- m - 



Wing, tarsus, 



46, 47, 48, 48 mm. 13 — 14 mm. cfcf 



47 mm, 14 mm. 9 



hides dark-brown; bill coral-red, legs dark brownish grey- 

 black. 



Estrilda astrild nyanzae Neum. — Journ. f. Ornithol., 1907, 



p. 596-597. 



2 (5(5 ad. 4. 5. Londiani. - ^ 66 ad. 10.-12. 5.; 2 ee ad. 12. 5. Eldoret. - 

 1 Q. ad. 5. 5. Londiani. 



At Eldoret and in the vicinity of this community this form 

 of Estrilda astrild was very common. It was found in the vast 

 fields covered with grass nearly the height of a man, where 

 Vrohrachya phoenicea, Coliuspassei laticauda, Drepanopledes jacJc- 

 soni and JSIecfarinia Jcilimensis occurred in great abundance. On 

 a slope 1 found the peculiar nest of one of these birds. 



It was built on the ground, on the top of a big stone, around 

 which tall grass-tufts grew thickly, the grass-blades growing around 

 bidding the large pear-shaped, nest from view. The nest mea- 

 sured 21 cm. in length and was at the broadest place 16 cm., 

 in the narrowest, i e. the mouth of the entrance tube, it mea- 

 sured 3.5 cm. On the roof of the nest, the entrance tube of 

 which was slightly pointing downwards, was fitted a super- 

 structure (one might say a new nest), which was 6.5 cm. high. 

 The roof of this superstructure sloped backwards and its walls 

 were thin and loose. The floor was carpeted with a few feathers 

 and snake-skins. 



The nest itself, which was firm and well joined together, 

 consisted of grass -straws and dry panicles of different kinds of 

 grass; the whole thing looking something like this. 



Fig. 4. 

 Sketch of the nest of Estrilda astrild nyanzae. 



What that alcove or superstructure is really intended for 

 is difficult to decide with certainty. Can it be a resting place 



