Expedition to the Zambesi River. 105 



difficulty to extricate themselves ou the approach of danger ; 

 in fact sometimes they keep quite still, preferring to lie 

 " doffo/' Durins the hush that follows the exodus of other 

 birds from the tree, an individual of the band, thinking 

 danger past, will creep cautiously to one of the topmost 

 twigs and cling to it lengthwise after the manner of a 

 Woodpecker, the others in the meantime keeping up a con- 

 fused chattering within their leafy retreat. Then, on the 

 sounds of fresli disturbance, they one and all break cover 

 with a great rush, spreading out into a fan-shape, soon, 

 however, to reunite into a compact wedge-shaped body and 

 to travel straight as an arrow to their next thick retreat, all 

 the while giving vent to their chattering notes. These birds 

 love company, and are always, even in the breeding-season, 

 to be found in bands, for while the females undertake the 

 task of incubation, all the males may be observed travelling 

 from one favourite spot to another, and keeping close together 

 as if they were afraid of being attacked. 



During our stay at Inhambane, we remember seeing a 

 number of these birds clustering round the fruit of a large- 

 leaved tree {Terminalia catappa) common to the locality. 

 It was a remarkable sight to witness them all scrambling 

 together and hanging from a single fruit, and. reminded us 

 forcibly of a litter of young pigs being suckled by their 

 mother. 



Adult S , near Tete (August 4) . Sexual organs in breeding 

 condition. Wing 3'6 inches, culmen 0*5, tail 8' 1. Iris dark 

 hazel ; upper mandible black, lower light horn-colour, bluish 

 at base ; legs and feet pale claret-colour. In old males the 

 lower mandible is entirely of a dai?k bluish horn-colour. 



153. COLIUS ERYTHROMELON (Vicill.). 



By no means common, and first observed on November 10 

 near Chicowa. In habits they resemble C. striatus, travelling 

 about in small parties and keeping chiefly to the thickest 

 portions of well-leaved trees, away from the heat, which they 

 seem to feel very much, becoming active only in the early 

 morning and evening. The cry, generally uttered on the 



