on Whydahs.



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pheasant, and the head is packed well into the shoulders, which

gives the bird an altogether curious appearance. His nests were

woven with long grass, one in a conifer, another in a bush, and the

third in a bunch of grass. This last nest was very like the Jackson’s,

but instead of being on the ground was about two feet above it. I

had great hopes at one time that one of the hens was going to line

it, but she decided otherwise. It is possible that the natural time

for these birds to nest is in our winter. The song of the Crimson -

ringed Whydah is practically inaudible except for the last note, which

resembles the croaking of a frog.


The Red-collared Whydah (P. ardens) is a somewhat smaller

bird than P. laticauda, the hen markedly so. The body colour of

the cock in summer plumage is black; the back and wings being

striated with brown, but not so heavily as in the case of the last-

mentioned bird. The red collar is also narrower and does not

reach around to the back of the neck. This bird was bred in

1909 by Mrs. Annington, but no particulars of the event were

published.


Last year I also succeeded in breeding it. The nest was placed

in a laurel. It was a very flimsy structure of dried grass, probably

built by the cock. The first eggs laid were white, but these were

evidently abnormal, as the hen has since laid three other clutches,

all of which were pale bluish-green, mottled with brown. Two eggs

were laid on each occasion, and these were considerably smaller than

those of the Jackson’s. The incubation period was about twelve days.

This year I turned her into the same aviary with the young cock,

her own mate having died. In the same aviary with her were some

Crimson-crowned Weaver Cocks, one of which she selected as a

husband in preference to her own offspring, and a fine hybrid has

been the result. The young Whydah born in 1915, although now

over a year old, shows no sign of colour, but sings inaudibly and

displays quite as freely as his male parent used to do. The hybrid,

a larger bird, already shows a pale buff collar on each side of the

neck, which does not, however, meet at the throat. It looks as if he

might make a very pretty bird, if he lives to come into full colour.

With the young Giant Whydahs, Mr. Teschemaker tells us, signs of

colour were visible when they were only a few months old. I find



