NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 



Distribution. — Eastern side of Africa from Natal to the 

 Equator. 



Habits. — Always seen in pairs. Builds a nest of a mass of 

 straw and miscellaneous material under eaves of houses, in holes 

 in walls, thatch, hollows in trees, or in deserted swallows' nests. 

 Clutch, 3 to 5 ; eggs white. 



Paradise Widow Bird {Vidua paradised). (Vol. I., 



p- I930 



Description. — Male in summer plumage : head, face, and 

 throat black. A bright mahogany-red collar round the neck, 

 fading into buff on the abdomen. Thighs and under tail coverts 

 black. A white spot on each side of the lower back. Iris 

 red-brown. Bill black. Legs and feet brown. 



Length, from bill to the tip of the short tail feathers, 5.25 ; 

 the two longest tail feathers, 12.00 ; wing, 3.00. 



The male in winter loses his long tail, and changes to 

 reddish-brown streaked with black, and marked with buff-white, 

 tawny-red, and white. 



Distribution. — Eastern side of South Africa from near 

 King William's Town, and north to the Soudan. 



Habits. — Frequents the open bush-veld. The male is 

 polygamous, and has from half a dozen to fifty wives. The 

 breeding habits have not been fully observed. 



Pin-tailed Widow Bird {yidua principalis). (Vol. I., 

 P- 193O 

 Description. — Male in breeding plumage : black and white, 

 as shown in the illustration. The feathers of the wings are 

 broadly edged with reddish-buff. Iris brown. Bill red. Feet 

 light brown. 



Length, to end of short tail feathers, 5.15 ; wing, 2.85. 

 The long tail is shed in winter, and the plumage is reddish- 

 buff streaked with black. 



Distribution. — From the Cape, north to the Soudan. 



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