250 BULLETIN 2 08, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



May, nestling in nest of Zosterops. Also said to breed in August 

 (Mackworth-Praed and Grant, 1952, p. 748). (Subspecies ellenbecki.) 



Nyasaland: Chole Mountain, September 2, female, whose ovary- 

 indicated it was "coming up fast to breed"; Mzimba, June 12-30, 

 five males and one female, all with gonads somewhat enlarged; 

 Maruku Mountain, August 14, female with somewhat enlarged ovary, 

 (Subspecies zamhesiae.) 



Mozambique: Namuli Mountain, August 6, female "just starting 

 to breed"; male taken August 2 showed testes starting to swell. 

 (Subspecies zamhesiae.) 



Southern Rhodesia: Gatooma, December 21, female with well 

 developed egg in oviduct. (Subspecies zamhesiae) 



Angola: Northern part, no date, parasitizes Apalis rujogularis. 



Courtship and Mating 



The Bensons (1948, p. 392), at Blantyre, Nyasaland, in September, 

 observed one of these birds flying about the tree tops "uttering a very 

 harsh skeee-aaa {e as in 'seen', a as in 'bad'), repeated several times at 

 intervals of about one second. Probably a breeding display. Nor- 

 mally quite silent and flight unspectacular." A similar observation 

 was made by Benson (1952b, p. 151) in the Dzalanyama Mountains, 

 Nyasaland, late in May. Mr. J. G. Williams, Nairobi, sends me a 

 note on what may have been a display by this bird in the Karura 

 forest, near Nairobi. On this occasion one bird (presumably the 

 male?) approached a second one (female?) to within two feet, and then 

 commenced to nod its head up and down, at the same time puffing 

 out the feathers of its rump and back, so that the two patches of white 

 feathers which lie along each side of the lower back, and which are 

 usually hidden, became very conspicuous. Both birds flew away 

 right after this and were not seen again. In neither case were the 

 birds collected to ascertain their sex. 



These two observations constitute the whole of our present informa- 

 tion; the latter of the two (by Williams) seems definitely a courtship 

 performance, the former is less certain in its implications, especially 

 as no second bird was seen to be present, I have never met with this 

 species in the field, but in the related Prodoiiscus regulus I have never 

 seen any similar behavior. In the genus Indicator (I. indicator and 

 /. minor, at least) the males do have a circular rustling flight, but the 

 sound is mechanical and not vocal, 



Williams writes me that he has never seen any evidence pro or con 

 bearing on any territorialism in this species. 



Songs and Calls 



Like most other portions of the life history of this bird, its vocalisms 

 are imperfectly known. No one has yet studied the species sujficiently 



