NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 



Cape Canary (Serinus canicolHs). (Vol. I,, p. 213.) 



Description. — Greenish-yellow above, slightly mottled with 

 dusky. Rump and upper tail coverts yellower than the back. 

 Crown bright yellow. Sides and back of neck grey. Cheeks, 

 face, and under parts golden-yellow, brighter on the breast. 

 Iris dark brown. Bill horn. Legs and feet light brown. 



Length, 5.25 ; tail, 2.20 ; wing, 3.10. 



Female not as yellow as the male, and streaked with dusky 

 brown. 



Distribution. — Cape Province, Orange Free State, and 

 Transvaal. 



Habits. — The Cape canary inhabits the parts of the country 

 where scattered bush prevails on veld and mountain. In the 

 winter they congregate in large flocks and take to the open 

 veld in search of food. In the spring they pair off. The nest 

 is a small, neat, cup-shaped structure of grass, bents, and moss, 

 and is lined with hair, downy seeds, or feathers. It is placed 

 in a thick, low bush. When these are scarce it builds in the 

 branches of the larger trees. Clutch, 3 to 4 ; eggs white, 

 lightly tinged with blue and spotted and streaked at the larger 

 end with purplish-brown and red-brown ; size, 0.75 by 0.55. 



These canaries appear in September and October in large 

 flocks on the veld at Port Elizabeth. They pair ofF and scatter 

 early in November. 



Capped Wheat-Ear (Saxicola pileata). (Vol. I., p. 216.) 



Description. — Male : back rufous-brown, blending into 

 chestnut on the back. Sides of the head and a broad band on 

 the chest black. Throat, forehead, and a streak over the eye 

 white. Lower chest and abdomen buff. Flanks with a rufous 

 tinge. Iris brown. Bill and legs black. 



Length, 6.50 ; tail, 2.50 ; wing, 3.65. 

 The female is similar to the male. 



Distribution. — All over South Africa, except in the thickly- 

 wooded parts. The northern limit of its range is the Zambesi. 



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