368 SYCOBROTUS GREGALIS 



an intruder within a few yards, still keeping concealed 

 amongst the thick foliage, though its jarring note is often 

 heard as it creeps through the network of boughs. As I sat 

 with my gun beside me, skinning my last trophy, I occasion- 

 ally saw this bird or another bush frequenter peeping at me 

 through the boughs, and the instant they caught my eye they 

 disappeared, but a snap-shot in their direction was often 

 effective. 



According to Stai*k, " This species differs considerably 

 in its habits from the majority of the Ploceiua^. It is never 

 met with in flocks, but almost invariably in single pairs, gener- 

 ally in thick forest or bush, where the growth is both high and 

 dense. These Weavers attract attention by their loud and 

 frequently repeated harsh creaking notes, which have been 

 not inaptly compared to the jarring of a rusty hinge. 



" In addition to insects, which constitute their ordinary 

 food, these "Weaver-birds occasionally feed on seeds, berries 

 and small forest fruit. Their nests, shaped like long-necked 

 retorts, are suspended from the extremities of branches, fre- 

 quently at a considerable height and often overhanging a 

 stream or open space in the bush. They are rather large and 

 are coarsely woven from tlie tendrils of vines without any soft 

 lining. A pair of birds wmU frequently work for three months 

 on the structure of their nest. They invariably build alone, 

 never in colonies. During the month of September or early 

 in October they lay two, or occasionally three, eggs of a whitish 

 ground colour, rather thickly spotted with pale red. They 

 measure about 0'75 x 0"00." 



That the type of Pijranga icteromelas, Vieill., was a native 

 of America, I look upon as impossible ; that it and the type 

 of Ploceus bicolor, Vieill., belong to one species, as Pucheran 

 remarks, is improbable, and that the latter refers to a West 

 African species is possible. This leaves Fringilla gregalis, 



