Birds from tlie White Nile. 407 



a. S- Jebel Ahmed- Agha, 19th Feb. No. 60. 



b-d. S ' Kaka, 26th to 28th Feb. Nos. 76, 76 a, 77, 



e,f. c? ? . Kaka, 5th & 15th Mar. Nos. 112, 134. 



ff-7i. (J ? et cJ imm. Fashoda, 26th Mar. to 2nd April. 

 Nos. 186, 211-213, 229, 243, 291. 



0. c? . 20 miles N. of Fashoda, 6th April. No. 299. 



Iris pale straw-coloured granulated with black ; upper 

 mandible dusky, lower white, dusky along upper edges ; legs 

 and feet pinkish horn-coloured. 



All the specimens of Reichenbach's Weaver-Finch collected 

 by Mr. Hawker are out of plumage. His birds were obtained 

 between the 19th of February and the 6tli of April and none 

 shew any trace of assuming the breeding-plumage. The 

 immature males apparently differ in having the buff on the 

 under parts of a more decided tint than the adults and the 

 wing varies from 2'55-2'6 inches, whereas in the adult male 

 it measures 2*75-2*8. The female has the wing 2*5. 



Tn a small collection made by Capt. H. N. Dunn in the 

 month of May at the mouth of the Zeraf River there arc 

 four males in various interesting stages of transitional 

 plumage — the most backward shewing only a few feathers 

 of the breediug-plumr.ge, while in the most advanced it 

 is almost complete. A male procured by Emin Pasha at 

 Lado on the 6th of May, and very similar to the last 

 named, is in almost full breeding-dress, but still retains 

 one or two feathers of the undress plumage ; a second male 

 obtained by him at Bor on the 10th of July is in full 

 plumage. 



It is thus clear that the breeding-plumage is annually 

 assumed in the month of May. 



[Reichenbach^s Weaver-Finch goes about in enormous 

 flocks, which appear to be kept continually on the move by 

 Hawks, and prove a great nuisance to the naturalist. Nearly 

 every busb seems to be full of them_, and when they fly off 

 they generally frighten every other species of small bird that 

 happens to be near, thus making collecting very difficult. 



1 never saw any individuals in breeding-plumage, though I 

 must have seen many millions. — R. M. H.] 



