WAXBILLS 115 



This bird is not found south of the Orange River 

 valley. 



A pretty little species is the Scaly-feathered Weaver 

 (Sporopipcs squamifrons), which is light brown in colour, 

 with the feathers of the forepart of the head black margined 

 with white, giving to this portion a scaly appearance. It 

 is a small bird, being a little over 4| inches in length, and 

 ranges from Northern Cape Province northwards to Rhodesia. 



It is very common in the mimosa scrub along the Modder 

 River and in parts of the bush-veld of the Central Transvaal, 

 building an untidy dome-shaped nest of grass, woven with 

 the ends projecting in all directions, and lined with the 

 flax-like flowery heads of grasses and feathers. It lays 

 four or five eggs in autumn : these are bluish-green in 

 colour, thickly streaked and blotched with brown and 

 reddish-brown. 



Like nearly all Weavers, it lives on grass seeds varied 

 by a little insect food. 



WAXBILLS 



The Sub-family EstrildincB is a large one containing many 

 pretty little birds, some being well known to every South 

 African, while others are scarce and little known. 



The South African Ruddy Waxbill (Lagonosticta rubricata) 

 in its crimson and brown plumage is a pretty little bird, as 

 also is its dainty little relative, the Little Ruddy Waxbill 

 (L. brunneiceps), with its singular twittering call which 

 reminds one forcibly of the tinkling of a tiny silver bell. 

 In the Central Transvaal they are especially fond of feeding 

 on the ripening berries of the Australian pepper-tree, from 

 the branches of which their sprightly call may often be 

 heard. Length of the former species, 4| to 4f inches ; of the 

 latter, 3J inches. The nest of both species is built in a bush 



