Mashunuland Birds. .239 



singly or in pairs. The tail is fully expanded in flight, as 

 the bird rises with its loud mewing cry. In the stomach of 

 one bird I found four grasshoppers, one reduviid bug, and 

 a number of beetles. 



7Q. Petronia petronella. (Yellow-breasted Sparrow.) 

 Abundant at all seasons in bush-country. They occur in 

 small flocks, feeding principally on the ground, though they 

 will occasionally search trees and low bushes for insects like 

 Tits ; they also eat seeds, buds, &c. The true Sparrows 

 (Passer) do not appear to have been met with in Mashona- 

 land up to the present. 



77. PoLiospiZA GULARis. (Strcaky-brcastcd Grosbeak.) 



I obtained a single specimen at Salisbury in 1891, and do 



not recollect having seen the species since. 



78. Serinus flaviventris. (Yellow-bellied Canary.) 

 Common, congregating in considerable flocks during earl}'^ 



winter. Like all its congeners, it has a sweec and well- 

 sustained song. 



79. Serinus angolensis. (Black-throated Canary.) 

 Not nearly so common as the preceding, which it resembles 



in general habits. 



80. Serinus icterus. (Golden-rumped Canary.) 

 Occasionally met with in small flocks on the Umfuli river 



by Mr. Ayres. 



81. Emberiza orientalis. (Shelley's Banting.) 



On one occasion in the winter of 1898 I came across a 

 small flock of these birds near Salisbury, but had no sun 

 with me ; the only other example I met with was one I shot 

 on the Hanyani river the following September. This was 

 identified by Capt. Shelley, who tells me that the species had 

 not previously been received from the south of the Zambesi. 



82. Emberiza flaviventris. (Golden-breasted Bunting.) 

 Not uncommon in woodland country, occurring either 



singly or in small flocks of five or six individuals. It feeds 

 entirely on the ground, and will often permit one to approach 

 within a few feet of it before rising, when it flies for only a 



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