XANTHOPHILUS OLIVACEUS 465 



position, tbey were evidently anxioi;s to assist, but were on 

 no conditions allowed to; they had to strike a mean; if they 

 attempted to help they were immediately driven away, with 

 two or three sharp tweaks on the head, to drive the lesson 

 home, whereas if they sulked and went too far away, they 

 were brought back in order that they might watch their 

 industrious husbands. 



" At sunset, when one would think there should be 

 peace and harmony, there was more noise than ever. At 

 this time the hen birds are allowed to go into the nests, 

 but their husbands have no intention of leaving them 

 alone. They fly up, clinging on to the circular opening that 

 forms the entrance to the nest, making at the same time a 

 continuous noise, something between a chatter and a squeak, 

 and when by the alarming sound they have succeeded in 

 ousting their wives from the nests, they chase them from 

 branch to branch until they go back again. One bird that I 

 saw was quite an actor ; not satisfied with tormenting his wife 

 in the legitimate way, he adopted a very ingenious method. 

 After hanging on to the nest and making the most horrible 

 noises, he pretended to be caught by one foot, and twisted 

 slowly round and round, uttering at the same time a series 

 of piercing screams, which gradually diminished as the poor 

 thing was supposed to be at its last gasp ; this brought the 

 wife out in a great state, thinking that the end had come. 

 No such thing, however, for no sooner was she out of the 

 nest than the husband chased her back exultingly." 



Xanthophiius olivaceus. 



Icterus olivaceus, Hahn. Vog. aus Asien, &c., pt. vi. pi. i (1822). 

 Xanthophiius olivaceus, Clarke, Ibis, 1904, p. 524 Ingogo. 

 Ploceus capensis olivaceus, Reichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 87 (1904). 

 Icterus caffer, Licht. Verz. Doubl. p. 19 (1823) Kaffmria. 

 Sitagra caffra, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 4.31 (1890). 



LMaic-L, laoo. 30 



