thighs, dark tawny ; sides of vent and under tail 

 coverts, black; there is a tuft of white on the flanks, 

 and the under wing coverts are also white; iris, nut 

 brown ; beak, legs and feet, red. Total length i2in. 



Adult female. This is very similar to its near 

 relative the Paradise Whydah, but lacks the reddish- 

 buff crown and eyestreak of V. paiadisea, the crown is 

 whitish, streaked with dusky and brown. 



Young : Nearly uniform brown ; lower surface of 

 body, eyebrow, ear coverts and sides of face, buffish- 

 yellow. (Stark). 



The adult male out of colour closely resembles 

 the female, but is a little larger. 



Habitat: From Colesberg in Cape Colony to the 

 Zambesi river, Damara Land and Benguela. From the 

 Vaal river to the Zambesi. (vStark). 



Habits : According to the various reports of Field 

 Naturalists and travellers it frequents gras.sy plains 

 and marshy ground interspersed with groves of trees 

 and bushes. They are polygamous and each male is 

 accompanied by from ten to twenty females. At this 

 period the males are very pugnacious, constantly 

 chasing and fighting one another. More active birds 

 than V. paradisea. 



Mr. Townsend who exhibited a fine pair of this 

 species at L-C.B.S. Show, Horticultural Hall, found 

 them timid and restless in a cage, but improving 

 somewhat in this respect later. Also the male was 

 very lavish in the mornings with his little if not 

 lovely song. This may be their demeanour in the 

 cage, but it certainly is not so in the aviar}', those 

 already mentioned at the Zoo. do not appear to mind 

 visitors in their enclosure in the least, and are far 



