162 THE FINCHES AND WEAVEE BIEDS OF THE SUDAN 



3. Sub-fainily: Ploceinee 



Sub-family: Spermospiza (The Blue-bills). Bill blue with the tip orange. Sides of the chest glossy 

 '"""" crimson. Breast black in males, marked with conspicuous pairs of spots or bars in the 



females. 

 Sporopipes (Scaly-fronted Weavers). Of small size. Nostrils not exposed. Tail square, 



with the central feathers slightly shortest. Feathers of forehead scale-like in 



appearance, with black centres and white edges. 

 Amhlyospiza (Grosbeak Weavers). Stout, heavily built Weavers with an immensely thick 



bill, the base of which extends back in a ridge on the forehead beyond the eyes. 



Males with a white patch on the base of the wing feathers. 

 Binemellia (White-headed Weavers). Birds rather like large Sparrows, with head and 



breast mostly white ; a white patch on the wing feathers ; feathers above and below 



the tail red. 

 Textor (Buffalo Weavers). Large strongly-built Weavers of black plumage. 

 Plnceipanser (Weaver Sparrows). Stout Sparrow-like Weavers, with a conspicuous broad 



pale eyebrow stripe, and white ends to the wing coverts which form two distinct bars 



on the base of the closed wing. 

 Anaplectes (Scarlet Weaver Sparrows). Birds of sparrow-like size and shape, with head 



and breast vermilion in the males. Bill red. 

 Malimhus (Malimbes). Black Weaver Birds with the crop crimson. 

 Hyphanturgus (Spectacled Weavers). Bill rather slender. Back uniform nlive-cjreen. 



A black line through the eye. Throat black in males, this colour not extending on 



to the sides of the face. Sexes otherwise similar. 

 Sitagra (Slender-billed Weavers). Smaller birds than the last, with the bill also slender. 



Back green with dusky stripes. Males with forehead, sides of head, and throat black. 



Females with no black on head. 

 Eyphantornis (Masked Weavers). Weavers with a considerably stouter bill. Males with 



black on the sides of the head, and females without it. Plumage of back greenish 



with dusky stripes, black and yellow, or yellowish-chestnut, never uniform green. 

 X<nit]io2}hiliis (Golden Weavers). Very similar to Ilyphantornis, but with no black on 



the head. Lower parts clear golden-yellow. Upper parts olive-yellow. 



Paet II 



Notes on the Species 



Family : Fringillidie 



Sub-family : E mherizinm 

 Genus : Emheriza 



Family: 1- Emheriza flavigastra, Eiipp. (Golden-breasted Bunting). Length, 5-7 inches; 



Fniigillida wing, 3-2. Head striped with black and white; back nearly plain chestnut; lower 



Emberiiina surfacG mostly bright-yellow ; under tail coverts white. Some white on the wing 



coverts. I have found this bird not uncommon on the Blue Nile above Wad Medani, 



the upper Atbara and Setit, and at El Obeid in Kordofan. Eesident. 



2. Emheriza affiiiis, Heugl. (Swainson's Golden-breasted Bunting). Length, 



5-3 inches ; wing, 2-75. Similar to the last except that it has no white on the wing 



coverts. I have met with it occasionally between Wau and Chak Chak in the 



Bahr-El-Ghazal, and have specimens from Eaffile. Eesident. 



