Birds of Gazaland. 49 



ago in Mashonaland, on October 20th, contaiuiug vouag 

 birds. It was placed about fifteen feet from the ground in 

 the fork of a Brachystegia^ and so small was it, and so well 

 assimilated to the surrounding bark, that except when the 

 old bird was sitting it was perfectly invisible. It was 

 composed entirely of a curious pale green-grey cement or 

 felt intermixed only with a couple of Brachystegia-\e2iye% and 

 lined scantily with two or three fine grasses. The male, 

 which I afterwards shot, was on the nest when I first found 

 it ; its stomach contained beetles and a grasshopper. 



74. Telephonus senegalus. Black - headed Bush- 

 Shrike. 



Singuni : '' Umqubana " (Zulu ''q''). The Mashona 

 name is " Samora."" 



Rh., P. As common in the low veld proper as it is in 

 the high, but I have not yet found it in the lower Jiliu, where 

 it appears to be replaced by T. australis and T. ayichictat. 

 P^roni the beginning of November to the middle of January 

 1 frequently came across it in travelling from the Mwangezi 

 River to the coast, localities specially mentioned in my notes 

 being the Mwangezi itself, the Umtefu, Inyajena, Chibabava, 

 the Idunda River, Inyamita, and Gwaragwara. In the 

 Mafusi country, as well as through Northern and Southern 

 Melsetter, it is common enough, and I have noted it on the 

 lower Inyamadzi and middle Buzi (above its junction with 

 the Umswirizwi). I have already described the nest of this 

 bird (' Il)is/ 1907, p. 46), and have now only to add that 

 grass-blades, bark-fibre, and twigs are occasionally used in 

 its construction as well as roots. The streaky markings on 

 the eggs were in one clutch quite short and confined to the 

 larger ends of the eggs and were deep purple-brown in 

 colour; in another they were pale purplish brown-madder, 

 and 1 have also taken clutches in which only the paler grey- 

 markings were present. The sitting bird leaves the nest 

 easily, usually returning in about ten minutes. On one 

 occasion as I was watching, both birds returned and perched 

 on a branch a few feet above my head, and a long consulta- 

 tion of short, low, harsh notes ensued before the hen would 



SER. IX. VOL. II. E 



