216 REV. ROBERT GODFREY 



season a big family of Wliite-eyes pass through his trees 

 eacli morning with the regularity of clockwork. They 

 seem always to come from the west and have possibl}' a 

 set round which the}' make each morning. They general- 

 ly inspect the leaves and twig-tops of the Kafir-booms 

 a bit carefully, then pass on to the east. As this species 

 and the Green White-eye seek their food in the same 

 situations, they are in winter and spring occasionally 

 found hunting in company. Both feed on small berries 

 in the bush, and both haunt the nectar-bearing flowers 

 of the Kafir-boom. I have likened the call of the present 

 species to a low teenk teenk. 



The nesting-season at Pirie lasts from December to 

 March, the earliest eggs having been obtained on 14th 

 December and the latest on March 2nd. The cup-shaped 

 uest is slung along a slender twig, from which it projects 

 horizontally; or it may be hung between two or three 

 twigs and be supported by the twigs passing through the 

 rim or the sides of the nest. It is a neat and firm but 

 diaphanous structire, measuring 50-55 millimetres across 

 the cup internally by 31-11 deep. A nest of the first 

 pattern, projecting horizontally from its supporting 

 branch is naturally longer than broad. 



The nest is formed of slender pale green lichens and 

 strands of bright green moss with a few wiry plant- 

 stems and some vegetable down, held firmly together by 

 spider's silk and a little wool. The cup proper is made 

 of the seeding-tops of Galopina with a few lichen strands 

 and a little wool round the margin ; in the lower layers 

 of the cup there may be present a quantity of fine wool, 

 an odd feather or two and some spiders' cocoons, and in 

 the shallow lining may be present some hairs and tiny 

 tufts of wool. The diaphanous nature of the nest gives 

 it a flimsy appearance, but the nest is firm enough for its 

 purpose. 



AX Pirie the usual number of eggs is two, though some- 

 timete three are laid. These are uniform pale blue 18 mm. 

 by iks. 



