222 ESTRILDA PERREINI 
of his specimens with a type or description, find it belongs 
to a race already distinguished, he has then only to add on the 
label a third name of the special form to which it belongs, 
and can afterwards judge for himself as to the real value 
of that name. 
These four forms appear to me to be scarcely recognisable. 
The Natal Lavender Waxbill inhabits Natal and Zululand. 
The type was discovered by Wahlberg in Natal. The sub- 
species is not yet known from beyond the limits of Natal and 
Zululand, but is represented in Mozambique and Nyasaland 
by an extremely nearly allied form, H. poliogastra (Reichen.). 
Stark writes: ‘‘I have on several occasions found the nest 
of this species near Pinetown in Natal, built both in bushes 
and low trees. It is domed, loosely constructed of dry grass, 
and lined with feathers. The eggs, from four to six in a 
clutch, are laid in December and March, for these birds are 
double brooded. ‘They are pure white, and average 0°54 X 
0-42. The Grey Waxbill is nearly always in pairs, is very 
tame, and feeds on the ground on grass-seeds and small 
insects. Its note is a soft chirrup.” 
I found a nest with fresh eggs on March 8, close to 
Durban. It was placed in a creeper overhanging the foot- 
path, and was easily reached from the ground. The Messrs. 
Woodward preserved a specimen at Eschowe in Zululand, and 
write: ‘‘We found the nest and eggs of Wstrelda incana, it 
was built in a small tree in the open land, and was very 
loosely made of grass, lined with fowl’s feathers. It contained 
six very small white eggs.” 
