HYPHANTORNIS SPILONOTUS 417 



Full j^^ionaged male. Entire forehead and crown canary yellow of the 

 same shade as the sides of the neck, the breast and under tail-coverts ; hind 

 neck and the mantle black, with broad terminal bright yellow edges to the 

 feathers ; lower back brownish ash, most of the upper tail-coverts black, 

 both these parts mottled with some broad yellow ends to the feathers, tail 

 and terminal tail-coverts olive brown with a wash of yellow ; wings brownish 

 black, with yellow edges to the feathers, these edges broadest and inclining 

 to buff at the ends of the median and greater coverts ; inner margins of the 

 quills and the under coverts yellowish buff, the latter inclining to bright 

 yellow at the edge of the wing, and mottled with dusky brown towards the 

 primaries ; sides of the head and the throat black, the black of the throat 

 much compressed at the sides by the pale yellow of the neck, but extends, 

 as an imperfect streak, down the centre of the chest. " Iris deep red ; bill 

 black ; tarsi and feet flesh-colour " (Stark). Total length 6'1 inches, culmen 

 0-8, wing 3-45, tail 2-2, tarsus 0-95. J , 16. 10. 75, Pinetown (T. L. Ayres). 



Winter plumage of both sexes is alike. Forehead, crown and back 

 of neck yellowish brown ; mantle ashy brown with dark brown centres 

 to the feathers ; a pale yellow eyebrow ; sides of head olive yellow, inclining 

 to white in front of the eyes and passing into pale yellow on the cheeks and 

 throat ; breast and under tail-coverts white ; bill flesh-colom% shading into 

 dark brovm on the upper mandible. 



Female in breeding plumage. Differs from the last in the breast, thighs 

 and under tail-coverts being mostly yellow and the bill almost black. Wing 

 3-15. 2 , 16. 10. 75, Pinetown (T. L. Ayres). 



The Natal Yellow-crowned Masked- Weaver is confined to 

 South Africa, where it ranges from the Lake Ngami district 

 into Eastern Cape Colony and Zulaland, and eastward to 

 the Mozambique coast. 



All that we know regarding its north-western range is 

 summed up by Andersson who writes : " I ara not aware that 

 this species is an inhabitant of either Damara- or Great Nama- 

 qualand ; but I have received specimens from the Lake 

 country." 



The type was discovered inland of Algoa Bay, and 

 described by Vigors in 1831. Sir Andrew Smith met with 

 the species in about the same locality and redescribed it a 

 few months later under the name of Ploceus stidonotus, and 

 wrote : " Lihabits the eastern parts of the colony, particularly 



(March, 1905. 27 



