SIGMODUS SCAPIFROIVS 469 
by Kirk in the Usambara Hills and at Mamboio, all in German 
East Africa, and by the last named at Lamu in British Hast 
Africa. 
Claude Grant has recently found it south of the Zambesi 
in the Beira district. He writes: “I have only once seen 
this species, when a flock of six individuals were observed in 
the tops of some trees in a strip of forest near the Masambeti 
stream. In cry and habits it resembles S. tricolor, and it 
was only when [ had picked up the specimen shot that I 
discovered that it was different.” P. A. Sheppard, who has 
also met with it in the Beira neighbourhood, writes: “Its 
habits are very similar to those of S. retzw; it keeps to the 
higher trees, and with very feeble flight travels from one to 
another. I have only seen this species in thickly wooded 
districts. I found small insects in the stomach of those shot. 
It appears to be a migrant, as I have not seen one for at least 
two months.” Subsequently he found a nest on November 14. 
It was saddled on a fork towards the extremity of a bough 
about 15 feet from the ground in a tree in open wood and 
closely resembled the nest of Dryoscopus cubla. It contained 
three young birds just hatched. These were being fed by 
three old birds, one of which was shot and proved to be a 
young male. This is certainly a most remarkable occurrence, 
though perhaps it may be explained by the strictly social 
habits of all the birds of this genus. 
The British Museum contains examples from the following 
localities: Portuguese Hast Africa—Masambeti near Beira (C. 
Grant); German East Africa—Mamboio (Kirk); British East 
Africa— Lamu (Kirk). 
July, 1912, 31 
