- ae vu, Ca: 
4.4.4, BIRDS OF SOUTH AFRICA. 
resembles the slender-billed members of the latter genus, and it 
must be placed in the neighbourhood of the last named form and 
Malimbus. 
The following is a translation of the original description :—Above 
dusky olivaceous; the back, rump and upper tail-coverts citron 
yellow ; wing-coverts duller, and dusky brown in colour; the median 
series with a broad ending of white; the greater coverts edged 
with white on the outer web, underneath white; the breast and 
abdomen yellowish ; quills dusky, the outer web narrowly fringed 
with grey; tail dusky ; bill dusky horn colour, the mandible paler 
at the base; feet pale dusky; iris red. Total length, 5:5 inches ; 
bill, 0°65; wing, 3°35; tail, 1:95; tarsus, 0°75. 
432. Matimeus ruspricers, Sundev. Red-headed Weaver Bird. 
This handsome Weaver Bird was discovered by the late Professor 
Wahlberg on the Limpopo, and besides one specimen in the British 
Museum, formerly in the collection of the editor, we have only seen 
two other specimens obtained by Mr. I’. H. Guillemard in the Water- 
berg district of the Transvaal. During Mr. Jameson’s expedition it 
was procured on the Tatin River ;* Mr. Ayres writes as follows :— 
“This is by no means a common bird. I found it breeding at 
the Tatin; it makes a rough retort shaped nest which hangs 
mouth downwards from the outer twigs of rather tall trees. Some- 
times a new nest is hung on to the tube of last year’s structure. 
Mr. Jameson found a nest to the north of the Umvuli in October, 
with two blue eggs in it, and at Tatin we pulled down one of the 
double nests, and Mr. Jameson on trying to put his hand up to the 
tube very nearly got bitten by a snake, which was lying in the 
nest and had swallowed the old bird as well as her blue eggs. It 
is evident therefore that nests of this shape do not keep out snakes.” 
Senor Anchieta has procured the present bird in Benguela at 
Quillengues and Capangombe as well as at Humbe. 
We transcribe the following diagnosis given by Mr. Elliot in his 
review of the genus Malimbus (Ibis. 1876, p. 461) :—Entire head, 
neck, throat, and breast bright scarlet ; back and wings ashy brown, 
outer edges of secondaries and primaries bright yellow; centre of 
the mantle washed with pale vermilion ; rump pale ash ; tail ashy 
brown, the edges of the outer webs bright yellow; entire under 
* Captain Shelley informs us that he considers Mr. Jameson’s bird different 
from M. rubiceps. 
