Ornithological and Other Oddities 



Calcutta suburbs, it is possible they may be 

 becoming established, as they have been for 

 many years in the Madras district. Speaking 

 of the Java sparrow, I may mention that a 

 gentleman I once met, who knew the bird well 

 and had been in Java, told me that he had only 

 seen three there, so that it would seem not to 

 be much in evidence in its native country. 



Outside the town in Zanzibar might be seen 

 weavers and mannikins, but I was not in a posi- 

 tion to identify the species, though I once noticed 

 a specimen of one of the orange and black kinds 

 of "bishops" among some reeds. When I got 

 to Mombasa I found only three Java sparrows, 

 which some one had turned out, but I have 

 since heard the species has much increased. But 

 there was another cage-bird much in evidence at 

 the more outlying bungalows at Mombasa which 

 it gave me much pleasure to see at large. This 

 was the cordon-bleu (Estrelda phcenicotis), that 

 dainty little fawn and sky-blue waxbill so much 

 admired by all fanciers of tiny finches. These 

 little things were not so very abundant, but 

 caught the eye at once, as they hopped about in 

 pairs on the ground, much after the fashion of our 

 hedge-sparrow ; no doubt, like that bird, they 

 were feeding on small insects and seeds. 



A beautiful weaver, of which the male was 

 yellow with an orange head {Hyphantornis 



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