78 Captain (i. E. Shelley's Three Months 



sixty feet, and then fly straight away. A young caged bird 

 of this species at Pinetown was very tame, always flying to- 

 wards any one who came near, and chattering most loudly if 

 not taken notice of. 



87. Lamprocolius melanogaster, Linn. Black-bellied 

 Glossy Starling. 



This is the most abundant of the Glossy Starlings on the 

 Berea hills about Durban, being more of a woodland bird 

 than the next species, and always met with in flocks. Beak 

 and legs black j irides golden yellow. 



88. Lamprocolius ph(enicopterus, Sw. Red-shouldered 

 Glossy Starling. 



Plentiful in the more open country about Durban and 

 Pinetown, where they were always in flocks, perching together 

 on the tops of the small trees, whence they keep a sharp look- 

 out, rendering it difficult to obtain a shot at them. 



89. Pholidauges verreauxi, Finsch & Hartl. Verreaux^s 

 Glossy Starling. 



To be met with about Durban and Pinetown, but apparently 

 not very common. 



90. Amydrus bicolor (Gmel.). Brown-and-white Glossy 

 Starling. 



I frequently saw flocks of this species in Cape colony and 

 at Mossel Bay. In habits they much resemble our common 

 Starling, but their wider wings give them a less compact ap- 

 pearance when flying. All the specimens I procured in 

 January were in the moult. In mature specimens the beak 

 is yellow, with the upper mandible and end of the lower one 

 black; irides pale yellow; legs black. In immature birds 

 the pale portion of the beak is buff". 



91. Amydrus morio (Daud.). 



This species frequents rocky districts, occasionally in large 

 flocks. I saw it at Capetown, Ceres, and Port Elizabeth. 



92. HYPHANTORNiSBicoLOR,Vieill. Black-backed Weaver. 

 Inhabits the thickest parts of tlie bush, and, being of an 



in()uiring mind, freqiiently approaches an intruder Avithin a 



