ZOSTEROPS STENOCRICOTA. 181 



at Eschowe, which are in the British Museum along with three 

 from Kingwilliamstown, fourteen from Natal, nine from the 

 Transvaal and two from Nyasaland. 



To the north of the Vaal river Mr. Barratt shot a specimen 

 at Macamac, " a naturalist in the Transvaal," Mr. W. L. 

 Distant, records it from the neighbourhood of Pretoria, and 

 Dr. P. Rendall from the Barberton district. Mr. T. Ayres 

 found the species " common about the wooded parts of the 

 Rustenberg district," and also in the Lydenburg district " this 

 bird is extremely plentiful, both in the forest of the kloofs and 

 among the jungle on the slopes. It builds a neat, open cup- 

 shaped nest in some low shrub ; the eggs are white and, as 

 far as I can remember, without spots." I believe Mr. T. Ayres 

 is not quite accurate is calling the eggs white, as all the eggs 

 belonging to members of the genus Zoster ops are probably 

 uniform pale blue or greenish blue, and according to Stark 

 these birds lay four pale blue unspotted eggs, measuring 064 

 inch by 048. The only recorded instance of the occurrence 

 of this species to the north of the Limpopo river is that 

 Mr. Alexander Whyte has collected a pair at Mayawa village 

 on the Nyika Mountain, 6,000 feet, in June. This is to the 

 west of the northern end of Nyasa lake in about 10° 80' S. lat., 

 and 13° north of the Tropic of Capricorn, which was previously 

 the most northern known range for Z. virens. 



Zosterops stenocricota. 



Zosterops stenocricota, Eeichen. J. f. O. 1892, p. 191 ; 1894, p. 41 

 Camaroons ; Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 94 (1896). 



Type. Similar to Z. virens but paler and yellower, with the yellow sides 

 of the forehead extending in a band back to the posterior edge of the eye. 

 Total length 4-6 inches, bill 0-36, wing 2-08, tail 1-43, tarsus 0-64. 



