554 Mr. L. B. Mouritz on the 



the Bishop-Birds havings at practically the same age, 

 developed down as already remarked. The mouths of these 

 nestling Waxbills are peculiarly spotted, somewhat in the 

 same manner as those of Ortygospiza poJyzona, except that 

 the spots on the beak are hardly visible externally, and con- 

 sist of two black, with a central white one both on the upper 

 and lower mandible. The palate is also marked with seven 

 blackish spots arranged three on either side with the seventh 

 in between. 



168. X Lagonosticta hrunneiceps. Little Ruddy Waxbill. 

 This is a rare Waxbill with us, but I obtained one of 



several on Febi'uary 3, 1912, on Lonsdale Farm. 



169. Lagonosticta rubricata. South- African Ruddy Wax- 

 bill. 



Another rarity, and one which I have not noticed. 

 Mr. Chubb, however, records it from Mt. Silozi (Proc. 

 Rhodesia Sci. Assoc. 1908, p. 62) with the remark : — 

 "This example is quite young, and judging from this it 

 seems probable that this species breeds here.'' 



170. I Lagonosticta jamesoni. Jameson's Ruddy Waxbill. 

 Common within the hills, frequenting the bases of kopjes, 



but far less numerous in the open country. On the 24th of 

 March I shot one — an adult male — which had the bill 

 suffused with pinkish. 



171. Ortygospiza polyzona. Quail-Finch. 



This little bird is common on the open grasslands adjoining 

 the north end of the hills, but is less numerous in other 

 localities. Sometimes it is found amid rocks in the stream- 

 beds, but it does not occur within the hills. I found nests 

 towards the end of March and throughout April, and four 

 eggs seem to be the usual clutch, although five are not 

 uncommon. The eggs are pure white, and my series show a 

 maximum of 14'50 and a minimum of 13'75 X 10"50 ram. 

 The nest is placed in a tuft of grass, is slightly domed, con- 

 structed of very coarse dry grass and copiously lined with 

 feathers. Some nests examined were made of similar 



