34 Mr. Austin Jioberts on 



clutch is normally comprised of three eggs, which are like 

 those o£ C. ardens, but as a rule more heavily marked ; they 

 measure 19-20 x 13'5-14 mm. 



Long-tailed Widow-bird (Dlatropura procne). — A single 

 male in full breeding-plumage was seen in an open grassy 

 valley near the pan. 



This bird is remarkably clever in hiding its nest, and one 

 can seldom find it unless the hen is seen to fly out ; it is 

 })laced in a dense bunch of mixed old and new grass in open 

 country, often a long way from w-ater, although grassy 

 valleys are preferred ; the growing stems of grass are inter- 

 twined, but so cleverly, that one can only detect it by close 

 inspection ; under this an oval nest of dry grass is made, 

 with the entrance well hidden at one side. Three or four 

 eggs comprise the clutch ; they are greenish white, thickly 

 covered with markings of various shades of dull l)rown, and 

 measure 21-23x15-16 mm. Nests may be found from 

 November to February. 



Pytilia nielba, Amadina erythrocepluda, Estr'dda astrdda, 

 Uneginthus angolensis and U. granatinus, Lagonoslicta hrun- 

 neiceps and L. ruhricata. — These species were all observed, 

 but nothing new noted of them. 



Black - checked Waxbill {Estrdda erytlironota) . — This 

 species was found only in the scrub of the pan. It has a 

 sweet little voice and sings softly. 



Pin-tailed Widow-bird (Vidua serena). — For the third 

 time I feel called upon to write on the subject of the nidi- 

 fication of this bird. 



In January of this year (1913), my attention was drawn 

 to a mass of dead branches at the foot of a bush, by a bird 

 flitting away from them. Peering in, I saw the nest of a 

 Common Waxbill on the ground amongst the branches, and 

 then, looking about me carefully to make sure of the bird, 

 saw a hen of V. serena, eyeing me from a tree not thirty 

 feet off. While still looking at it, I heard a rustle amongst 

 the dead branches, and was just in time to see a Oonmion 



