36 COLIUSPASSER PROGNE 
size of the bird; they are white or bluish white, closely marked 
with small spots and dashes of dark brown and slaty grey ; 
they average 0°9 X 0°67.” Mr. 'T. Ayres remarked that in Natal 
the males were in full plumage in December and January, and 
moult into the winter dress in March. According to Mr. H. 
Bowker, “the tail of the male in the breeding season is not an 
inconvenience to him; he never, in fact, seems to enjoy himself 
so much as during a high wind, in which he shows off to 
advantage, spreading his tail out like a fan.” 
Mr. Layard observes: “ Riding once between Table Farm 
and Grahamstown with Dr. Atherstone, I saw what I took 
to be a black silk neckerchief drifting down to us in a 
strong wind from a house on a hill some 300 yards from our 
road. I called the attention of my companion to it, when, 
with a laugh, he told me it was a male Kafir-fink. The 
deception was complete! As he came near I saw he was 
drifting at a prodigious rate; his wings flapping round and 
round like mill-sails, and his tail spread in a compact mass. 
He appeared quite capable of guiding himself, for he took care 
never to let me get within shot of him.” 
Mr. Distant, while at Pretoria, found that the birds had 
assumed their full plumage in November, and remarks: 
**Wherever wet places and high reeds are found, the long- 
tailed Widow-bird (Chera procne) may usually be observed 
pursuing its laborious and difficult flight, heavily handicapped 
by its seasonally developed tail, and is a good instance where 
sexual selection is exercised at the expense of protection.” 
Dr. Rendall writes : ‘This species is common on the flats 
round Barberton. ‘To the natives it is the ‘Sakubula,’ and 
the large black tail-feathers are used in bunches by the Swazi 
‘Regiment of Infaans’ (or young men) to adorn their head- 
dresses and shields, with great effect. The natives run the 
birds down on wet days when the moisture prevents them from 
