BIRDS OP THE BUFFALO BASIN 199 



are seldom taken by the boys, and were brought to me on 

 four occasions only during my residence at Pirie. Away 

 from the forest, the species is found among the mimosa, 

 chietly in the neighbourhood of water. 



Its ordinary call is a rough scolding note Djurre, not 

 quite dissyllabic; in crying the bird holds its head for- 

 ward and convulses its whole breast in the effort. 



Prinia liijiiozcuiiha (Sharpe) — The Saffron-breasted 

 Wren-warbler — ^belongs to a genus distinguished from all 

 other South African genera of warblers by having ten 

 instead of twelve, tail feathers; in the field it is dis- 

 tinguishable from the larger members of Cisticolae by the 

 black streaks on the yellowish upper breast. This 

 widely-distributed species occurs somewhat sparingly on 

 the rank borders of the forests, in scrub by the rivers 

 and in cultivated land. It is a restless and, at times, 

 noisy bird; and, as it flits among the long grass-stems 

 or hops on the ground, it carries its long tail erect and 

 occasionally flirts it. It feeds on insects and their larvae, 

 and is one of the many species that fall victims to the 

 caterpillar-bait of the native boys' traps. This bird 

 can take a very tenacious hold with its feet; I have 

 watched one, grasping tightly its perch over water, bend 

 forward repeatedly to catch a fly without losing its equi- 

 librium. 



Locally, this warbler nests in November and Decem- 

 ber, choosing a bush for the site, and fastening the domed 

 pear-shaped nest among the slim branches in such a way 

 that they are interwoven in a number of places into its 

 outer structure. The nest is an elongated ball, with a 

 circular entrance on one side at the top; it is constructed 

 of the same material as is commonly used by Smith's 

 Weaver-bird, with the addition of a little vegetable down 

 as lining. The little architects carefully plait their ma- 

 terial so as to make the walls perfectly firm, but they 

 nevertheless leave the texture of the completed nest so 

 open that it forms for the young brood a cradle that is- 

 airy and filled with light. The external measurements 



