40 Mr. G. L. Bates — Field-Notes on the 



18 mm.; culmen ridged aud narrow, while that of 3/. nigcr- 

 rimus is rounded and broad ; smooth at base^ while in every 

 one of the score of specimens of M. nigerrimus examiaed 

 the culmen is crossed near the base by wave-like wrinkles. 

 Feet smaller and darker in colour than in M. nigerrimus. 

 Besides, this is a female bird, and only the male of M. 

 nigerrimus is black. And this bird was certainly the mate 

 of No. 1048, a male Malimbus cassini, reported in ' The 

 Ibis ' (I. s. c). 



Nos. 1048 and 10 i9 were both shot by myself at their 

 nest in the forest, high up in a Calamus or vine-palm. To 

 quote from my notebook : — '' The nest was in plain sight, 

 but not conspicuous, because of its resemblance to the dry 

 fronds of the palm. The long entrance pointed diagonally 

 downwards, and its walls were so thin as to be transparent, so 

 that the birds could be seen through it entering and leaving. 

 The two birds were coming aud going, as if feeding their 

 young. The perfectly black specimen (No. 1049) was shot 

 first, and the other when it returned, ten or fifteen minutes 

 later. We could not get the nest." I well remember the 

 gallant efforts the two little boys with me made to climb the 

 surrounding trees and so to reach the nest, for a vine-palm, 

 with its stem thickly set with long prickles, is unclimbable. 

 After giving that up we all tried to haul down the vine, but it 

 was too firmly anchored to the surrounding tree-tops by the 

 strong barbs on the tips of its fronds. The birds' castle was 

 impregnable, as it certainly would have been, also, to pre- 

 datory beasts and snakes. So far as I remember, the tubular 

 entrance to this nest was two or three feet long. The nest 

 seemed to be woven of narrow shreds torn from the leaves 

 of the palm. Though the weaving was open, with many 

 interstices, it seemed to be neat. 



No. 1538, $ (culmen 15*5 mm.), is exactly like No. 1049. 



No. 2515, ? (culmen 16'5 mm.), is exactly like No. 1049. 

 My boy brought in along with this No. 2514, another male 

 Malimbus cassini reported in ' The Ibis' (/. c), and said that 

 he had shot the two together. 



This seems to be the first discovery of the female of 

 Malimbus cassini, and also the first Malimbus that is entirely 



