SPOROPIPES SQUAMIFRONS 299 



Achdt female. Like the male. " Iris hazel ; bill bright pale rose pink, 

 paler on the under mandible ; tarsi and feet pale brown." Wing 2-2. ? , 

 15. 9. 79. Potchefstroom (T. Ayres). 



The Scaly-fronted Weaver ranges over Southern Africa to 

 the south of the Quanza and Zambesi Rivers. 



Regarding its most northern known range Mr. Monteiro 

 writes : " Gregarious in small flocks. Only observed in the 

 rocky, barren districts to the south of Benguela. Upwards of 

 a dozen were caught for me by the blacks, one night, in a hole 

 in the straw thatch of a hut, where they are fond of roosting 

 together, and I had them alive many months in a cage, 

 feeding on gi'ass and other small seeds." Anchieta met it in 

 the Humbe district. 



According to Andersson : " This species is widely and 

 commonly diffused over the middle and southern portion of 

 Damaraland ; it is also pretty common in Great Namaqua- 

 land, in the Lake region, and at the River Okavango. It is a 

 gregarious species, and is comparatively tame, often taking up 

 its abode close to man. It feeds on grass-seeds and insects, 

 which it chiefly seeks on the ground amongst the grass, re- 

 sorting in small flocks to open localities thinly covered with 

 dwarf vegetation. This Finch is a very late breeder, and 

 builds a large grass nest, which is usually placed in 'hakisdom ' 

 bushes, and has the appearance externally of a bundle of grass 

 accidentally pitched into a bush or tree, the entrance to the 

 nest being nearly hidden by the manner in which the grass is 

 arranged. Internally the nest is beautifully lined ov, rather, 

 padded with the softest materials, and especially with the 

 feathers of the Guinea-fowl, and not only serves for the 

 purpose of incubation but also as a roosting-place in the cold 

 season, when several individuals, probably of the same brood, 

 may be found thus snugly housed." 



Regarding its habits, Stark writhes : " These pretty little 



