172 SPERMESTES SCUTATUS 
Weaver Finches, and if disturbed once or twice, fly off to a 
distance. Their note is a soft and gentle twitter. A nest found 
near Pinetown, in November, was built near the extremity of 
the lower horizontal limb of a large tree, at the edge of a 
clearing in the ‘Bush.’ It was about ten feet above the 
ground and was domed, with a small side opening. It was 
somewhat loosely built of fine dry grass lined with the soft 
flowering tops. The eggs, four in number, are pure white and 
measure 0°52 x 0°45.” 
While at Inhambane, Dr. Peters met with this species in 
company with S. wigriceps, and some hundred miles inland, on 
the left of the Limpopo at Rovi-rand, Mr. W. Ayres found them in 
flocks of from four to fifteen, frequenting the low open bush near 
water. I do not, however, find any record of its having been 
obtained in the Transvaal, but in the British Museum there are 
nineteen specimens from Natal, three from Mozambique, and 
two from the Zambesi. In the latter district Sir John Kirk 
records it as common near Shupanga. In Nyasaland speci- 
mens have been collected at Zomba, Nyika, Mlosa and Chanda. 
At Mozambique Sperling found them very common and wrote : 
‘*T had about a dozen of them in a cage; their method of roost- 
ing is singular. Four or five would form a base, and on the 
backs of these three or four more would place themselves, till 
they were piled up in several tiers, forming a compact lump 
of feathers, some of them resting on their sides or backs. 
Occasionally, as may easily be imagined, the whole fabric would 
topple over; and when this occurred at night those that fell 
remained at the bottom of the cage.” 
Near Cape Delgado the species has been obtained by Senhor 
Cardosa, and on the islands of Great Comoro and Johanna 
it is abundant. On the former island Sir John Kirk collected 
seven specimens and on the latter two; here Sir E. Newton 
also found it common in flocks on the highlands, and called 
