PARASITIC WEAVERBIRDS 129 



least a bird in the "sparrowy" plumage) accompanied by fairly 

 violent undulations of the long flowing rectrices, very similar to the 

 pintail. Its song was also similar to the pintail, but seemed softer 

 and feebler, possibly because I was not very close at the time. 



Hoesch and Niethammer (1940, pp. 361-363) in South-West Africa 

 found in the early months of summer small flocks composed of male 

 birds only or mixed flocks with a preponderance of males. At this 

 time the change from off-season to breeding plumage had not yet been 

 completed, and was especially noticeable in the partly grown, long, 

 median tail feathers. The first fully plumaged males were not seen 

 there until February 7-10, at least two months later than in the 

 Transvaal. Hoesch and Niethammer (1940) recorded flocks with 

 only a single male in breeding plumage from March to May, and 

 considered these birds to be mated polygamous groups. They noted 

 that the males in these groups would fly low over the females of 

 their "harems" in a bouncing, undulating flight from time to time. 

 A few actual females (not males in winter plumage) collected from 

 such a flock in March showed undeveloped or only slightly enlarged 

 ovaries, and indicated that the breeding season does not begin imme- 

 diately after the conclusion of the molt into nuptial plumage. Ear- 

 Her writers such as Stark (1900, p. 149) and W. T. Page (1907, pp. 

 5-7) considered the shafttail polygamous, but without critical evi- 

 dence. Inasmuch as the hens examined by Hoesch and Niethammer 

 were not yet in breeding condition, one cannot say that more than 

 one breeding female is found with one male later in the season. The 

 evidence at present points to polygamy, but only superficially. 



Alales in breeding plumage have been noted as quite pugnacious 

 among themselves, a trait usually resulting in but one male in each 

 small flock. When two come together, they chase each other 

 energetically until one leaves. 



Eggs and Egg Laying 



The eggs of the shafttail are, like those of the other long-tailed 

 widow birds, pure white, the dimensions of the most satisfactorily 

 identified example being 16.5 by 12.5 mm, (from the nest of Prinia 

 flavicans; see hosts, where the data are given concerning the identi- 

 fication of this egg). Measurements of 10 other eggs justifiably 

 attributed to the shafttail, range from 15.3-17.2 mm. by 11.4-13.3 mm. 

 (average 16.1 by 12.5 mm.). Teschemaker (1910a, p. 90), Hopkmson 

 (1918, pp. 156-157; 1926, p. 25), K. Neunzig (1921, p. 330), and Priest 

 (1948, p. 135) all refer to the shafttail as having been known to lay 

 eggs in captivity. Whatever the basis was for these statements 

 (apparently an instance in an aviary of Mr. Heumann's in Sydney, 



