460 BIRDS OF SOUTH AFRICA. 
capable of guiding himself, for he took care never to let me get 
within shot of him, though I tried hard; but I shall never forget 
that queer black object. Harford says the Zulus set a high value on 
their tails. Doubtless they are used to decorate the heads of the 
warriors, as represented by Angas and other painters of Zulu battle- 
fields.” 
Mr. Ayres gives the following account of their breeding habits :— 
“ The nest of this species is placed close to the ground, in a tuft of 
long grass, to the blades and stalks of which it is roughly woven or 
joined ; it is rather a rough structure, composed of fine grass and 
lined with the seed-ends; the opening is at the side. The eggs are 
almost invariably four in number.” It is called by the colonists 
“Kaffir Fink,’ and Captain Harford says that the Zula name is 
‘ Tsa-Kabuli.” 
Male. — General colour, glossy black; shoulders fulvous and 
brilliant crimson; tail enormously developed. Female, or young 
male: general colour, pale yellowish-brown, the centre of each 
feather being darker, approaching in some instances to black, give 
the bird a mottled appearance; wing-feathers black, with pale, 
yellowish-brown edges ; tail-feathers umber-brown, with light edges ; 
shoulders showing a bright orange patch. Length, 21” ; wing, 6’ ; 
tail, 16’’. 
Fig. Buff. Pl. Enl. 635. 
448, PrNTHETRIA ALBoNoTATA, Cass. | White-spotted Widow Bird. 
Vidua albonotata, Layard, B. 8. Afr. p. 189. 
Said by the late M. Jules Verreaux to have occurred in Natal. 
Wahlberg met with it in the Transvaal, and a specimen of his 
collecting is now in the British Museum ; and the late Mr. Frank 
Oates procured it at Tamasetsie, in December, 1874, and again 
between the Pantamatenka River and the Zambesi, January 11th, 
while Dr. Kirk found it on the Shiré River. It extends across to 
the west coast, where it is found in Angola and the Congo region. 
Senor Anchieta has also procured it at Caconda in Benguela. 
General colour, shining black ; shoulders yellow ; base of the tail- 
feathers white ; wing-feathers tipped with white. Length, 6” 6’” ; 
wings, 3’. 
The iris is said by Mr. Oates to be hazel, the legs black, and the 
pill bluish or bluish-violet. 
