ZOSTEROPS ABYSSINICA. 193 



its call note, uttered when feeding and on the wing, is more- 

 over so exactly like that of the latter bird, that when first 

 heard on Mankaradia, to the south of the Hadibu plain, 

 imagination pictured some unknown species of Tit. It is 

 an active, lively little bird, seldom still for a minute, and 

 constantly searching for small insects among the branches 

 of the bushes and trees. The nesting season must have been 

 practically over when we arrived on December 9. On the 

 17th of that month I fell in with a family party of five, 

 including three young birds. Though able to fly well, they 

 were still being fed by their parents, and it was a pretty 

 sight to watch these beautiful little birds portioning out the 

 dainties they collected with such amazing rapidity. They 

 were so tame that one could observe them from a distance of 

 a few yards." 



He further tells us that : " "When alarmed they keep up 

 a constant scolding note, ' Chu-e, Chu-e, Chu-e, ' which at 

 once puts all the birds in the neighbourhood on the look out 

 for danger. 



This species is apparently equally abundant in Somali- 

 land and throughout the watershed of the Blue Nile, for 

 in the former country specimens have been collected 

 by Mr. Gillett, Mr. Hawker, and by Mr. Lort Phillips in the 

 Darro mountains, at Jifa Meder and "Wagga. Lord Lovat 

 procured a specimen at Laga Hardim, about 40° E. long., 

 during his journey westward from Berbera, and states : 

 " This active little bird swarms all over the thick woods 

 of the Abyssinian valleys. Like Zosterops poliogastra, it is 

 widely distributed throughout the low country." Yet it 

 never appears to have been met with by either Antinori 

 or Ragazzi in Shoa, where, from their observations, Z. polio- 

 gastra is the only common White-eye. According to von 

 Heuglin the species is to be met with in pairs in most 



[March, 1900. 13 



