PASSER MOTITENSIS. 245 



frequent uumber is four; they are larger than the eggs of 

 P. arcuatus, and are invariably covered with a glutinous 

 matter which is difficult to remove, even with the help of 

 water." 



In the British Museum there are a male and two females, 

 collected by Sir Andrew Smith, who described the species in 

 1848, and then wrote : " Only two specimens of this bird were 

 procured, both about sixty miles to the south of the Orange 

 river. When they were killed, they were on the ground 

 actively employed pecking up the seeds which had fallen from 

 the shrubs among which they were moving. The natives 

 (Bechuanas) seeing these birds carefully carried to our tents, 

 expressed surprise at our thinking them of value; and those 

 who saw with what care they had been preserved, made known 

 the proceeding to every new comer." 



I can find no record of the occurrence of this species from 

 further south nor from Natal and the Transvaal ; but in 

 Matabele-land the late Mr. Frank Oates collected four speci- 

 mens in August, September and October, at the Palatswe 

 river and near Tati. 



As Mr. T. Ayres and Dr. Stark appear never to have met 

 this species, probably its true home is Tropical South Africa, 

 from German S.W. Africa into Matabele-land, where the species 

 is fairly abundant, and that the typical specimens collected by 

 Sir Andrew Smith in the Old Latakoo district were possibly 

 stragglers. 



An Qgg in Mr. A. Nehrkorn's collection is described as : 

 white, with large clouded pale grey marks, and measures 

 0-8 X 0-6. 



