260 ZOOLOGICAL RESEARCHES 



76. Estrelda melpoda (Vieill.). 



Hartl. Orn. W. Afr. p. 141; — Shelley, Ibis 1886, p. 332. 



5 specimens, Oldfield and Schieffelinsville. 

 »Iris brown, bill red, feet blackish." 



77. Spermospiza haematina (Vieill.). 



Butt. 1. c. p. 198 (partim). 

 3 specimens (1 cf, 2 Q) with nest and eggs, Oldfield and 

 Schieffelinsville. 



Capt. Shelley (Ploceidae of the Ethiopian Region, Ibis 

 1886, p. 316) distinguishes S. guttata (Vieill.) from hae- 

 matina. In our Museum Collection there is amongst 17 

 specimens only one (an adult male from the Gaboon) 

 which may bè considered as guttata , having both mandibles 

 edged down to the base with red , and red cheeks and upper 

 tail-coverts. A male from the Congo , apparently fully adult , 

 has the cutting edges of the mandibles only on their first 

 half red-colored , the cheeks are pure black , and the upper 

 tail-coverts are but slightly tipped with red. A female from 

 the same locality can by no means be distinguished from 

 those of haematina. 



Nest and eggs are much like those of Spermestes bicolor , 

 the quite voluminous nest , composed of soft panicles of 

 grass , was found in a shrub about 4 feet above the ground , 

 the eggs are pure white, axis 17 mm. 



78. Py renestes person at us^ Du Bus. 



Butt. 1. c. p. 199. 



7 specimens in different stages of plumage , collected at 



Oldfield (Messurado R.). 



These specimens confirm what I have said about this 



species in my above cited paper. There is however an adult 



male amongst them , which has the plumage very dark 



olive-brown and the under tail-coverts strongly tinged with 



red. The distribution of the red color is the same as in the 



other specimens of personatus and it is not out of doubt 



J»fotes from the Leyclen IMuseum, "Vol. 'VIII. 



