240 BIRDS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE. 



The nest is made in a bush or small box or coveretl 

 basket. The eggs are white, from three to five in numbei-, 

 and the young are reared quite easily on seed, white millet 

 and canary. 



Paradise Whydaii Bird. — The male when in full colour 

 has the bill a very dark lead colour, the head and chin 

 black; then comes a broad collar or band of a golden shade 

 of brown, which merges into the same shade on the throat 

 and breast, getting lighter towards the vent ; the back, 

 wings, and curiously-developed long arched tail are blacky 

 the legs and feet greyish flesh-coloui-. 



Out of tiie breeding season he is not unlike a house 

 moulted redpoll, which the female always resembles. The 

 elongated tail feathers vary in length from 12 to as much 

 as 14 inches, getting longer at each successive moult. A 

 hair-like prolongation of the shaft of the second longest of 

 the tail feathers gives the bird the name of shaft-tailed 

 whydah, by which it is also known. 



Althougii of frequent occurrence in British South African, 

 ;is well as Western African territories, not much appears to 

 be known about the habits of this bird in its wild state. 

 In the house it eats white millet, canary seed, and ants' 

 csfirs, but has not hitherto been known to breed. 



Fix-Tailed Whydah Bikd. — This is a smaller bird than 

 the last, being about the size of a redpoll, while the para- 

 disc whydah is as big as a linnet, that is, without counting' 

 the long tail. When in full plumage the pin-tail is black 

 on the head, back, and wings, which last have a white 

 mark on them ; the under parts are white, and the bill red. 

 The central pair of tail feathers are about 8 inches in 

 length, but are not broader than the short ones, which are 

 of the ordinary size. The female is grey, with darker 

 centres to the feathers on the back, head, and neck, and 

 when out of colour the male resembles her. Some of these 



