on to the circular opening that 
forms the entrance to the nest, making at the same time a 
continuous noise, something between a chatter and a squeak, 
and when by the alarming sound they have succeeded in 
ousting their wives from the nests, they chase them from 
branch to branch until they go back again. One bird that 1 
saw was quite an actor; not satisfied with tormenting his wife 
in the legitimate way, he adopted a very ingenious method, 
After hanging on to the nest and making the most horrible 
noises, he pretended to be caught by one foot, and twisted 
slowly round and round, uttering at the same time a series 
of piercing screams, which gradually diminished as the poor 
thing was supposed to be at its last gasp; this brought the 
wife out in a great state, thinking that the end had come. 
No such thing, however, for no sooner was she out of the 
nest than the husband chased her back exultingly.” 


Xanthophilus olivaceus. 


Icterus olivaceus, Hahn. Vog. aus Asien, &c., pt. vi. pl. 4 (1822). 
Xanthophilus olivaceus, Clarke, Ibis, 1904, p. 524 Ingogo. 

Ploceus capensis olivaceus, Reichen. Vog. Afr. ili. p. 87 (1904). 
Icterus caffer, Licht. Verz. Doubl. p. 19 (1823) Kaffraria. 

Sitagra caffra, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xii. p. 431 (1890). 

{March, 1905, 30 


466 XANTHOPHILUS OLIVACEUS 

Xanthophilus caffer, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 531 (1896). 

Sitagra capensis caffra, Shortridge, Ibis, 1904, p. 176 Pondoland. 

Adult male. Similar to X. capensis, from which it differs in having the 
head and throat tinged with chestnut shaded orange, and the breast slightly 
mottled with that colour. ‘Iris light straw-colour ; bill black; legs light 
brown”’ (T. E. Buckley). Total length 6:9 inches, culmen 0-9, wing 3°6, 
tail 2:2, tarsus 1:0. 3, 28. 10. 81, Newcastle (EH. A. Butler). 

Adult female. Like that of X. capensis. Wing 3:2. ¢, 28. 10. 81 
(H. A. Butler). 


The Eastern Cape Golden Weaver replaces X. capensis in 
Hastern South Africa from Algoa Bay to the Zambesi. 

Dr. Bowdler Sharpe, in his edition of Layard’s Birds of 
South Africa, writes: ‘We have received specimens from 
Capt. Trevelyan at Kingwilliamstown, and Mr. Rickard has 
procured it at Port Elizabeth, and states that it is very plen- 
tiful at Hast London.” The species is well represented in the 
British Museum from Natal and the Transvaal, where it is 
apparently abundant, and according to Dr. Holub it ranges to 
as far north as the Zambesi, but I find no other record of it 
from north of the Limpopo River. Their habits are, according 
to Stark: “Very like those of the larger S. capensis; the 
eastern race, however, appears to feed to much greater extent 
upon insects and the saccharine juice of various flowers. It 
pays constant visits to the conspicuous scarlet flowers of the 
‘ Kaffir-boum,’ and feeds side by side with various Sunbirds on 
tue nectar.” 

“Its nest and eggs resemble those of the large Cape 
Weaver-Bird, the eggs being a trifle smaller; the nest is, how- 
ever, frequently suspended between two reeds and is then 
built of strips of reed-leaves. When alarmed this Weaver 
utters a loud ‘chur-r-r,’ at ordinary times a cheerful chat- 
tering note,” 

The Cols. Butler and Feilden and Capt. Savile Reid, while 
in Natal, made the following notes: ‘‘ About Newcastle they 


XANTHOPHILUS TEMPORALIS 467 


were first noticed in number about the middle of October, 
when they at once proceeded to the construction of their nests. 
These we found in tall trees, on bushes overhanging steep 
krantzes, as well as in bushes and reeds by the river-side. 
Over thirty nests were counted on one tree. The male appears 
to do most of the building, but this may be only a supposition, 
arising from the much greater shyness of the female while an 
intruder is near. The first eggs were taken on October 29. 
How they can possibly remain in the nest when a gale of wind 
is blowing is quite a mystery, the entrance being so large and 
the depression inside the globular portion so little below it.” 


Xanthophilus temporalis. (Pl. 41, fig. 1.) 


Hyphantornis temporalis, Bocage, Jorn. Lisb. 1880, p. 244 Caconda. 
Othyphantes temporalis, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 510 (1896). 
Heterhyphantes temporalis, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 419 note (1890). 
Ploceus temporalis, Reichen. Vog. Afr. ili. p. 42 (1904). 

Type, adult male. Forehead, entire crown, hinder part of ear-coverts, 
sides of upper neck and the under parts canary yellow; remainder of the 
neck, back, scapular and upper tail-coverts olive yellow, with brown centres 
to the feathers, rump slightly yellower; wings and tail dark brown, with 
pale edges inclining to buff towards the ends of the median and greater 
coverts and washed with yellow, most strongly so on the narrow pale edges 
of the quills and tail-feathers ; under surface of the wings dark brown, paler 
towards the inner edges of the quills, and the greater portion of the under 
coverts buff, with a wash of yellow; lores, cheeks and greater portion of 
ear-coverts dusky olive, separated from the bright yellow of the crown by a 
very narrow black line in front of the eye; the yellow under parts incline to 
dusky whitish on the chin, and a few of the feathers down the centre of the 
lower throat have dusky black centres. Bill horny black; iris reddish 
brown ; tarsi, feet and claws brownish flesh-colour. Total length 6-4 inches, 
culmen 0°7, wing 3°4, tail 2:1, tarsus0-9.  g, 9. 79, Caconda (Anchieta). 


Bocage’s Golden Weaver inhabits Benguela. 

The species is known by the type only, which was dis- 
covered at Uaconda by Anchieta, and according to his notes 
on the label its native name is “ T'ailala,” and its food seeds 


aud insects. 


468 XANTHOPHILUS PRINCEPS 


Mr. Grénvold’s illustration of this unique specimen, which 
he was enabled to make through the kindness of Prof. Bocage, 
will best show how it differs from its closest ally, X. capensis, 
in its much shorter bill, the culmen not so straight, the pale 
yellow of the crown extending on to the nape and forming a 
well-defined cap, and a narrow line of black separating the 
golden forehead from the lores. An adult male variety of 
X. capensis, obtained by Mr. Butler at Caledon, and formerly 
in my own collection, has nearly as much olive on the sides of 
the head as in X. temporalis. 


Xanthophilus princeps. (Pl. 42, fig. 2.) 


Symplectes princeps, Bp. Consp. i. p. 439 Prince’s Isl. 

Xanthophilus princeps, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 540 (1896). 

Hyphantornis princeps, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 449 (1890) Prince's 
Isl. 

Ploceus princeps, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 86 (1904). 


Adult male. Head, neck and under parts mostly golden yellow; the 
forehead, crown, back and sides of the neck strongly washed with rufous ; 
cheeks and crop more faintly shaded with that colour; back of lower neck 
and the back nearly uniform olive yellow, with a slight rusty shade on the 
upper tail-coverts; tail yellowish brown; wings blackish brown, with pale 
edges to the feathers, mostly olive yellow, but inclining to clear pale yellow 
on the ends of the median coverts, and the outer edges of the greater coverts 
and inner secondaries; under wing-coverts and the inner margins of the 
quills yellowish buff. ‘Tris bright yellow; bill black; feet flesh-colour ” 
(Keulemans). Total length 7 inches, culmen 0:9, wing 3°4, tail 2-2, tarsus 
1:0. 3g, Prince’s Island (Dohrn). 

Adult female. Differs in the absence of rufous on the head and neck, in 
the forehead and crown being olive yellow, and the abdomen, thighs and 
under tail-coverts white. ‘Iris pale greyish yellow; bill pale horn; feet 
flesh-colour”’ (Keulemans). Wing 3:2. 92, Prince’s Island (Dohrn). 


The Prince’s Island Golden Weaver is probably confined to 
Prince’s Island. 

My friend, Mr. Keulemans, the well-known artist, has 
kindly supplied me with the following interesting notes: ‘‘ The 


sdsaoutad BY Gena STUFUES XOl[OY snyydoyqusey | 


L 


WTX' Td VOIGHV 40 SCUIG AHL 


XANTHOPHILUS XANTHOPTERUS 469 


species is common in all parts of the island. It builds a most 
beautiful nest of split palm-leaves and grass, pear-shaped, with 
a side entrance at the lower portion. Usually it is carefully 
and firmly attached to the extreme end of a palm-leaf, and 
may be seen swinging in all directions without doing any harm 
to its structure or contents. The tail of the sitting bird is 
always visible from the outside of the nest, which the Monkeys 
often attempt to rob, but generally fail, owing to the flexibility 
of its support. These Weavers breed twice or three times in 
the year. The eggs, four or five in number, are pale blue. 
Native name ‘ Mello’ or ‘ Melro,’ probably derived from the 
Portuguese Amarella (yellow).” 

The occurrence of this species as a native on the con- 
tinent is doubtful. There is a specimen labelled ‘‘ Lagos” 
which was obtained by Capt. Burton during his journey 
to Camaroons, when he would probably have visited Prince's 
Island. Another, nominally from Gaboon, was supposed by 
Verreaux to have been obtained by Du Chaillu. One in 
the Philadelphia Museum is labelled ‘* Angola (Hamilton),” 
and one in Capt. Storms’s collection as coming from Lake 
Tanganyika. 


Xanthophilus xanthopterus. 


Hyphantornis xanthopterus, Finsch and Hartl. Vog. O. Afr. p. 399 (1870) 
Shupanga ; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 444, pl. 13, fig. 2 head 
(1890). 

Xanthophilus xanthopterus, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 529 (1896). 

Ploceus xanthophilus, Reichen. Vog. Afr. ili. p. 94 (1904). 

Hyphantornis castaneigula, Cab. J. f. O. 1884, p. 240, pl. 3, fig. 1 
Zambesi ; Reichen. J. f. O. 1885, p. 374.' 

Ploceus castaneigula, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iil. p. 94 (1904). 


Adult male. General plumage canary yellow, with the cheeks, chin, 
upper and middle throat chestnut; mantle slightly shaded with olive ; least 
wing-coverts dusky olive, the other coverts are partly shaded with dusky 
brown, mostly so towards the primary coverts; this dusky shade is also 


470 XANTHOPHILUS XANTHOPTERUS 


present on the ends of the quills and the tail-feathers. ‘Iris dull orange 
brown; bill black; tarsi and feet dull pinkish biscuit colour’’ (Rendall). 
Total length 5:5 inches, culmen 0°65, wing 3:0, tail 2-0, tarsus 0°9. Type, 
Shupanga (Kirk), 

‘Young. General colour above mottled buffish brown, becoming nearly 
uniform on the rump and upper tail-coverts; feathers of the mantle and 
back with dark centres ; wing-coverts brown, with pale yellow edges; quills 
brown, with broad yellow bases to the inner webs and the outer edges 
greenish yellow ; tail-feathers greenish brown, edged with olive yellow; 
crown of head and nape olive green, with narrow dusky centres; cheeks, 
sides of head, and the throat pale yellow; remainder of under parts white, 
with a pale buffish brown wash, more distinct on the breast and flanks ; 
under tail-coverts yellow ; upper mandible black, the lower one horn-colour; 
iris hazel; legs and feet brown.” 

‘Tn the immature bird the quills and tail-feathers appear to be the first 
to assume the adult stage” (Alexander). 


The Zambesi Brown-throated Weaver ranges from Nukana 
in about 19° 30'S. lat., 22° E. long. into the Shiré district and 
Quilimane. 

The most southern and western locality known to me for 
the species is Nukana in Central South Africa, to the north- 
west of Lake Ngami; here Mr. Fleck has procured the species. 
The type of Hyphantornis castaneigularis (figured J. f. O., 
1884, pl. 3, fig. 1) is one of Dr. Holub’s specimens from the 
Zambesi. Capt. Boyd Alexander obtained two immature males 
near the mouth of the Shiré, and along the valley of this 
river Mr. Percival found it very common in the Elephant- 
marsh to the north of Chicoma. Sir John Kirk discovered 
the type at Shupanga, and specimens have been collected by 
Mr. Whyte at Mpimbi, by Sir A. Sharpe in Angoniland, and 
Dr. P. Rendall procured a number of its eggs along the Upper 
Shiré. These eggs have been described by Mr. Hartert. 
They differ greatly, some being of a uniform pale brick colour 
or bluish green, others are variably marked, reddish white 
spotted all over with purplish brown, others bluish white with 
spots and blotches of rufous brown, and some are bluish green 
spotted with greyish brown. 


XANTHOPHILUS CASTANOPS 471 


Dr. Rendall preserved only one adult male, shot March 5, 
and also observed the species in June; at which of these dates 
he procured the eggs is not mentioned, nor whether they all 
came out of one colony of nests, and as some are compared to 
those of the Redstart, and others to the eggs of the Bulbul, 
one is led to suppose that they vary considerably in size, but 
no measurements are given; a pity, as the eggs of the species 
have not elsewhere been recorded. 

At Quilimane Dr. Stiithlmann found it known as_ the 
* Muganu.” 


Xanthophilus castanops. 


Ploceus castanops, Shelley, P. Z. §. 1888, p. 35 Wadelai ; Reichen. Vég. 
Afr. iii. p. 96 (1904). 

Xanthophilus castanops, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 528 (1896). 

Hyphantornis castanops, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 443, pl. 13, fig. 1 
head (1890). 


Adult male. Forehead, cheeks, chin and middle throat chestnut; 
remainder of head, front half of neck and the entire under parts bright 
yellow; back half of neck, back and tail olive yellow, with a bright pale 
yellow band across the rump; wings blackish brown, with the pale outer 
edges of the feathers olive yellow on the lesser coverts and primaries, and 
yellower, as well as paler, on the other feathers ; under wing-coverts and 
inner edges of the quills buffy yellow. ‘‘ Iris pale yellow; bill black; feet 
reddish.” Total length 5:8 inches, culmen 0°75, wing 2°8, tail 1-8, tarsus 
0:95. g, 12. 8. 85, Wadelai (Emin). 

Adult female. Differs in the forehead, crown, back of neck and the back 
being ashy brown, with large dark centres to the feathers of the mantle; 
sides of forehead and head uniform rufous buff: chin, front of neck and the 
breast duller brownish buff very slightly tinted with yellow, and fading into 
white on the centre of the abdomen. Bill black. Wing 2:5. 9, Ntebbe 
(Jackson). 

Immature. Differs from the adult female only in having no rufous shade 
on the sides of the head, and in the bill being dusky horn-colour, with the 
under mandible whitish. 9, 12. 8. 85, Wadelai (Emin). 


The Nile Brown-throated Weaver inhabits the Victoria 
Nyanza and Upper White Nile district. 
Emin, who discovered the species at Wadelai, also procured 


472 XANTHOPHILUS OLIVACEICEPS 


specimens on Uliambiri Island off the south-west coast of 
Victoria Nyanza, and it was apparently abundant at both of 
these extreme limits of its known range, for he records it as 
common at the latter place, and at Wadelai he collected the 
five typical adult specimens all labelled male, and an evidently 
immature bird, which I have described, is labelled female. 

The full plumage is probably attained for their first 
breeding season, and is subject to no seasonal change, judging 
from Dr. Ansorge’s specimens obtained in Toru in April, and 
by Jackson’s collection, which contains a male and female from 
Kama Island, August, and two males and four females shot at 
Ntebbe, March and August. The females and immature birds 
may easily be mistaken for hens of Hyphantornis spekei, but 
the bill is more slender. . 


Xanthophilus olivaceiceps. 
Symplectes olivaceiceps, Reichen. Orn. Monatsb. 1899, p. 7 Songea. 
Ploceus olivaceiceps, Reichen. Vég. Afr. ili. p. 50, pl. fig. 2 (1904). 


Type. Head and upper parts yellowish olive; upper tail-coverts 
yellower; wings and tail ashy brown, with olive edges to the feathers ; 
under wing coverts ashy white washed with yellow; throat brownish olive; 
crop golden brown ; remainder of the under parts yellow. Bill black; feet 
brownish flesh-colour. Total length 5°6 inches, culmen 0°65, wing 3-2, 
tail 1:7, tarsus 0°8. 


The Olive-headed Golden Weaver inhabits the Upper 
Rovyuma district. 

The species was discovered by Dr, F. Fiilleborn at Songea, 
near the source of the Rovuma River, and is known to me only 
by the description and figure of the type. 


Xanthophilus aurantius. 


Malimbus aurantius, Vieill. Ois. Chant. p. 73, pl. 44 (1805) Congo. 

Xanthophilus aurantius, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 527 (1896). 

Hyphantornis aurantius, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 444, pl. 138, fig. 3 
(1890) ; Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 129 (1899) egg. 


XANTHOPHILUS AURANTIUS 17° 


a) 


Ploceus aurantius, Reichen. Vég. Afr. iii. p. 49 (1904). 

‘“‘ Hyphantornis royrei, Verr.”’ Hartl. J. f. O. 1865, p. 97 Gaboon. 

Adults.. Head and entire underparts deep golden yellow with a slight 
chestnut tinge, strongest on the throat; eyelids and a few feathers in front 
of the eyes black ; back of neck, back and tail yellowish olive, with the rump 
deep yellow; wings blackish brown, with the edges to the feathers yellow 
tinted with olive, most strongly so on the lesser coverts, primary-coverts 
and primaries; inner edges of the quills and the under wing-coverts yellow. 
“ Tris orange brown; bill black; feet flesh-colour”’ (Forbes). Total length 
5 inches, culmen 0°6, wing 2°7, tail 1:6, tarsus 0°75. g , Landana (Lucan). 

Immature. ‘ Upper parts uniform olive green, with darker centres to 
the feathers; edges of secondaries and wing-coverts olive yellow; chin, 
throat and eyebrow, edges of wings and the under wing-coverts yellow; 
chest, abdomen and under tail-coverts pale grey, inclining to white on the 
centre of the breast, abdomen and under tail-coverts. Bill flesh-colour. 
November 25, Liberia ’’ (Biittikofer). 


The Orange Weaver ranges from Liberia to the Congo and 
eastward into Uganda. 

The species is apparently abundant in Liberia, for Demary 
obtained it at the Sulymah River, and Dr. Biittikofer collected 
specimens at Robertsport and Grand Cape Mount, and remarks 
that they frequented the sea-shore, the small islands and banks 
of the rivers, and were breeding in November in widely spread 
colonies of twelve to twenty nests, never clustered together on 
a single tree. The nests were hung at 4 to 8 feet from the 
ground or over the water, and were of a somewhat kidney- 
shape, measuring 5 inches by 4°5, with the opening beneath, 
were strongly woven and firmly fastened to the bough trom 
which they hung. The eggs, generally three in a nest, were 
pale green, spotted with violet and brown, and measured 
06 x 0°5, 

Dr. Ansorge has obtained the species in the Lower Niger 
district, and there are specimens in the British Museum from 
Bonny (Crossley), and Abutschi (W. A. Forbes), otherwise it 
has not been recorded from the West Coast between Liberia 
and Gaboon, The type of Hyphantornis royrei was in the 


474 XANTHOPHILUS DICROCEPHALUS 


Bremen Museum with that name, and the locality, Gaboon, 
written on the label by Jules Verreaux, and was probably 
obtained by Du Chaillu. The species has also been met with 
by Marche and De Compitgne at Lopé and the Ogowé River. 
Lucan and Petit both procured specimens at Landana. Perrein 
discovered the type at the Congo, and the species has been 
obtained at Stanley Falls (Bonhdorff). Emin found them 
breeding in April in the grass along the banks of the Ituri 
River, and Mr. Jackson’s collection contains specimens from 
Ntebbe in Uganda. 


Xanthophilus dicrocephalus. 


Hyphantornis dicrocephala, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Gen. 1896, p. 45 Somali. 
Ploceus dicrocephalus, Reichen. Vég. Afr. ii. p. 83 (1904). 
Ploceus orphnocephalus, Erlanger, Orn. Monatsh. 1903, p. 23 S. Somalv. 


Adult. Head and neck chestnut, inclining to black on the crown; back 
and tail yellowish olive, the latter with yellower edges to the feathers ; 
wings blackish brown, with olive yellow edges to the feathers; under wing- 
coverts and inner margins to the basal portion of the quills pale yellow; 
breast and under tail-coverts pale yellow, with a more orange shade on the 
chest. Bill black; tarsi and feet flesh-colour. Total length 6 inches, 
culmen 0:55, wing 3:0, tail 2:0, tarsus 0°8. 


The Chestnut-headed Golden Weaver inhabits Somaliland. 

The species was discovered by Prince Ruspoli in Somali- 
land, but the exact locality is not known. A second specimen, 
the type of H. orphnocephalus, Erlanger, has been procured by 
Mr. Garre Levin, May 1, 1901, at Duma Duma in South 
Somaliland, between the Dau and Juba Rivers, and this is all 
that is known to me regarding the species. 


Xanthophilus galbula. 


Ploceus galbula, Riipp, N. Wirb. Vog. p. 92, pl. 32, fig. 2 (1835-40) ; 
Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 95 (1904). 

Xanthophilus galbula, Shelley, B. Afr. I, No. 532 (1896). 

Hyphantornis galbula, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 442 (1890) ; Nehrkorn, 
Kat. Hiers. p. 129 (1899) egg ; Grant, Ibis, 1904, p. 259 S. Abyssima. 


ae 


XANTHOPHILUS GALBULA 475 


Adult male. Forehead, cheeks and chin chestnut, shading into bright 
yellow on the remainder of the head, front half of neck and the underparts 
generally ; eyelids and a few feathers in front of the eye black; hinder half 
of the neck, the back and tail olive yellow, slightly yellower on the rump; 
feathers of the mantle with obscurely marked dusky shaft-bands; wings 
blackish brown, with olive shaded yellow outer edges ; inner margins of the 
quills and the under wing-coverts bright pale yellow. ‘Iris orange; bill 
black; legs brown” (Pease). Total length 5 inches, culmen 0:6, wing 2:8, 
tail 2:0, tarsus 0°85. 3g, 23. 7. 68, Anseba R. (Blanford). 

Adult female. Differs in having the upper half of the head, hind neck 
and back ashy brown, with dark centres to the feathers of the mantle ; upper 
tail-coverts slightly washed with yellow; wings browner than in the males, 
the quills alone having yellowish edges. Under parts brownish, fading 
into white towards the centre of the abdomen, and a faint shade of yellow 
on the throat. Iris dark brown; bill pale brown; whitish towards the base 
of the lower mandible ; legs, feet and claws pale fleshy horn-colour.’’ Wing 
25 inches. ¢@, 6. 7. 68, Ain (Blanford), 


Riippell’s Golden Weaver inhabits North-east Africa 
between 5° and 19° N. lat. and ranges into Arabia. 

The species is apparently abundant throughout its range. 
It has been procured in Somaliland by Dr. Donaldson Smith, 
Mr. Elliot, Mr. C. V. A. Peel, and by Mr. Lort Phillips, who 
writes: ‘These bright little Yellow Weaver-Birds and their 
hanging pear-shaped nests are to be found at every watering- 
place, well, or stream throughout the country, from the 
Berbera gardens to the top of Wagga Mountain. The nests 
we examined in the third week of March all contained young.” 

In Shoa specimens have been collected by Antinori and 
Ragazzi at all seasons of the year, and in Southern Abyssinia 
by Lord Lovat, Mr. Harrison and Mr. Pease. 

Dr. Blanford writes : ‘‘Abundant on the shores of Annesley 
Bay, in the passes up to about 4,000 feet, and in the Anseba 
valley. In the latter locality it breeds in August; at the 
commencement of the month the nests were all built, but no 
eggs were laid. The nest is of grass, as usual shaped like a 
pear, with an opening at the side without any long tubular 
entrance, and is often hung on acacia trees.” 


476 XANTHOPHILUS CASTANEICEPS 


The eggs measure on an average 0°85 x 0°65; and are 
very variable in colour, being white, rosy, pale green, or blue, 
and spotted and freckled with reddish brown, violet, or black. 
Five varieties have been figured by Heuglin (Orn. N. O. Afr. 
pl. 42, figs. 13-17). 

According to Heuglin, the species ranges northward to 
19° N. lat., and is abundant in the Samhar and Bogos districts 
from the sea-shore up to 6,000 feet. 

On the White Nile, ‘ These Weavers,” Mr. Witherby 
writes, ‘very, very common and to be found in every stretch 
of wooded or bushy country. They were generally in small 
flocks, and often with Passer luteus. They have a wheezing 
little song, sounding more like the creaking and squeaking of 
two small boughs rubbing together, than the voice of a bird.” 

Mr. A. L. Butler found the species “swarming in the 
gardens at Gedaref in April, May and June, 1901; huge flocks 
were met with between this place and Gallabat. On May 25, 
several nests were coynmenced in a half-hearted way, though 
at this date the birds were only just beginning to assume their 
breeding plumage. I should say they breed in full swing 
during the rains of July and August in the Kassala district.” 


Xanthophilus castaneiceps. 


Hyphantornis castaneiceps, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 448, pl. 18, fig. 5 
(1890) Taveta. 
Xanthophilus castaneiceps, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 534 (1896). 
Ploceus schillingsi, Reichen. Orn. Monatsb. 1902, p. 158 Rufu R. ; 
Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 93, pl. _, fig. 3 (1904). 
Ploceus aureoflavus (non Smith), Shelley, P. Z. 8. 1889, p. 867 Taveta. 
Adult. Head, neck and underparts golden yellow, with the forehead 
and crown deeper chrome yellow, the hinder half with chestnut ends to the 
feathers, from whence extends a narrow band of chestnut shaded feathers 
across the sides of the neck and widening out into an ill-defined collar on 
the lower throat ; remainder of the hind neck, entire back and edges to the 
wing and tail-feathers deep yellow, of an olive brown shade, excepting on 


XANTHOPHILUS AUREOFLAVUS 477 


the rump; under wing-coverts and inner margins of the quills pale yellow. 
“Tris orange ; bill black; feet pale brown.’”’ ‘Total length 6 inches, culmen 
0:6, wing 3-0, tail 2-3, tarsus 0-9. 9. 99, Rufu River (Schillings). 

Type (probably a female). Differing from the above in the forehead and 
crown being more evenly washed with chestnut; cheeks, chin and throat 
golden yellow, with a slight shade of chestnut on the sides and base of the 
throat ; portion of lower mandible pale. Wing 2:9. Useri River (Hunter). 

Immature. ‘The olive of the back extends forward over the top of the 
head, where it is shaded with orange and inclining to form an orange yellow 
eyebrow ; cheeks slightly shaded with chestnut; chin and throat bright 
golden yellow. Wing 2:9. Useri River (Hunter). 


The Rufous-crowned Golden Weaver ranges from the Rufu 
River into the Teita country. 

The type of Ploceus schillingst was obtained by Mr. 
Schillings at the Rufu River. 

The species was discovered by Mr. H. C. Hunter at the 
Useri River in the Teita country, where he collected two 
examples, which are now in the British Museum. I have 
described the only three specimens I have yet seen as they 
appear to me to be, adult, male and female, and a young bird, 
and probably represent all the varieties of plumage to which 
the species is subject. 


Xanthophilus aureoflavus. 


Ploceus aureoflavus, Smith, Ill. Zool. S. Afr. Av. text to pl. 30, fig. 1 
(1839) W. Africa ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iti. p. 91 (1904 pt.). 

Xanthophilus aureoflavus, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 533 (1896). 

Hyphantornis aureoflavus, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 446, pl. 13, fig. 4 
(1890) ; Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 129 (1899) egg. 

“ Hyphantornis aurea, Natt.” (non Less.) Hartl. J. f. O. 1860, p. 180 
Zanzibar. 

Hyphantornis sulfureus, Reichenb. Singv. p. 84, pl. 42, fig. 313 (1863). 

Hyphantornis concolor, Heugl. J. f. O. 1867, p. 389 Nubia. 

Adult male. General plumage canary yellow, very slightly tinted with 
chestnut on the head and throat; an obsolete olive shade on the mantle ; 
portions only of the wings and tail-feathers dusky, which colour, on the 
under surface of the wings, is confined to the end portions of the quills. 


2 


478 XANTHOPHILUS AUREOFLAVUS 


‘Tris orange yellow; bill black; feet flesh-colour’’ (Hmin). Total length 
5:3 inches, culmen 0°65, wing 3:0, tail 2:0, tarsus 0°85. Pangani R. (Kirk). 

Immature. Differs in having the forehead, crown and mantle olive 
yellow, mottled with pale brown feathers which have dusky shaft-stripes ; 
wing-feathers mostly dark brown with yellow outer and inner margins; a 
yellow eyebrow; ear-coverts olive yellow; cheek, chin and throat pale 
yellow ; remainder of the underparts white mottled with yellow. Malinda 
(Kirk). 


The Mnana Golden Weaver ranges from the Rovuma River 
to Formosa Bay. 

This, the commonest Weaver on Zanzibar Island, is well 
known there as the ‘‘ Mnana.’’ The type of the species is in 
the British Museum and was wrongly supposed by Sir Andrew 
Smith to have been a native of Sierra Leone; it is also prob- 
able that Dr. Peters’s specimen from ‘ Mozambique” and 
Riippell’s, from ‘ Nubia,” really came from the Island of 
Zanzibar, or from the neighbouring coast, as the species is 
only positively known to inhabit a small portion of Hast 
Africa. The most southern locality yet recorded for it is 
Mtiras on the Rovuma, where it has been procured by Dr. 
Fillleborn, otherwise I do not find it mentioned from much 
further south than Zanzibar Island, but is most abundant 
there, and apparently generally distributed along the coast. to 
as far north as Formosa Bay, not extending further inland 
than 35° KE. long. According to Fischer, the nest is a small 
oval structure, with no long entrance tube, is composed of 
green grass and generally suspended from the under side of 
a cocoanut palm leaf. The eggs, three to four in number, are 
uniform pale blue, and measure on an average 0°86 X 0°58. 
He found them commencing their nests in the early part of 
May, and by the end of August there were only a few breeding 
pairs left, but towards the end of November they started a 
second breeding season. 

The name, Hyphantornis aurea, given to this species by 


XANTHOPHILUS HOLOXANTHUS 479 


Hartlaub in 1860, was suggested by his finding it written by 
Natterer on the labels of some specimens of this Weaver pro- 
cured by Boger on Zanzibar Island, Natterer probably believ- 
ing them to be identical with Xanthophilus galbula, which had 
received the name Ploceus aureus by Des Murs, in 1845. The 
type of Hyphantornis concolor, Heugl., is a specimen from 
Riippell’s collection, labelled “ Nubia,’ now in the Leyden 
Museum, and as Dr. Finsch has kindly informed me that it 
belongs to this species, the locality written on the label cannot 
be correct. 


Xanthophilus holoxanthus. (Pl. 42, fig. 1.) 


Ploceus holoxanthus, Hartl. Abhandl. nat. Ver. Brem. 1891, p. 22 Mtoni; 
Reichen. Vog. D. O. Afr. p. 181 (1894) Mtoni. 

Xanthophilus holoxanthus, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 535 (1896). 

Ploceus aureoflavus, Reichen. Vég. Afr. p. 91 (1904 pt.). 


Adult male. Similar to X. aureoflavus, but differing in the slightly 
smaller bill and in the head being strongly washed with chestnut on the 
forehead and crown. ‘Iris dark brown; bill black; feet pale.’ Total 
length 5 inches, culmen 0°65, wing 2°6, tail 1:7, tarsus 0°85. Mtoni 
(Bohndorff). : 

Adult female. Forehead, crown and back of neck yellowish brown ; 
back pale brown with dark centres to the feathers of the mantle; upper 
tail-coverts and tail yellowish brown, the feathers of the latter with yellow 
edges ; wings blackish brown with pale yellowish edges to the feathers and 
the least coverts yellowish brown; quills with broad bright pale yellow inner 
edges; under wing-coverts buff, slightly washed with yellow; a yellowish 
white eyebrow; underparts white washed with pale yellow on the crop, 
cheeks and sides of neck; shaded with olive on the ear-coverts and with 
isabelline on the flanks and under tail-coverts. Upper mandible dark 
brown, lower one flesh-colour. Wing 2:35. Mtoni (Bohndorff). 


Bohndorff’s Golden Weaver inhabits the Zanzibar Coast. 

Mr. Bohndorff discovered the type of the species at Mtoni, 
on the Kingani River, in March, 1890, when he procured 
several other specimens, two males and two females of which 
are now in the British Museum, but I am not aware of its 
having been since met with. 


480 XANTHOPHILUS BOJERI 


This bird is so very like X. aureoflavus that Dr. Reichenow 
refers it, with doubt, to that species. I have had one of 
Bohndorff’s typical specimens figured in order that it may be 
more readily compared with that form. It appears to me 
possible that it may be the southern representative of X. 
aureoflavus, in which case the specimen from Mtiras 
(Fiilleborn) should belong to this species and not to X. 
aureoflavus. 


Xanthophilus bojeri. 


Hyphantornis bojeri, Finsch and Hartl. Cab. Decken’s Reis. iii. p. 32 
(1869); Oust. Bibl. Ecole Hautes Etudes, xxx. Art. 10, p. 11 (1886) 
Somali; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 448, pl. 18, fig. 6, head (1890) ; 
Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 130 (1899) egg. 

Xanthophilus bojeri, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 536 (1896). 

Ploceus bojeri, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 92 (1904). 

Xanthophilus aureoflavus (non-Smith), Reichenb. Singv. p. 84, pl. 42, fig. 
312 (1863) Zanzibar. 

Adult male. Similar to X. awreoflavus, from which it differs in the 
deeper yellow of the underparts, the bright orange shade on the head and 
neck, and in the base of the throat being margined with a shade of chestnut. 
“Tris brown; bill black; legs dark flesh-colour.’’ Total length 5-5 inches, 
culmen 0:6, wing 2:9, tail 2-0, tarsus 0:85. g, 7. 76, Mombasa Island 
(Hildebrandt). 

Female. Upper parts dull greenish yellow, with brown centres to the 
feathers of the back; tail dull yellow, with narrow bright yellow edges to 
the feathers; eyebrow and underparts pale yellow, with a brown wash on 
the sides of the head; wings dusky brown, with greenish edges to the 
feathers passing into pale yellow edges to the quills. ‘‘ Bill horn brown, 
with the under mandible yellowish; iris brown; feet horn brown.” Wing 
2'8. 


Boger’s Golden Weaver ranges from Zanzibar into Somali- 
land. 

The type, which is in the Vienna collection, was sent there 
by Boger from Zanzibar in 1824, and was first described and 
figured by Reichenbach under the name of Xanthophilus 


XANTHOPHILUS BOJERI 481 


aureoflavus (non Smith) as the type of his genus Xantho- 
philus. 


Fischer met with the species throughout the coast-country 
from Bagamoio to Barawa, and mentions it as being the 
commonest of the Weavers in that part of Africa, nesting 
everywhere in trees, bushes and hedges in dry or marshy 
country and by the sea-shore in colonies of five or more pairs. 
The nest is small, of an oval form, 6 inches deep by 4 wide, 
constructed of green grass, with no lengthened entrance 
passage, is hung from a twig at 6 to 7 feet from the ground, 
and contains three or four eggs. The eggs vary greatly in 
colouring, being bluish, greyish green or greyish brown, with 
or without dusky spots, or else brownish yellow very closely 
freckled with dark brown, often inclining to form a zone near 
the thick end. They measure on an average 0°8 x 0°6. 

Fischer’s specimens were collected at Zanzibar, Bagamoio, 
Maurui, Pangani, Muniuni, Melinda, Lamu, Wapocomoland and 
Barawa. Mr. Finn writes: ‘‘This bird was extremely abundant 
at Mombasa, especially on the island, if the dull, streaky, 
greenish yellow specimens, much like the females of H. galbula, 
are the females and young of H. bojevi, of which the brightly 
coloured male only appears to be known. These bright speci- 
mens are a small minority. The species is social, both in 
feeding and nesting; the nests are hung from the fronds of the 
cocoanut palms, even in the town of Mombasa. ‘The birds feed 
on the low plants, where, I presume, they find insects. Nest- 
lings were brought to me at the Fort bungalow by native boys, 
and a fledgling even flew into the bungalow on one occasion.” 

Mr. Jackson has procured the species at Witu, Erlanger 
obtained it in Jubaland, and Fischer at Barawa, and it has 
been recorded from Somaliland by M. Oustalet. The females 
are extremely similar to those of X. awreojlavus, and as the 
range is almost the same for the two species they may be easily 


confounded with each other. 
(March, 19095, 31 


482 XANTHOPHILUS SUBAUREUS 


Xanthophilus subaureus. 


Ploceus subaureus, Smith, Proc. S. Afr. Inst. April, 1832 Algoa Bay ; id. 
Ill. Zool. 8. Afr. B. pl. 30, fig. 1 (1839) ; Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 90 
(1904). 

Xanthophilus subaureus, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 537 (1896). 

Hyphantornis subaureus, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xii. p. 445 (1890) ; Nehrkorn, 
Kat. Hiers. p. 129 (1899) egg; Shortridge, Ibis, 1904, p. 176 
Pondoland. 

Adult male. General plumage golden yellow, slightly shaded with olive 
on the upper parts behind the crown; forehead and front half of crown 
orange yellow, remainder of the upper parts olive tinted yellow, with the 
edges of the median and greater wing-coverts, quill and tail-feathers clearer 
yellow ; a portion of the greater coverts and quills inclining to pale dusky 
brown; under surface of wings, with the exception of the ends of the quills, 
bright golden yellow. ‘Iris reddish ; bill brown ; tarsi and feet flesh-colour ”’ 
(Stark). Total length 6:4 inches, culmen 0:7, wing 3-2, tail 2:3, tarsus 0:9. 
Type, ¢, Algoa Bay (Smith). 

Adult female. Slightly smaller and duller ; upper parts more shaded with 
olive, which colour extends forward to the bill; back with dusky brown 
streaks. 

Immature. Upper parts ashy brown, with the lower back, edges of tail- 
feathers, outer edges of primary coverts and primaries yellowish ; top of 
head faintly tinged with yellow; feathers of the mantle blackish near the 
shafts; pale edges to the median and greater coverts and the secondaries 
buff; inner edges of quills and the under wing-coverts pale yellow, with a 
portion of the latter, near the primaries, ashy brown; sides of head brown 
like the crown, fading into buff on the cheeks and underparts, which are 
mottled with pale yellow feathers; flanks and crop slightly more ashy 
brown. Total length 6°9 inches, culmen 0:7, wing 3°35, tail 2°6, tarsus 1:0. 
8. Afr. (Smith). 


Smith’s Golden Weaver inhabits the eastern half of South 
Africa south of the Tropic of Capricorn. 

The type was discovered by Sir Andrew Smith at Algoa 
Bay, which is the most western range known for these Weavers. 
The late Dr. Stark, in his last communication to me, wrote: 
“Breeds abundantly in Natal, in colonies among reeds, the 
nests being attached to the stems of one or two reeds; eggs 
three, rather pyriform, white with a few black dots at the 


XANTHOPHILUS XANTHOPS 483 


large end. They measure 0°75 x 0°58. Nest composed of 
strips of reed-leaf, lined with fine strips and the flowering 
tops (drawing of nest enclosed).” From this drawing was 
copied the illustration (Faun. 8. Afr. B. i. p. 64), in which 
work he adds, that in many localities in Natal and Zululand it 
is by far the commonest Weaver. ‘To an ornithologist it is 
a charming sight to watch these delicately coloured ‘ canary- 
like’ Weaver-birds during the breeding season in November, 
hovering over the reed-tops or clinging to the stems while 
weaving their nests, all the time keeping up a ceaseless chat- 
tering, which is changed to a harsher cry if they are alarmed. 
These Weavers feed indiscriminately on seeds, small berries 
and insects.” 

The most northern range known to me for the species is 
Inhambane, where it has been met with by Mr. H. F. Francis. 
The bird from which I have described the immature plumage 
is specimen “d” (Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 466), there wrongly referred 
to as the type of Ploceus tahatali, which species Sir A. Smith 
originally described as above olive green, beneath bright 
yellow. Length 5} inches. 


Xanthophilus xanthops. 


Hyphantornis xanthops, Hartl. Ibis, 1862, p. 342 Angola; Sharpe, Cat. 
B. M. xiii. p. 447 (1890). 
Xanthophilus xanthops, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 538 (1896) ; Alexander, 
Ibis, 1899, p. 574 Zambesz. 
Ploceus xanthops, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 88 (1904). 
Hyphantornis aurantiigula, Cab. J. f. O. 1875, p. 288 Loango. 
Hyphantornis jamesoni, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 447 (1890) Swazi, 
Mashona; Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. p. 139 (1899) egg. 
Xanthophilus jamesoni, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 539 (1896). 
Ploceus xanthops jamesoni, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 90 (1904). 
Hyphantornis camburni, Sharpe, Bull. B. O. C. x. p. 35 (1900) Mt. Kenya, 
Ploceus xanthops camburni, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 90 (1904). 
Adult male, type. Forehead and front half of the crown deep golden 
yellow, remainder of upper parts shaded with olive; wings dark brown 


484 XANTHOPHILUS XANTHOPS 


with pale edges to the feathers, mostly olive yellow, but inclining to bright 
yellow on the ends of the median coverts and edges of the inner secon- 
daries ; inner margins of the quills yellowish buff; under wing-coverts golden 
yellow like the underparts generally and sides of head; throat with a tinge 
of chestnut. ‘Iris yellow; bill black; tarsi and feet brown” (Alexander). 
Total length 7 inches, culmen 0°8, wing 3:6, tail 2°6, tarsus 1:1. Angola 
(Monteiro). 

Adult female. Ditters only in the absence of bright yellow on the 
forehead and crown, which parts are of the same olive shade as the mantle. 
Culmen 0:75, wing 3°35, tarsus 0°95. @, Loango (Forbes’s Coll.). 

Type of Hyphantornis jameson. Differs from the type of the species in 
having the yellow on the forehead and crown slightly more restricted. 
Wing 3°7, tarsus 1-1. g, 11.9. 80, Umfuli R. (Jameson). 

Immature. Bill not entirely black, otherwise it agrees well with the 
adult female from Loango above described. “Iris hazel; bill dark brown ; 
tarsi and feet pale brownish.” Wing 3:3. ¢, 17. 7. 99, Nairobi (H. J. 
Mackinder). 


Hartlaub’s Golden Weaver ranges over the greater portion 
of Southern Tropical Africa, from the Loango Coast into Ben- 
guela, and through Central and Eastern Africa from Swaziland 
to the Hquator. 

The species varies slightly in its shade of colouring, the 
brighter, yellower specimens predominating toward its northern 
range, to which Hyphantornis aurantiigula, Cab., and H. camburni, 
Sharpe, belong, while H. jamesoni, Sharpe, is the duller, greener 
form from south of the Zambesi. I do not consider it advis- 
able to recognise any of these as subspecies. 

With regard to its range in Western Africa, there are, in 
the British Museum, four specimens from Chinchonxo and 
Landana, collected by Petit; two of Sperling’s from Kabinda ; 
two from Angola, including the type; and four of Anchieta’s 
from Quissange, Capangombe, Rio Chimba and Macongo. 
Respecting the type, Mr. Monteiro, who discovered the species, 
writes: “ Native name, ‘ Dicole.’ Weavers nest on tall grass, 
&ec., particularly near and over water. Common everywhere.” 
In the Lisbon Museum there is one of Whiteley’s specimens 


XANTHOPHILUS XANTHOPS 485 


from the Quanza, and others collected by Anchieta at Caconda 
and Quindumbo, where they are known to the natives as the 
“Tialala” at the former place, and as the ‘“ Janja” at the 
latter. Prof. Bocage observes that the specimen from the 
Quanza is remarkable by the chestnut shade on the throat, 
apparently agreeing in this respect with the types of Hyphan- 
tornis aurantiigqula, Cab., and H. camburii, Sharpe. 

To the south of the Zambesi, ‘I’. E. Buckley procured a 
specimen in Swaziland, Mr. Cavendish one at Mapicuti in 
the Beira district, and Jameson the type of H. jamesoni, 
Sharpe, at the Umfuli River; these, as well as three of 
Bradshaw’s specimens from the Makalaka country, are in the 
British Museum. Mr. Guy Marshall remarks: “This fine 
species is by no means common, I have seen it on the 
Hanyani and Umfuli Rivers, and it occurs sparingly along the 
streams near Salisbury.” 

Mr. Boyd Alexander, during his expedition up the Zambesi, 
“first met with the species at Chicowa, frequenting the shady 
portions of the river's bank in pairs, and in company with 
Bulbuls (Pyenonotus layardi). As we journeyed further west 
they became more plentiful, and at the end of November 
building had commenced. The tunnelled nests were hung 
from pendent branches of thick bushes near running water, 
and were neyer in colonies like those of other Weavers, but 
each pair of birds had their own particular thicket. The song 
of the male is a loud running chatter, kept up without inter- 
mission for some seconds. The plumage of the immature male 
is similar to that of the adult female.” 

The species is generally distributed over Nyasaland, speci- 
mens having occurred in eight separate collections, from 
Zomba to the Tanganyika plateau, as well as at five inter- 
vening places. To the east of Lake Tanganyika Bohm found 
the species abundant, but shy, generally in pairs frequenting 


486 PLOCEUS 


the thick bush and reed-beds near water, and were breeding 
both in September and March, The eggs, almost invariably 
only two in number, vary greatly in colouring, some being 
greenish blue, others brownish or whitish, and nearly always 
with reddish brown marks. The specimens examined by 
Mr. Nehrkorn were uniform bluish green or spotted with 
light and dark grey, and measured 1:0 x 0:64. Hildebrandt 
found it breeding in May at Kitiu, in Ukamba. 

Mr. Oscar Neumann procured a pair at Kwa Mumia, in 
Kavirondo; Dr. Ansorge met with it in Toru, and Mr. C. 
Camburn procured the type of Hyphantornis camburni at Mount 
Kenia in the Nairobi Forest at 5,500 feet, and remarks: 
‘Common; observed in small flocks; known to Maisai natives 
as ‘ Ging-yangiki.’’’ Emin found the species in the Mombuttu 
country, which is the most northern range known for these 
Weaver-Birds, and also met with it along the Victoria Nyanza 
at Bukoba and Bussisi. 

I may mention that adults, male and female, collected by 
Lord Delamere at Munisu, on the north-east of Mount Kenya, 
and at Nairobe, agree perfectly with the Angola birds. 


Genus XXIV. PLOCHUS. 


Bill deeper than broad, shorter than the head, almost flat at the sides, 
with the cutting edges slightly festooned ; nostrils exposed just in front of 
the frontal feathers ; culmen rounded, slightly curved, and forming a basal 
angle on the forehead. Wings rounded; primaries 1 more than a third 
of 8, which is one of the longest, 2 and 8 about equal. Tarsi and feet 
moderately strong; claws strong, curved and sharp; hind toe with claw 
about equal to the middle toe with claw. No black on sides of head; 
abdomen and under tail-coverts white-brown. 

Type. 

Ploceus, Cuv. Régne An. i. p. 383 (1817). . . . . . . . P. baya. 

The genus inhabits Southern Asia eastward from India to Java and 
Sumatra, also Ceylon and Madagascar and comprises several Asiatic and one 
Madagascar species. 


PLOCEUS SAKALAVA 487 


Ploceus sakalava. 

Ploceus sakalava, Hartl. Beitr. Faun. Madag. p. 54 (1861) Madagascar ; 
Milne, Edw. and Grand. Hist. Madag. Ois. p. 453, pls. 177a, fig. 1; 
178, and 304, fig. 7 egg (1885); Sibree, Ibis, 1891, p. 441; Shelley, 
B. Afr. I. No. 496 (1896). 

Nesacanthis sakalava, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 487 (1890) Madagascar. 

Adult male. Entire head and throat bright yellow; back, wings and 
tail earthy brown, with slightly paler edges to the feathers; under wing- 
coverts and inner margins of the quills buff; breast and under tail-coverts 
buff, shaded with ashy brown, most strongly so on the flanks; thighs 
yellowish. ‘Iris brown; bare skin round the eyes pink; bill pearl grey ; 
tarsi and feet rosy’ (Grandidier). Total length 5:4 inches, culmen 0:7, 
wing 3-2, tail 2°3, tarsus 0:85. 

Female. Differs in having no yellow on the plumage; forehead and 
crown brown like the back; sides of head and neck ashy, with a broad 
rufous buff eyebrow, and a band of that colour beneath the eye; under 
parts paler, fading into white on the upper throat, down the centre of the 
breast and on the under tail-coverts. ‘‘ Bare skin round the eye greenish ”’ 
(Grandidier). Wing 29. 


The Sakalava Weaver is confined to Madagascar. 

This species may be looked upon as the representative of 
Nelicurvius nelicourvi in the woodlands of the West Coast, and 
both birds are known to the natives by the same name, 
* Folisay.”” They much resemble each other in their feeding 
and general habits, but the nests of the present species are 
constructed so closely together that they form a single mass in 
the tree they have selected. 

The type of the species, an adult male, formerly in Sir 
Andrew Smith’s collection, is now in the British Museum, 
This species, which has no nuchal-hairs, may be said to repre- 
sent the Asiatic element in Madagascar, for I see no character 
for not placing it in the Asiatic genus Ploceus; while Neli- 
curvius nelicourvi, with its nuchal-hairs, represents the African 
contingent, and in a way they lead from Ploceus into the 
Hyphantornis group of genera, which can hardly be dis- 
tinguished by other characters than the pattern of colouring, 
which is often recognisable in full plumaged birds only. 


488 FOUDIA 


Genus XXV. H}OUDIA. 


Resembles Plocews and Hyphantornis in its general structure, and 
inclines toward the former in the abdomen never being yellow or clear 
white. It is characterised by the tail being perfectly square; the nostrils 
opening at the extreme base of the bill just in front of the frontal feathers; 
a blackish band through the eye. The males have a dull olive-shaded 
plumage for the winter, similar to that of the females, but assume for the 
breeding season, generally, a much brighter plumage with some red in it. 

Type. 

Foudia, Reichenb. Syst. Av. pl. 79, fig. 2 (1850) . F. madagascariensis. 

Nesacanthis, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 483 (1890) F. eminentissima. 

Neshyphantes, Shelley, B, Afr. I. p. 36 (1896). . F. flavicans. 


KEY TO THE SPECIES. 


a. With red or yellow on the head; bill black Males in breeding plumage. 
at, Bill stouter; culmen more curved; head red. 
a?, Bill slighter; mantle red, striped with black, 
abdomen red like the general plumage. 
a8, Smaller; wing about 265. . . . . . . madagascariensis. 


b3, Larger; wing3'3  . . . . . . aldabrana. 
b2. Bill stouter: mantle olive Brown: abdomen 
whitishss) . %. « 2) ie 4) ee es eaten BRR CMNenLUnentiSsiTa: 


61. Bill slender; culmen nearly straight. 
c?, Head and throat red; back olive brown with 
oars AN 56 of fo 0 0 a 6 (eon 
d*. No red on the body. 
c®. Head and throat yellow, shading in front 


intoorangered . . . . flavicans. 
d*, Front of crown and the eee ieet pale 
yellow .. . . . . seychellensis, 
b. No red or yellow on the Preece bill ome . +. . Females and males 


im winter. 


Foudia madagascariensis. 


Loxia madagascariensis, Linn. §. N. i. p. 300 (1766). 

Foudia madagascariensis, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 433 (1890) Mada- 
gascar, Réwnion, Mauritius, Amirante Isl., Seychelles ; Sibree, Ibis, 
1891, ie 441; Butler, Foreign Finches in Captivity, p. 304, pl. 59, 
figs. 1, 3 (1894); Ridgway, Proc. U. S. Mus. 1895, p. 514 Sey- 


FOUDIA MADAGASCARIENSIS 489 


chelles ; Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 497 (1896); Nehrkorn, Kat. Hiers. 
p. 129 (1899) egg ; Oberholser, Proc. U. S. Mus. xxii. p. 246 (1900) 
Madagascar. 

Ploceus madagascariensis, Milne, Edw. and Grand. Hist. Madag. Ois. 
p. 449, pls. 177a, fig. 3; 181, 182, 304, fig. 9 egg (1885). 


Male in full plumage. Scarlet shaded vermilion; a black patch 
encircling the eye; mantle with broad black shaft-bands to the feathers; 
tail-feathers dark brown, with obsolete narrow olive edges, inclining to red 
on the centre pair; wings dark brown, with very narrow olive edges to the 
feathers, excepting the median coverts which have broad buff terminal 
margins ; under wing-coverts buff, and the inner edges of the quills whitish. 
Tris brown ; bill black; tarsi and feet flesh-colour. Total length 5 inches, 
culmen 0°55, wing 2°7, tail 2:0, tarsus 0°8. (Seralalam Brit. Mus.). 

Adult female. No red on the plumage; upper parts olive brown, mantle 
with broad blackish shaft-bands to the feathers, and obscure, narrow, dark 
stripes on the crown and hind neck; wings and tail as in the male; sides of 
head and the under parts brownish buff, inclining to white down the centre 
of the breast. Iris brown; bill pale brown; slightly darker towards the 
culmen; tarsi and feet flesh-colour. Wing 24. 92, 2. 81, Ankafana 
(Cowen). 


The Madagascar Fody inhabits Madagascar, Réunion, 
Mauritius and many of the islands of the Seychelles Archi- 
pelago, and has been introduced on St. Helena. 

I see no good reason for supposing that it is not a native 
of all the islands of the Pacific Ocean where it is known to 
occur. IJt is a different matter with St. Helena, there it has 
fairly recently established itself, and multiplied to such an 
extent that it has become a nuisance to the farmers. 

The plumage differs greatly according to the sex and 
season; there is also a beautiful variety with bright golden 
yellow instead of red on the plumage, which is apparently of 
no uncommon occurrence both in Madagascar and St. Helena. 
The breeding plumage, M. Grandidier informs us, is assumed 
in October, when the colour of the bill in the male also changes 
from brown to black. They do not frequent the forests, but 
are otherwise distributed over Madagascar, and as soon as the 
breeding season is finished, assemble in large flocks to feed in 


490 FOUDIA MADAGASCARIENSIS 


the rice-fields. They do not breed in colonies, but in separate 
trees, and lay four or five eggs, which are of a pale bluish green 
and measure on an average 0°76 X 0°52. 

The species is generally known to the natives as the 
* Fody,” and they distinguish the full plumaged male as the 
“ Fodymena” (Red Fody) and those in the dull female plumage 
as the ‘“‘ Fodymata” (unripe Fody). 

Dr. Russ writes: “In ornamental plumage, which in 
Madagascar the males assume in October, and on Réunion in 
November and December, they fight one another furiously. 
The naturalist, Pollen, describes the nest as pear-shaped, with 
lateral entrance hole, made of fine grasses, plaited between 
two or four branches of acacia, mimosa, tamarisk, &e., 
sometimes also in a reed-thicket. Lafresnayes, on the other 
hand, figures the nest of a longish round shape and suspended 
between thin twigs. 

“The nest has the form of a retort with the tube cut off, 
yet the upper roof projects somewhat over it, while the front 
of the outer wall hangs down so that the entrance leads up to 
it from below.’ The nest, he informs us, is so thin that it 
can be seen through, but is very firmly woven and measures 
4 inches deep by 2°5 broad. The eggs are hatched in about 
fifteen days, and the young are at first dark brownish. On 
the third day, after leaving the nest, they are tolerably strong 
on the wing and able to follow their parents, the male assisting 
in feeding them. As a rule, three broods are reared in a 
year, 

The species is apparently abundant on Réunion, Mauritius 
and the Seychelles. In this latter archipelago Dr. Abbott 
has collected specimens on Mohé, Amirant and the Isle des 
Roche. 


FOUDIA BRUANTE 491 


Foudia bruante. 


Fringilla bruante, P. Z. 8. Miill. S. N. Suppl. p. 164 (1776) Réunion. 
Emberiza fuscofulva, Bodd. Tabl. Pl. Enl. p. 20 (1783). 

Nesacanthis fuscofulva, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 484, note (1890). 
Emberiza borbonica, Gm. 8. N. i. p. 886 (1788). 


The Bourbon Fody was a native of the Island of Réunion, 
but is now apparently extinct. 

In the *‘ Catalogue of Birds in the British Museum,” Dr, 
Sharpe writes: “This species seems to be extinct, cf. Sir H. 
Newton (Trans. Norfolk and Norwich Nat. Soc. 1889, p. 543). 
It has generally been considered identical with Moudia mada- 
gascariensts,” I can see no special reason for believing that 
identification to be incorrect; but as the type apparently no 
longer exists we are not likely to know anything more 
about it. 


Foudia aldabrana. 


Foudia aldabrana, Ridgway, Proc. U. 8. Mus. xvi. p. 598 (1893) 
Aldabra Isl. 
Neshyphantes aldabranus, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 502 (1896). 


Type. Similar to £. madagascariensis, but very much larger. Total 
length 6°5 inches, culmen 0:75, wing 3:3, tail 2:1, tarsus 0°92., g, ad. 
5. 10. 92, Aldabra Isl. (Abbott). 


The Aldabra Fody inhabits the island of that name. 

The species was discovered by Dr. Abbott on the Island 
of Aldabra, which lies in the Pacific Ocean about 250 miles 
North-west of the northern extremity of Madagascar, and 
500 miles from Zanzibar. The species is known to me only by 
the description of the type, but the measurement of the 
wing, 3°3 inches, readily distinguishes it from its nearest 
ally, which has a wing measurement of 2°65, 


492 FOUDIA EMINENTISSIMA 


Foudia eminentissima. 


Foudia eminentissima, Bp. Consp. i. p. 446 (1850) Zanzibar ; Shelley, 
B. Afr. I. No. 498 (1896). 

Nesacanthis eminentissima, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 484 (1890) 
Johanna Isl., Great Comoro Isl. ; Butler, Foreign Finches in Cap- 
tivity, p. 308, pl. 59, fig. 2 (1894). 

Ploceus algondx, Schl. P. Z. S. 1866, p. 423 Mayotte Isl. 

Calyphantria comorensis, Cab. in Decken’s Reis. ili. p. 31, pl. 10 (1869) 
Mayotte Isl. 

Foudia consobrina, Milne, Edw. and Oust. C. R. Acad. Se. 1885, p. 222. 

Ploceus (Foudia) anjuanensis, Milne, Edw. and Oust. N. Arch. Mus. (2) vi. 
Bull. p. 271 (1888). 


Adult male. Head, entire neck, rump and upper tail-coverts vermilion 
or orange red; mantle, wings and tail dusky black, with olive green edges 
to the feathers, broad on the mantle, wing-coverts and inner secondaries, 
where they are sometimes tinted with scarlet, narrow on the tail-feathers 
and most of the quills; lower back more uniform olive; under surface of 
wings dark brown, with the coverts and inner edges of the quills buff; a 
black patch on the side of the head extending back from the upper man- 
dible surrounds the eye and narrows to a point over the ear-coverts; breast 
ashy white washed to a variable extent with red and shaded with ashy 
olive on the flanks and under tail-coverts. ‘‘ Iris reddish brown ; bill black ; 
tarsi and feet flesh-colour”’ (Butler). Total length 5:7 inches, culmen 0:7, 
wing 3:0, tail 2-2, tarsus 0-9. g , Great Comoro (Kirk). 

Adult female. Differimg in having no red on the plumage ; top of head, 
rump and upper tail-coverts brown with a slight olive shade; eyebrow and 
underparts ashy buff, with the flanks, thighs and under tail-coverts browner, 
and a dusky band through the eye. Bill pale brown. Wing 2-9. Johanna 
Isl. (Kirk). 

Winter plumage. Alike in both sexes, the male only assuming the red 
for the breeding season. 


The Comoro Fody inhabits the Comoro Islands. 

Dr. P. L. Sclater wrote in 1864: ‘*The Comoros are a 
group of four islands lying in the northern part of the Mozam- 
bique Channel, between Madagascar and the opposite coast of 
Africa. They are all of volcanic origin, and probably of quite 
recent formation; but only one of them (Great Comoro) is 
now an active voleano, the other three (Mohilla, Johanna, or 
Anjuan, and Mayotte) being in a quiescent state.” 


FOUDIA EMINENTISSIMA 493 


The species was first made known by specimens sent to 
Kurope from the African Coast; the type being received by 
Verreaux from Zanzibar, and an immature bird occurred in 
the collection made by Sir John Kirk during the Livingstone 
Expedition. In the “ Ibis” for 1864, when he published a list 
of the birds in that collection, he did not mention the species ; 
but it is recorded in his collection from the Comoro Islands 
in the same number of the “Ibis” by Dr. Sclater, as “ Moudia 
madagascariensis, Mohilla (Kirk). ‘ Obtained in a reedy marsh 
near Oane.’”’ 

During a later expedition to this group of islands Sir John 
Kirk collected for me seven specimens from Great Comoro 
and nine from Johanna. In this latter island, according to 
Mr. Bewsher, it is not common, but is known to the natives as 
the “ Paramoran,” and he procured the eggs, which are pale 
blue, and measure 0°84 X 0°6. 

The type of Ploceus algoude was obtained by Pollen on 
Mayotte, from which island also came the type of Calyphantria 
comorensis. I extract the tollowing from Mr. Butler’s notes 
in his “ Foreign Finches in Captivity”: “It regularly assumes 
its bright colouring in April, retaining it for fully six months. 
Canary seed is the staple food of this and the allied Weavers, 
but it is very fond of spray millet and paddy-rice. In dis- 
position and voice it resembles £. imadagascariensis, but m a 
cage the two species are incessantly disputing, and the more 
beautiful, but commoner bird, always comes off second best. 
Indeed, the two birds would be better kept apart, for in the 
spring of 1894, one of my Madagascar Weavers, after living 
in constant warfare with another male of its own species and 
the Comoro bird, was killed by the latter. Probably such an 
occurrence is extremely rare, for the battles of Weaver-Birds, 
though very noisy, and accompanied by a great display of 
ruffled and quivering plumage, rarely results in actual blows.” 


494 FOUDIA RUBRA 


Foudia rubra. 


Emberiza rubra, Gm. S. N. i. p. 877 (1788). 

Neshyphantes ruber, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 499 (1896). 

Nesacanthis rubra, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 485 (1890) Mauritius. 

Fringilla erythrocephala, Gm. S. N. i. p. 903 (1788). 

“ Poudia martineti, Gray,” Mill. J. f. O. 1856, p. 114 Mauritius. 

Fringille cardaline, Vieill. Ois. Chant. p. 52, pl. 28 (1805). 

Adult male. Similar to Foudia eminentissima, but differs in its smaller 
bill and the red not extending below the crop. Head, upper neck and 
entire throat vermilion; mantle olive, with brownish black centres to the 
feathers ; lower back and upper tail-coverts olive, crossed by a broad vermilion 
band; wings brownish black, median coverts with broad buff ends, greater 
coverts with olive edges inclining to white at their ends, quills more 
narrowly edged with olive; under wing-coverts olive shaded buff, inner 
edges of quills buff; tail dark brown with narrow olive edges to the 
feathers ; sides of head with a black patch extending from the base of the 
upper mandible near the gape, round the eyes, and narrowing to a point at 
the end of the ear-coverts ; breast, thighs and under tail-coverts dusky 
olive, inclining to yellowish buff down the centre. Iris brown; bill black; 
feet pale brown. Total length 5:1 inches, culmen 0-6, wing 2°8, tail 1:6, 
tarsus 0°85. Mauritius. 

Adult female. Differs from the male in the absence of red on the 
plumage ; crown, back and sides of neck, lower back and upper tail-coverts 
uniform olive ; sides of head and the entire throat yellowish buff, inclining to 
olive on the ear-coverts and to white on the chin. ¢?, Mauritius (Bewsher). 


The Mauritius Fody is confined to the Island of Mauritius. 
According to Mr. E. Newton its note resembles that of Zosterops 
chloronotus. 

The nest is hung from the outer twigs of a bush or tree at 
from 5 to 15 feet from the ground, is of an oval form, with 
the entrance in the lower part; externally it is decorated with 
dead leaves, green moss, shreds of creepers, &c., and is warmly 
lined with feathers. ‘lhe eggs, three in number, are of a very 
pale blue, and measure 0°8 X 0°55. 

The nest has been figured (Rev. et Mag. Zool. 1850, p. 326, 


pl. 6). 


FOUDIA FLAVICANS 495 


Foudia flavicans. 


Foudia flavicans, E. Newton, P. Z. 8. 1865, p. 47, pl. i. figs. 1, 2 
Rodriguez Isl.; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 434 Rodriquez. 

Ploceus flavicans, Schl. P. Z. 8. 1866, p. 424. 

Neshyphantes flavicans, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 500 (1896). 

Male in full plumage. Front of head orange scarlet, quickly passing into 
bright yellow on the remainder of the head and throat; back of neck and 
the back brown, with broad blackish shaft-bands to the feathers of the 
mantle, and a narrow yellow band across the rump; tail dark brown with 
very narrow olive yellow edges to the feathers; wings dark brown, with the 
lesser coverts slightly paler; ends of median coverts and the whole of the 
greater coverts broadly edged with buff, quills with slightly darker pale 
edges, narrowest on the primaries, where they have a slight olive yellow 
tinge; inner margins of quills whitish; under wing-coverts like the breast 
and under tail-coverts buff, with a slight ashy brown shade strongest on the 
flanks. Iris brown; bill black; feet pale brown. Total length 5 inches, 
culmen 0:55, wing 2°8, tail 2:0, tarsus 0-9. Rodriguez (H. H. Sclater). 

Female. Differing in having no red or yellow on the plumage; upper 
part of head and neck brown like the back ; sides of head rather paler, with 
the indication of a buff eyebrow ; under parts dull yellowish buff, with the 
flanks and under tail-coverts browner. Iris brown; bill and feet pale brown. 
Wing 2°65. ¢?, 10. 7. 04, Rodriguez (EH. Newton). 


The Rodriguez Fody is confined to the Island of Rodriguez. 

This, the “ Yellow-bird” of the colonists, was perfectly 
tame, according to Mr. HE. Newton, and has a very pretty 
song not unlike that of our Goldfinch, In habits it resembles 
F. ruber, “in its way of picking amongst the extreme buds 
and leaves of branches, hanging often back downwards. _ Its 
beak is long, and more like that of this species than of FP’. 
madagascariensis. It is exceedingly numerous, and though 
many had paired and were evidently breeding, I saw a flock 
of at least one hundred, all in the brown stage of plumage, 
and probably many of them therefore immature birds. The 
adult hens are dark brown, like the same sex in the other 
two species.” 

The nest resembles that of /. ruber. The eggs, three in 


number, are of a very pale blue, and measure 0°72 x U:96. 


496 FOUDIA SEYCHELLARUM 


Foudia seychellarum. 


Foudia seychellarum, E. Newton, P. Z. 8. 1867, p. 346 Marianne Isl. 

Neshyphantes seychellensis, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 501 (1896). 

Nesacanthis seychellarum, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 486 (1890) Sey- 
chelles Isls. ; Ridgway, Proc. U. 5. Mus. 1895, p. 514 Ile Cousin, 
Marianne Isl. 

Adult male. Upper parts dark brown, with olive edges to the feathers ; 
forehead and most of the crown yellow; mantle mottled, with dark brown 
centres ; middle and lower back uniform olive brown; wings and tail dark 
brown, the feathers narrowly edged with olive, inclining to yellow on the 
primaries ; under wing-coverts and inner edges of the quills ashy buff; sides 
of head olive brown, with a large blackish patch from the bill round the 
eyes and extending over part of the ear-coverts; cheeks and upper throat 
pale yellow, passing into buff on the chin; remainder of the underparts pale 
yellowish ash, with the flanks browner. Total length 5:3 inches, culmen 
0-7, wing 3:0, tail 2-0, tarsus 0°85. g, Marianne Island (E. Newton). 

Adult female. Similar to the male, but differs in having no yellow on 
the head or throat; entire forehead and crown olive brown; chin and upper 
throat buff. Wing 2:9. 


Male in winter. Similar in plumage to the female. 


The Seychelles Fody mhabits the Seychelles Islands. 

On February 12, 1866, Mr. E. Newton landed on Marianne 
in quest of a bird known on that island as “ Le Mangeur de 
riz,’ which proved to be the present species; shot the three 
typical examples and observed some fifty to a hundred similar 
dull coloured specimens, and wrote: ‘‘ In habits these birds are 
gregarious, and I should imagine, live chiefly on grass-seed, 
they are said also, as their name implies, to eat rice. The 
proprietor of Marianne told me the species was also found at 
Ladigue, but was not plentiful there.” 

Mr. K. Perceval Wright has since found the species on 
Frigate Island, and Dr. Abbott on [le Cousin. 


INDEX I. 


Latin Names. 


abyssinica, Fringilla, 86 
abyssinicus, Hyphantornis, 400, 429 
wnea, Hypochera, 6 
ethiopica, Amblyospiza 307 

" Quelea, 111, 114 
wthiopicus, Ploceus sanguinirostris, var., 

114 
Aithiops, 137 
ethiops, Hyphantornis, 406 
affinis, Pytelia, 273 
», Urobrachya, 60, 68 
afra, Pyromelana, 71, 80 
,, Pytelia, 265, 269 

Agrophilus, 325 
Aidemosyne, 150 
albifrons, Amblyospiza, 303, 307 
albinucha, Melanopteryx, 362, 364 
albirostris, Textor, 314, 315 
albonotata, Penthetria, 46, 49 
albonotatus, Coliuspasser, 31, 32, 46 
aldabrana, Foudia, 488, 491 
aldabranus, Neshyphantes, 491 
Alecto, 314 : 
alecto, Textor, 315 
Alectornis, 314 
algonde, Ploceus, 492 
aliena, Sitagra, 392 
alienus, Hyphanturgus, 385, 392 
Amadina, 121, 122 
Amaurestes, 160 
amaurocephalus, Sycobrotus, 366, 370 
amauronotus, Hyphantornis, 331 
amauropteryx, Hypochera, 6, 12 
Amblyospiza, 289, 302, 303 
Anaplectes, 290, 337 
angolensis, Hstrilda astrild, 202 

re Sharpia, 335, 336 

; Ureginthus, 179, 182 


anjuanensis, Ploceus (Foudia), 492 
Anomalospiza, 5, 108 
anomala, Brachycope, 446 
anomalus, Ploceus, 446 
ansorgei, Chlorestrilda, 177 

* Pyromelana, 72, 102 
approximans, Pyromelana, 71, 75 
ardens, Coliuspasser, 31, 32, 40 
argus, Amadina, 126 
arnaudi, Philetairus, 129, 132 
astrild, Estrilda, 191, 194, 200 
asymmetrura, Penthetria, 49 
asymmetrurus, Coliuspasser, 31, 32, 

49 

Atalochrous, 345 
Atopornis, 137 
atricapilla, Estrilda, 193, 229 


| atricapillus, Ploceus, 351 
| atricollis, Ortygospiza, 155, 155 
| atrogularis, Ploceus, 381 


aurantiigula, Hyphantornis, 483 


aurantius, Hyphantornis, 386 


% Xanthophilus, 461, 472 
aurea, Hyphantornis, 477 
» Pyromelana, 71, 79 
aureoflavus, Ploceus, 476, 477, 479 
a Xanthophilus, 462, 
480 


477, 


| auricapillus, Ploceus, 408 
| auricollis, Penthetria, 40 
| auricomus, Heterhyphantes, 374, 375 


auricularis, Ploceus, 455 
aurifrons, Ploceus, 462 
aurinotus, Euplectes, 79 
australis, Cryptospiza, 277, 279 
axillaris, Hyphantornis, 434 

‘ Urobrachya, 59, 60, 68 
ayresi, Sharpia, 341 

32 


498 


badius, Hyphantornis, 400, 454 
baglafecht, Heterhyphantes, 454, 457 
in Othyphantes, 450, 454 

bartletti, Malimbus, 345, 347 
bengalus, Ureginthus, 179, 186 
bertrandi, Hyphantornis, 401, 441 
bicolor, Nigrita, 137, 159, 140 
Ploceus, 370 
Spermestes, 160, 162 

»,  Sycobrotus, 367 
blundelli, Anaplectes, 338 
bocagei, Coccopygia, 233, 236 

5 Urobrachya, 60, 68, 70 
boehmi, Dinemellia, 310, 313 
bohmi, Textor, 313 
bohndorffi, Hyphantornis, 400, 428 
bojeri, Nanthophilus, 462, 480 
borbonica, Emberiza, 491 
Brachycope, 291, 446 
brachyptera, Sitagra, 389 
brachypterus, Hyphantornis, 386 

45 Hyphanturgus, 385, 389 
brandti, Ploceus, 416 
brasiliana, Loxia, 126 
bruante, Foudia, 491 
brunneiceps, Lagonosticta, 246, 258, 
260 

brunnescens, Nigrita, 137, 140 
Brunhilda, 191 
Bubalornis, 314 
bucealis, Estrelda, 205 


” 


” 


cabanisi, Hyphantornis, 399, 401 
es Philetairus, 129, 135 

cerulescens, Estrilda, 193, 218 
caffer, Icterus, 465 
caffra, Loxia, 32 

»,  Sitagra, 465 
calfat, Emberiza, 148 
camberni, Hyphantornis, 483 
canicapilla, Nigrita, 137, 141, 145 
caniceps, Uroloncha, 151 
canidorsalis, Nigrita, 134 
cantans, Uroloncha, 151, 152 
capensis, Pyromelana, 71, 73 


INDEX. 


capensis, Xanthophilus, 461, 462 
capistrata, Chlorestrilda, 177 
capitalba, Amblyospiza, 303, 309 
capitalis, Hyphantornis, 401, 438 
capitata, Quelea, 117 

cardinalis Quelea, 111, 119 
carmelita, Estrelda, 16 

cassini, Malimbus, 345, 350 
castaneiceps, Xanthophilus, 462, 476 
castaneigula, Hyphantornis, 469 
castaneoauratus, Textor, 434 
castaneofusca, Cinnamopteryx, 356, 357 
castaneofuscus, Ploceus, 357 
castanosoma, Hyphantornis, 432 
castanicapillus, Symplectes, 375 
castanops, Xanthophilus, 461, 471 
cavendishi, Estrilda, 191, 194 
centralis, Malimbus rubricollis, 346 
chalybeata, Hypochera, 6 
charmosyna, Hstrilda, 194, 232 
Chera, 30 

Chlorestrilda, 121, 176 
chloronotus, Ploceus, 405 
chloropsis, Crithagra, 108 
chrysogaster, Ploceus, 366 
chrysomelas, Fringilla (Acanthus), 397 
chrysomus, Symplectes, 366 
chrysonatus, Vidua, 50 
chrysophrys, Symplectes, 381 
chrysopis, Fringilla, 462 
chrysoptera, Fringilla, 50 
chrysopygus, Textor, 442 
chrysostictos, Ploceus, 416 

cinctus, Hyphantornis, 422 
cinerea, Estrilda, 192, 203 
cinereicapilla, Nigrita, 141 


| cinereigula, Pytelia, 269 


cinereovinacea, Lagonosticta, 245, 246 
Cinnamopteryx, 290, 356 

citerior, Pytelia, 265, 270 

clarkei, Estrilda, 192, 209. 
Clytospiza, 289, 296 

coccineus, Pyrenestes, 281, 282, 284 
Coecopygia, 122, 233 

Coliostruthus, 30 


Coliuspasser, 5, 29, 30 
collaris, Hyphantornis, 400, 422 
»,  Ploceus, 431 
comorensis, Calaphantria, 492 
concolor, Coliuspasser, 31, 32, 44 
As Hyphantornis, 477 
3 Lanurgus, 1 
congica, Lagonosticta, 246, 251 
consobrina, Foudia, 492 
Coryphegnathus, 303 
craspedopterus, Euplectes, 104 
cristatus, Malimbus, 346, 349 
crocata, Hyphantornis, 386 
crocatus, Ploceus ocularius, 386 
croconotus, Symplectes, 375 
Cryptospiza, 122, 276 


INDEX. 


cucullatus, Hyphantornis, 400, 423, 428 


. Spermestes, 160, 167 
eyanocephala, Estrilda, 186 


cyanocephalus, Ureginthus, 179, 186 


cyanogastra, Loxia, 182 


cyanorhynchus, Spermophaga, 292 


eyclospilus, Ploceus, 416 


damarensis, Estrilda, 191 
astrild, 194 


” ” 


9 Ureginthus bengalus, 182 


decora, Vidua, 16 


delamerei, Coliuspasser, 30, 32, 37 


A Estrilda, 194, 231 
Dertroides, 314 
detruncata, Fringilla, 123 
diabolica, Nigrita, 137, es 
diademata, Pyromelana, 72, 88 
diadematus, Euplectes, 88 
Diatropura, 30 
dicrocephala, Hyphantornis, 474 


dicrocephalus, Xanthophilus, 461, 474 
dimidiatus, Hyphantornis, 435, 436 


Dinemellia, 289, 310 

dinemelli, Dinemellia, 310, 311 
dohertyi, Nigrita, 142 
donaldsoni, Plocepasser, 325, 332 
dorsalis, Philetairus, 129, 134 
dorsofusca, Perenopsis, 138 


| 


| 
| 


} 


499 


dorsomaculatus, Heterhyphantes, 374, 


377 
Drepanoplectes, 30 
dubius, Ploceus, 84 
duboisi, Ploceus, 439 
dufresnei, Coccopygia, 233 
dufresni, Fringilla, 233 
dufresnii, Coccopygia, 233, 238 
dybrowskii, Hypargos, 239, 242 


edwardsi, Huplectes, 95 
effrenata, Estrelda, 205 
elegans, Fringilla, 273 
elizee, Estrilda, 193, 228 

,, Cryptospiza, 278 
| emiliz, Nigrita, 137, 143 
eminentissima, Foudia, 488, 492 


| emini, Othyphantes, 450, 458 


, LPhileterus, 132, 135 
,, Philetairus, 129, 135 


,, Pytelia phcenicoptera, 265, 266 


»,» Sporopipes frontalis, 301 
eques, Coliuspasser, 31, 32, 45 
eremobius, Symplectes, 455 
ernesti II., Estrelda, 236 
erycephala, Loxia, 126 


| erythrocephala, Amadina, 123, 126 


Fringilla, 117, 494 
bry throcephalug, Ploceus, 338 
erythrogaster, Malimbus, 346, 393 
erythrogenys, Calyphantria, 338 
erythronota, Estrilda, 194, 230 
erythronotos, Fringilla, 230, 233 


erythrophthalmus, Hyphantornis, 401 


erythrops, Quelea, 111, 117 
erythroptera, Estrelda, 266 
erythrorhyncha, Vidua, 16 


| erythrorhynchus, Textor, 320 
| Kstrilda, 122, 190 


Estrildine, 3, 4, 120 
Eudice, 150 
Euplectes, 71 
Eupodes, 366 


fasciata, Amadina, 123 


500 


Ficophagus, 345 
fimbriata, Habropyga, 218 
finschi, Ploceus, 408 

i; »  auricapillus, 408 
fischeri, Ploceus, 436 

»  Vidua, 14, 23 
flammiceps, Pyromelana, 72, 104 
flavicans, Foudia, 488, 495 
flaviceps, Euplectes, 104 
flavigula, Hyphantornis, 381 

- Ploceus, 390 

flaviscapulatus, Coliuspasser, 52 
flaviventris, Fringilla (Estrelda), 236 
flaviviridis, Ploceus, 429 
flavocapillus, Ploceus, 381 
flavomarginatus, Ploceus, 442 
flavoptera, Fringilla, 50 
Foudia, 291, 488 
franciscana, Pyromelana, 72, 90 
frenata, Habropyga, 205 
friederichseni, Pyromelana, 72, 102 
Fringille, 2 
fringilloides, Spermestes, 160 
frontalis, Pyrrhula, 303 

Hs Sporopipes, 298, 300 
fuliginosa, Vidua, 16 
fiilleborni, Ploceus, 441 
funerea, Hypochera, 6, 10 
fuscocastanea, Hyphantornis, 359 
fuscocastaneus, Ploceus, 359 
fuscocrissa, Ortygospiza (Heugl. J. f. O. 

1863, p. 10), 155 (ometted) 
fuscofulva, Emberiza, 491 
fusconota, Nigrita, 137, 138 


galbula, Xanthophilus, 462, 474 
gambiensis, Hyphantornis, 424 
gierowi, Pyromelana, 72, 103 
Granatina, 178 

granatina, Fringilla, 179 
granatinus, Ureginthus, 179 
grandis, Hyphantornis, 400, 430 
grayi, Hyphantornis, 381 
gregalis, Sycobrotus, 366 
guerini, Hyphantornis, 455 


INDEX. 


gurneyi, Anaplectes, 338, 341 
cuttata, Spermospiza, 292, 294 
gutturalis, Ploceus, 386 


Habropyga, 190 
hematina, Spermospiza, 292 
hematocephala, Foudia, 117 
hematocephalus, Agrophilus, 325 
3 Ploceus, 338 

Haplopyga, 191 
harterti, Hypargos, 239, 244 
hartlaubi, Amadina, 242 

7 Coliuspasser, 31, 54 
hawkeri, Granatina, 181 
Heterhyphantes, 3, 290, 374 
heuglini, Hyphantornis, 400, 413 
hildebrandti, Urobrachya, 64 
Histurgops, 290, 323 
holoxanthus, Xanthophilus, 462, 279 
humeralis, Penthetriopsis, 54 
Hypargos, 122, 239 
Hyperanthus, 71 
Hypermegethes, 399 
Hyphantica, 111 
Hyphantornis, 291, 399 
Hyphanturgus, 291, 385 
Hypochera, 5, 6 


| hypocherina, Vidua, 13, 14 


hypogrammica, Pytelia, 265, 268 


| hypomelena, Habropyga, 247 


hypomelas, Habropyga, 247 


| janthinogaster, Ureeginthus, 179, 181 


ianthinogastra, Granatina, 181 
icterocephalus, Ploceus, 462 
icteromelas, Pyranga, 372 
Icteropsis, 393 

ignicolor, Loxia, 90 

ignita, Fringilla, 256 
imberbis, Anomalospiza, 108 


_ immaculosa, Spermospiza, 294 


imperialis, Emberiza, 33 


| incana, Hstrilda, 198, 220 


insignis, Heterhyphantes, 374, 375 
intercedens, Pyromelana taha, 87 


INDE 


intermedia, Quelea, 115 
intermedius, Hyphantornis, 399, 401 

Me Textor, 314, 317 

. _,  albirostris, 318 
interscapularis, Cinnamopteryx, 356, 361 
isabellina, Ploceus, 357 


jacksoni, Coliuspasser, 31, 32, 55 
a Cryptospiza, 277, 280 
aa Hyphantornis, 400, 435 
jagoensis, Estrilda, 203 
jayensis, Loxia, 148 
jamesoni, Hyphantornis, 483 
oF Lagonosticta, 246, 252 
jessei, Pytelia, 265, 270 
jonquillaceus, Ploceus, 381 


kandti, Estrilda, 193, 226 
kersteni, Sycobrotus, 266, 372 
kilimensis, Coceopygia, 233, 238 
kirki, Pytelia, 265, 273 
kretschmeri, Nigrita, 142 


ladoensis, Pyromelana, 72, 83 
Lagonosticta, 122, 245 

landane, Lagonosticta, 246, 255 
larvata, Estrilda, 193, 225 
larvatus, Ploceus, 429 

laterita, Lagonosticta (Estrelda), 262 
lathami, Loxia, 111 

laticauda, Fringilla, 38 

laticaudus, Coliuspasser, 31, 32, 38 
lenocinia, Vidua, 40 

lepidoptera, Fringilla, 298 
Lepidopygia, 160 

lepidus, Philetairus, 130 
leucocephalus, Textor, 311 
leuconotos, Ploceus, 338 
Leucophrys, 325 

leucophthalmus, Ploceus, 455 
leucotus, Estrelda, 205 
Limoneres, 310 

lineata, Pytelia, 265, 267 
lineolatus, Hypbantornis, 401, 446 
Linura, 13 


xX. 501 


| lipiniana, Estrelda, 230 


lippa, Fringilla, 212 
longicauda, Emberiza, 32 
longirostris, Fringilla, 424 
lovati, Othyphantes, 450, 457 
liibberti, Ploceus, 401 
lucieni, Nigrita, 146 
lunulata, Amadina, 158 
luteifrons, Nigrita, 137, 146 
luteola, Sitagra, 393, 397 
luteolus, Ploceus, 397 
Lychnidospiza, 245 


macrocerea, Fringilla, 52 
macrocercus, Coliuspasser, 31, 32, 52 
macroura, Loxia, 49 


| macrourus, Coliuspasser, 31, 32, 49 
| macrura, Penthetriopsis, 49 


maculosa, Loxia, 126 

madagascariensis, Foudia, 488 

magnirostris, Hyphantornis, 424 

mahali, Plocepasser, 325 

major, Ploceus sanguinirostris, var., 115 

malensis, Heterhyphantes, 374, 354 

malimbica, Tanagra, 346, 349 

malimbicus, Malimbus, 345, 346, 347, 
349 

Malimbus, 290, 345 

malimbus, Textor, 346 

margarite, Sporeginthus, 217 

margaritata, Spermophaga, 240 

margaritatus, Hypargos, 239, 240 

marginalis, Amadina, 123, 125 

Mariposa, 178 

mariposa, Hstrilda, 186 

mariquensis, Hyphantornis, 399, 405 

Marquetia, 264 

martineti, Foudia, 494 

marwitzi, Estrilda, 215 

maxwelli, Melanopteryx, 362, 363 

mechowi, Urobrachya, 60, 68 

media, Urobrachya, 60, 65 

Melanhyphantes, 374 

melanocephala, Loxia, 439 

melanocephalus, Hyphantornis, 401, 439 


502 INDEX. 


melanogaster, Heterhyphantes, 374, 379 © 


melanogastra, Estrelda, 219 

A Lagonosticta, 245, 247 

7 Loxia, 80 
melanogenis, Ploceus, 455 
melanogenys, Estrilda, 233 
melanops, Hyphantornis, 408 

a Ploceus, 390, 455 

melanopygia, Estrelda, 203 
Melanopteryx, 290, 361, 362 


melanorhynchus, Plocepasser, 325, 328 


melanota, Amblyospiza, 303, 307 
melanotis, Amblyospiza, 307 


5 Anaplectes, 338 
4 Fringilla, 233 
~ Ploceus, 455 


melanotus, Coryphegnathus, 307 


natalensis, Habropyga, 220 
Neisna, 190 


| neisna, Estrelda, 233 


nelicourvi, Nelicurvius, 459 
Nelicurvius, 291, 459 


| Nesacanthis, 488 


Neshyphantes, 488 
Nesocharis, 121, 175 


_ niger, Ploceus, 362 


,,  JLextor, 814, 320 
nigerrima, Hypochera, 6, 11 
ie Melanopteryx, 362, 363 
nigerrimus, Ploceus, 362 


| nigricauda, Astrild, 203 


nigriceps, Hyphantornis, 400, 419 
a Spermestes, 160, 166 


| nigricollis, Estrilda, 193, 223 


melanoxanthus, Heterhyphantes, 374, | 


383, 384 
melba, Pytelia, 265, 270, 273 
meloxit; Hyphantornis, 414 
Melpoda, 191 
melpoda, Hstrilda, 192, 212 
mentalis, Sycobrotus, 366, 371 
miniatus, Sporeeginthus, 207 
minima, Fringilla, 256 
minor, Hstrilda, 191, 198 
» Huplectes capensis, var., 75 
»  Pyrenestes, 281, 287 
»  Spermestes nigriceps, 166 
minutus, Ploceus, 397 
mitchelli, Pytelia, 207 
modestus, Ploceus, 424 


molybdocephala, Fringilla (Pyrgita), 132 


monacha, Sitagra, 393, 395 
monachus, Ploceus, 395 
monteiri, Clytospiza, 297 
mordoreus, Ploceus, 434 
Mormolycea, 191 

miilleri, Fringilla, 297 
multizona, Fringilla, 155 


nevia, Loxia, 73 
nana, Spermestes, 160, 174 
nandensis, Sycobrotus, 366, 371 


‘i Heterhyphantes, 374, 381 


nigrifrons, Hyphantornis, 408 


A Pyromelana, 98, 101 
5 Sycobius, 349 
nigrimentum, Hstrilda, 232 
7 Othyphantes, 450, 453 
Nigrita, 121, 136, 137 
nigriventris, Pyromelana, 72, 89 


| nigronotata, Urobrachya, 64 


Niobe, 30 
nitens, Fringilla, 6 

»,  Malimbus, 345, 351 
nitidula, Estrelda, 242 

»,  Lagonosticta, 244 

nitidulus, Hypargos, 239, 242 
niveiguttata, Spermophaga, 240 
niveiguttatus, Hypargos, 239, 240 
nonnula, Estrilda, 193, 226 
nuchalis, Sycobius, 346 
nyasie, Hyhantornis, 401, 441 


occidentalis, Estrilda, 192, 200 
oA es subflava, 207 
» Quelea, 111 
occipitalis, Malimbus, 346 
ochrogaster, Estrilda, 193, 217 
ocularis, Cryptospiza, 278 
ocularia, Sitagra, 385 


—_—_ 


INDEX. 


ocularius, Hyphanturgus, 385 
cenochroa, Habropyga, 247 
olivaceiceps, Xanthophilus, 461, 472 
olivaceus, Xanthophilus, 461, 465 
orientalis, Aidemosyne, 152 

én Estrilda subflava, 207 


x) Hypochera ultramarina, 12 
5 Vidua paradisea, 25 


Oriolinus, 461 

orix, Pyromelana, 72, 95, 98 
orphnocephalus, Ploceus, 474 
Ortygospiza, 121, 155 
Orynx, 71 

Oryx, 71 

oryx, Pyromelana, 98 
orizivora, Padda, 148 
Orizornis, 148 

ostrina, Loxia, 284 

ostrinus, Pyrenestes, 281, 282, 284 
Othyphantes, 291, 449, 450 


Pachyphantes, 291, 447 

pachyrhynchus, Ploceus, 448 

Padda, 121, 148 

paludicola, Hstrilda, 192, 214 

palustris, Habropyga, 214 

panayensis, Emberiza, 40 

panicivora, Loxia, 320 

paradisea, Vidua, 14, 25 

peasei, Hstrilda, 192, 200 

pectoralis, Plocepasser, 325, 330 

pelzelni, Sitagra, 393, 394 

pensilis, Loxia, 459 

Penthetria, 30 

Penthetriopsis, 30 

Perenopsis, 137 

perreini, Estrilda, 193, 219 

personatus, Ploceus, 395, 397, 405 
i Pyrenestes, 282, 284 

petiti, Loxia (Euplectes), 104 

phalerata, Fringilla, 73 

Philagrus, 325 

Philetairus, 121, 129 

pheenicea, Urobrachya, 60, 64, 65 

pheeniceus, Coliuspasser, 63 


505 


pheenicomera, Pyromelana, 71, 78 
phcenicomerus, Euplectes capensis, 78 
pheenicoptera, Pytelia, 265, 266 
* Vidua, 33 

pheenicotis, Estrelda, 186 
Pholidocoma, 298 
Phormoplectes, 374 
piliatus, Leucophrys, 325 
pinaronota, Nigrita, 138 
Ploceid, 2 
Ploceine, 3, 4, 289 
Plocepasser, 290, 324, 325 
Ploceus, 291, 486 
poenses, Spermestes, 160, 164 

». Sycobrotus, 371 
poliogastra, Estrilda, 193, 219 
polionota, Lagonosticta, 246, 249 
poliopareia, Estrilda, 192, 216 
polyzona, Fringilla, 155, 267 

. Ortygospiza, 155 
prasipteron, Loxia, 168 
preussi, Symplectes, 375 
princeps, Xanthophilus, 461, 468 
principalis, Emberiza, 16 

ee Vidua, 16 
procne, Chera, 32, 37 
progne, Coliuspasser, 30, 32 
propinquatus, Plocepasser, 325, 331 
psammocromius, Coliuspasser, 31, 32, 
53 

Pseudonigrita, 129 
pseudoryx, Euplectes, 95 


| punctata, Spermestes bicolor, 163 


punctatus, Spermestes, 163 
punctipennis, Amadina, 166 


| purpurascens, Hypochera, 11 


» fs funerea, 10 
pusilla, Pyromelana franciscana, 90 
pustulata, Fringilla, 294 
Pyrenestes, 122, 281 
Pyromelana, 5, 70, 71 
pyropteryx, Pytelia, 269 
pyrrhocephalus, Euplectes, 338 
pyrrhozona, Euplectes, 104 
Pytelia, 122, 264 


504 INDEX 


quanzze, Urobrachya pheenicea, 68 
quartinia, Coccopygia, 233, 236 
Quelea, 5, 110, 111 

quelea, Quelea, 111 


racheliex, Malimbus, 346, 355 
ranunculacea (carunculacea, err.), Frin- 
gilla, 80 

rara, Habropyga, 247 
regia, Vidua, 14, 21 
reichardi, Hyphantornis, 401, 445 
reichenowi, Cryptospiza, 277, 278, 279 

Othyphantes, 450, 451 
rendalli, Crithagra, 108 

»,  Lagonosticta, 246, 260 
reticulata, Fringilla, 126 
rhodopareia, Lagonosticta, 246, 250 
rhodopsis, Lagonosticta, 246, 264 
rhodoptera, Estrelda, 205 
Rhodopyga, 245 
rhodopyga, Hstrilda, 192, 205 
roseicrissa, Estrilda, 192, 215 
royrei, Hyphantornis, 473 
ruber, Neshyphantes, 494 
ruberrima, Lagonosticta brunneiceps, 258 
rubiginosus, Hyphantornis, 400, 432 
rubra, Foudia, 488, 494 
rubricapilla, Spermospiza, 292, 296 
rubricata, Lagonosticta, 246, 252, 254 
rubriceps, Anaplectes, 338, 341 

7 Malimbus, 341, 349 
rubricollis, Malimbus, 345, 346 
rubritorques, Vidua, 40 
rubriventris, Estrilda, 192, 202 
rubropersonatus, Malimbus, 352 
rufibarba, Estrilda, 192, 205 
ruficauda, Histurgops, 323 
ruficeps, Ploceus, 442 
rufigena, Anaplectes, 338 
rufiventris, Estrilda, 202 
rufocitrinus, Ploceus, 434 
rufodorsalis, Spermestes, 166 
rufoniger, Ploceus, 359 
rufopicta, Lagonosticta, 246, 262 
rufoscapulatus, Plocepasser, 325, 334 
rufovelatus, Euplectes, 346 


rufovittatus, Textor, 346 
ruspoli, Dinemellia, 311 
russi, Ploceus, 111 


sakalava, Ploceus, 487 
salvadorii, Cryptospiza, 277 
salvatieri, Coccopygia, 236 
sancte-helene, Estrilda, 191, 194 
sancti-thome, Sharpia, 335, 336 
sanguineus, Pyrenestes, 281, 282 
sanguinirostris, Loxia, 148, 150 

5 Quelea, 111 
sanguineolenta, Fringilla, 207 
saturatior, Nigrita bicolor, 140 
savatieri, Estrilda, 236 
schiff, Coryphegnathus, 303 


| schillingi, Ploceus, 476 


schistacea, Nigrita, 137, 145 
schlegeli, Pytelia, 242 
scioana, Pyromelana, 87 
scioanus, Euplectes, 86 

45 Textor, 318 
scutatus, Malimbus, 346, 352 

" Spermestes, 160, 170 
scutopartitus, Malimbus, 353 


; senegala, Lagonosticta, 246, 256 


senegalensis, Textor, 314, 317 
os Ploceus, 424 


| serena, Vidua, 13, 16 


seychellarum, Foudia, 488, 496 
seychellensis, Neshyphantes, 496 
sharpei, Amadina, 177 
»  Othyphantes, 450, 453 
Sharpia, 290, 335 
shelleyi, Cryptospiza, 277, 280 
- Hyphantornis, 408 
3 Nesocharis, 176 
signata, Emberiza, 40 
Sitagra, 291, 393 
socia, Loxia, 130 
socius, Philetairus, 129, 130 


| solitarius, Ploceus, 429 
somalensis, Hyphantornis, 414 


7 Lagonosticta, 258 


 soror, Coliuspasser, 31, 32, 53 


soudanensis, Pytelia, 265, 273 


INDEX. 


sous, Estrilda, 192 

” astrild, 200 
sparsimguttata, Nigrita, 145 
speciosa, Fringilla, 273 
spekei, Hyphantornis, 400, 414 
Spermestes, 121, 159, 160 
Spermophaga, 292 
Spermospiza, 289, 292 
sphenura, Steganura, 25 
spilonotus, Hyphantornis, 400, 416 
splendens, Vidua, 14 
Sporopipes, 289, 298 
Sporothlastes, 122 
squamifrons, Sporopipes, 298 
Steganura, 13 


stephanophorus, Heterhyphantes, 374, | 


375, 379 
stictifrons, Sycobrotus, 366, 369 
stictilama, Pitylia, 297 


‘stictonotus, Ploceus, 416 


stigmatophorus, Spermestes, 164 
stricta, Pyromelana, 72, 86 
strictus, Euplectes, 86 
stuhlmanni, Othyphantes, 450, 453 
subaureus, Xanthophilus, 462, 482 
subflava, Estrilda, 192, 207, 209 
subflavus, Sporeginthus, 207 
sublarvatus, Ploceus, 442 
subpersonata, Sitagra, 386, 393, 394 
subpersonatus, Ploceus, 394 
sulfureus, Hyphantornis, 477 
sundeyalli, Pyromelana, 72, 98 
superciliosa, Fringilla, 16 
superciliosus, Pachyphantes, 447, 448 
is Plocepasser, 325, 333 
Sycobius, 345 
Sycobrotus, 290, 366 
Symplectes, 366 


teniopterus, Hyphantornis, 399, 411 
Taha, 71 

taha, Pyromelana, 72, 84 

tahatali, Hyphantornis, 399, 408 
temporalis, Xanthophilus, 461, 467 
tenerrima, Hypargus, 226 
tephronotus, Sycobrotus, 366, 371 


Tetrenura, 13 
Textor, 290, 314 
textor, Oriolus, 424 
textrix, Fringilla, 346 


| thomensis, Hstrilda, 193, 219 


torquata, Vidua, 40 


| torquatus, Coliuspasser, 38 


traversii, Urobrachya, 60, 65, 67 
tricolor, Cinnamopteryx, 356, 359 
is Ploceus, 381 
troglodytes, Fringilla, 203 
ultramarina, Hypochera, 6, 8 
uluensis, Hyphantornis vitellinus, 443 
unicolor, Amblyospiza, 302, 306 
Ureginthus, 121, 178 
Urobrachya, 5, 59 
Uroloncha, 121, 150 
uropygialis, Nigrita, 137, 139 


| velatus, Hyphantornis, 399, 404, 406, 


408 
verreauxi, Amadina, 240 
3 Vidua, 25 >~ 


Videstrelda, 13 

Vidua, 5, 13 

vidua, Emberiza, 16 

Viduella, 13 

Viduine, 3, 4 

vinacea, Estrilda, 193, 224 
vitellinus, Hyphantornis, 401, 442 
wertheri, Pyromelana, 72, 101 
weynsi, Hyphantornis, 400, 432 
wieneri, Pytelia, 269 

wilsoni, Hypochera, 10 
xanthochlamys, Pyromelana, 102 
xanthomelena, Pyromelana, 76 
Xanthomelana, 71 

xanthomelas, Pyromelana, 71, 76 
Xanthophilus, 291, 461 
xanthops, Xanthophilus, 462, 483 
xanthopterus, Xanthopilus, 461, 469 
xanthosomus, Eupodes, 367 
zanzibarica, Urobrachya, 60, 64 
zaphiroi, Sycobrotus, 458 
Zonagastris, 264 


INDEX II. 
Hnglish Names. 


Anaplectes, 3 | Combasou, Black, 11 
" Red-winged, 339 | rs Brown-winged, 12 
re Yellow-winged, 342 3 Green, 7 
Astrild 4 ventre rouge, 202 > Le, 6 
2 Mourning, 10 
Bishop-bird, Abyssinian Yellow-crowned, Zs Ultramarine, 8 
87 Combasous, 3 
“ Ansorge’s, 103 | Cordon-bleu, Angola, 183 
¥ Black-throated Fire-backed, | = Blue-crowned, 186 
89 5 Tanthe, 181 
ry Burton’s Black-and-yellow, 1) Ruby-cheeked, 187 
79 * Violet-eared, 180 
ii Canary-like, 109 Cordon-blues, 3, 178 
5 Cape Black-and-yellow, 73 | Crimson-wing, Jackson’s, 280 
a Cape Red, 96 | 5 Reichenow’s, 278 
PA Fire-crowned, 105 4 Salvadori’s, 277 
. Fire-fronted, 88 - Shelley’s, 281 
C Freiderichson’s Red, 102 ig Southern, 279 
Pe Gierow's, 104 | Crimson-wings, 3 
oe Golden-backed, 80 Cut-throat Sparrows, 122 
as Lado Yellow-crowned, 83 


. Bee eons er ON > | Dark-backed Weavers, 3 
Bee | Dioch, 111 
Red-throated, 91 een 


; : ,,  Black-fronted, 112 
Ruppell’s Black and-yellow, Buff-fronted, 115 


76 ‘ 
x Cardinal, 119 
aha -cr 88 a x ; 4 
sy Sone | ,,  Dark-throated Red-headed, 118 
‘ Western Yellow - crowned, | Dioches, 3 
81 
Bishop-birds, 3 Finch, Great Brown Short-tailed, 1 
Black Weavers, 3 | Fire-bird, 256 
Black-winged Weavers, 3 | Fire-finch, Ashy-vinous, 247 
Blue-bill, Red-headed, 296 | io Bar-breasted, 263 
Blue-billed Weavers, 3 | Cape, 254 
Butfalo- Weavers, 3, 314 m Fantee, 249 


508 INDEX. 


Fire-finch, Heuglin’s Black-bellied, 
Heuglin’s Dusky, 264 
Jameson's, 253 
Landana, 255 

5 Northern Brown-naped, 258 
i Rendall’s, 260 
i Rosy Black-bellied, 250 
5 Senegal, 257 
Sharpe’s Black-billed, 251 

Fire- melee! 3 

Fodies, 3 

Fody, Aldabra, 491 

5, Bourbon, 491 

Comero, 492 

» Madagascar, 489 

», Mauritius, 494 

» Rodriquez, 495 

Seychelles, 496 
Hringile cardaline, 494 


248 


Golden Weavers, 3 
Grosbeak Weavers, 3 


Java Sparrow, 148, 149 
Loxie fasciée, La, 123 


Malimbe, Bartlett’s, 348 
Cassin’s, 350 
Crested, 349 
Gray's, 351 
Rachel’s, 355 
Red-breasted, 355 
Red-shielded, 353 
es Swainson’s, 346 
Malimbes, 3 
Mannikin, Heuglin’s Bronze, 171 
- Magpie, 161 
35 Nana, 175 
Northern 
163 
Rufous-backed, 166 
Shelley’s, 176 
Southern Black-and-white, 
165 


Black-and-white, 


Mannikin, Swainson’s Brown, 168 
i Temminck's Bar - breasted, 
156 
Fe Vieillot’s Bar-breasted, 159 
Mannikins, 3, 160 
Marsh Whydahs, 30 
Masked Weavers, 3 


Negro-finch, Emily’s, 144 
5 Fraser's’ White - breasted, - 
138 
- Jackson's, 145 
es Masai, 143 ; 
Pe Northern Chestnut- 


breasted, 139 

x Pale-fronted, 147 

a Sharpe’s White- breasted, 
138 


= Southern Chestnut- 
breasted, 140 
Strickland’s, 142 


| Negro- anche 3, 137 


Nofele billed Waxbills, 3 
Notch-billed Weaver, Cassin’s, 283 

3 Lesser, 287 
Swainson’s, 282 
Vieillot’s, 285 


”? ” 


” ” 


Padda-bird, 149 


| Petit Sénégali rouge, 256 


Pytelia, Black-billed Red-winged, 266 
- + Yellow-winged, 268 
,,  Grey-necked Yellow-backed, 269 
»  Heuglin’s Red-winged, 268 
» Melba, 274 
,, Senegal Yellow-throated, 271 
Soudanese, 276 


| Py telias, 3 


Ribbon-finches, 122 
Ribbon Waxbill, Black-margined, 125 
5 . Common, 123 
3 Red-headed, 127 


| Ribbon Waxbills, 3, 122 


INDEX. 


Sénégali 4 front pointillé, 301 
3 rouge, 254 
Shaft-tailed Bunting, 21 
Silver-bill, Grey-headed, 151 
is Wavbling, 152 
Silver-bills, 3, 150 
Slender-billed Weavers, 3 
Social Grosbeak, 129 
Social Waxbill, Arnaud’s, 133 
Cabanis’s, 136 
Emin’s, 135 
Fischer's Grey-headed, 
135 
9 oS Southern, 130 
Social Waxbills, 3 
Sparrow Weavers, 3 
Spectacled Weavers, 3 


” ” 
” ” 


” ” 


Twin-spot, Brown, 244 


3 Dybrowski’s, 242 
a Green-backed, 243 
sf Peters’, 241 


; Strickland’s, 240 
Twin-spots, 3 


Veuve & quatre Brins, 21 
5 au Collier d’Or, 25 


Waxbill, Aden, 205 

,, Ansorge’s Olive-backed, 177 

»  Black-tailed Lavender, 220 

»  Bocage’s, 236 

,, Common, 195 

», Common Black-rumped, 203 

.  Delamere’s Black-face, 231 

»  Dufresne’s, 234 
Emin’s Rosy-flanked, 216 

,, Fernando Po Black crowned, 

228 

.  Fraser’s, 200 

» Grey Black-faced, 223 
Hartlaub’s Black - crowned, 

227 
an Olive-backed, 178 

Heuglin’s Pale, 215 


509 


Waxbills, Kandt’s Black-crowned, 226 
6 Kilimanjaro, 238 
re Lesser Common, 198 
” Loango, 202 
* Mozambique Lavender, 221 
** Natal Lavender, 222 
5 Northern Zebra, 207 
Orange-cheeked, 212 
3 Perrein’s Lavender, 221 
an Quartinea, 237 
= Reichenow’'s Pale, 217 
aA Riippell’s Black-throated ,225 
> Saint Thomas Lavender, 220 
a Salvadori’s Buff - breasted, 
317 
- Senegal Lavender, 218 
e Somali Black-faced, 232 
A Southern Common, 195 
ms Southern Zebra, 210 
nt Sundeval’s, 206 
a Verreaux, Black - crowned, 
229 
* Vieillot’s Black-faced, 230 
Hp Vinous Black-faced, 225 
Waxbills, 3 
Weaver, Abyssinian, Black and Yellow- 
mantled, 430 
, Alien, 393 
, Angola, Bar-winged, 336 
Ae ns Dark-backed, 370 
», Anomalous, 447 
,, Antinori’s Black-headed, 436 
,, Ashantee Grosbeak-, 309 
Baglafecht, 455 
.,  Bertrand’s Masked-, 442 
Black-billed Sparrow-, 328 
-chinned, 453 
os e, Fi Grey - backed, 
372 
* », Grosbeak-, 306 
Bocage’s Golden-, 467 
Boéhm’s White-headed, 313 
Bohndorff’s Black and Yellow- 
mantled, 428 
Golden-, 479 


510 


Weaver, Bojer’s Golden-, 480 


INDEX 


| Weaver, Namaqua Masked-, 405 


Cabanis’s Black -and- yellow, 
383 
” Buffalo-, 318 
Camaroons Dark-backed, 371 
Cape Golden-, 463 
Cassin’s Masked-, 434 
Chestnut-and-black, 357 
», ~-crowned Sparrow-, 333 
-headed, Golden-, 474 
Compact, 448 
Crowned Sparrow-, 333 
Dinemell’s White-headed, 311 
Donaldson’s Sparrow-, 332 
Hastern Cape Golden-, 466 
Emin’s, 458 
Fischer's Brown-and- yellow, 
369 
Gaboon Blue-billed, 295 
Gambia Black-headed, 440 
Golden Black-winged, 378 
Great Black-headed, 431 
Guinea Blue-billed, 293 
Hartlaub’s Golden-, 484 
Heuglin’s Grosbeak-, 307 
a Masked-, 414 
Intermediate Masked-, 402 
Jackson’s Golden-backed, 435 
a Yellow-headed 
Black, 380 
Johnston’s Yellow - headed 
Black-, 379 
Kersten’s Black-backed, 373 
Layard’s Black-headed, 420 
Lichtenstein’s Slender - billed, 
398 
Loango Slender-billed, 394 
Lovat’s, 457 
Malo Black-and-yellow, 384 
Marico Masked-, 406 
Maxwell’s Black, 364 
Mnana Golden, 478 
Monteiro’s, 297 
Mottle-backed Black-winged, 
377 


” 


” 


Natal Dark-backed, 367 
,, Yellow-crowned Masked-, 
417 
Nelicourv’s, 460 
Niger Black-headed, 438 
Nile Brown-throated, 471 
Nyasa Black-headed, 441 
Olive-headed Golden-, 472 
Orange, 473 
Palm Slender-billed, 396 
Pelzeln’s Slender-billed, 395 
Peters’ Sparrow-, 330 
Princes’ Island Golden-, 468 
Red-mantled Sparrow-, 335 
Reichard’s Vitelline, 445 
Reichenbach’s Masked-, 412 
Reichenow’s, 451 
Rufous-crowned Golden-, 477 
Rufous-tailed, 324 
Riippell’s Chestnut-, 433 
Golden-, 475 
Saint Thomas Island, 337 
Sakalava, 487 
Sealy-fronted, 299 
Senegal Buffalo-, 317 
Sharpe’s, 453 
Smith’s Golden-, 482 
»  Sparrow-, 326 
,,  Spectacled-, 386 
Somali Sparrow-, 332 
Southern Buffalo-, 320 
“3 Grosbeak-, 304 
Speckled-fronted, 301 
Speke’s, 415 
Striped Vitelline, 446 
Stuhlmann’s, 454 
Swainson’s Spectacled, 390 
Tahatali Masked-, 409 
Vieillot’s Black, 362 
yj Black-and-yellow,381 
“ Collared, 423 
Vitelline Masked, 443 
Western Black and Yellow- 
mantled, 424 


a 


INDEX. 


Weaver, Weyns’s Black-headed, 432 


” 


White-billed Buffalo, 315 
White-naped Black, 365 


Yellow-bodied Black- winged, | 


375 
Yellow-mantled Black-, 361 
5 Cinnamon, 
359 
Zambesi Brown - throated, 
470 


White-headed Weavers, 3 
Whydah, Angola White-winged, 49 


” 


Bocage’s Fan-tailed, 70 
Cassin’s Black, 44 
Delamere’s Great-tailed, 37 
Fischer’s Shaft-tailed, 24 
Fiilleborn’s Marsh, 54 
Hartlaub’s Marsh, 55 
Heuglin’s Fan-tailed, 66 
Jackson’s, 56 

Kaffir Great-tailed, 33 


511 


Whydah, Lichtenstein’s Yellow- 


shouldered, 52 
Mechow’s Fan-tailed, 69 
Natal Fan-tailed, 61 

,», White-winged, 47 
Paradise, 26 
Red-collared, 41 
Red-naped, 39 
Reichenow’s 

shouldered, 53 
Southern Shaft-tailed, 22 
Speke’s White-winged, 45 
Splendid Black, 15 
Traversi’s Fan-tailed, 68 
White-breasted, 17 
Yellow-mantled, 50 
Zanzibar Fan-tailed, 64 


Yellow- 


Whydah-bird, 25 
Whydahs, 3, 13 
Widows, 13 
Worabee, 80 


ut 


Unit ne 


' 
y ; i 


‘ 


Tasty," 
4) \ 
Diu VAG 


ON aN 


ET Pt 
¢- ST na on tarmetenremenatestane Sit nD Tl Aaa 
*; eae Lae ES A rat teil nr ee a ara 

pgp at tral ar ne Sa a tial a a aera 

: a ER OOOO ee ke eee 


sweet 
a ane