398 



ZOOLOGY 



these birds are flying through the air they seem to be almost supported, 

 as by a parachute, on the outspread tail feathers, and to float on these 

 expanded plumes. When the bird is in full flight, yet slackening pace 

 with a view to perching on a twig, the tail feathers curl forwards and 

 diverge in a most shapely manner. Another common widow finch in 

 Uganda is Penthetria ardens. It is like anything but the conventional 

 widow in its gorgeous plumage of head and neck, just as its companion 

 in my water-colour drawing is known to " the trade " as the " bishop fincli " 

 (Pyromelana), though it does not resemble the usual clothing of a bishop. 

 In the spring months in that part of the Uganda Protectorate which is 



247. HETHROCORAX CAPHNSIS 



north of the equator (but perhaps again in the autumn) the males of these 

 widow finches develop extravagant tail plumes in the genera Chera, 

 Penthetria, and Vidua, and in other kinds, such as the bishop finch, blaze 

 out instead into gorgeous red or yellow body plumage. The male would 

 then appear to be courted or followed by five or six females, who are 

 assiduous in claiming his attentions. These pretty creatures are never 

 absent on bright, sunny days from the landscapes of flowering grass and 

 blossoming shrubs. The male, followed by his covey of adoring hens, flits 

 from one grass patch to another, and the air is full of the harsh little cries 

 which come from the squabbling and jealous hens. 



There are few districts in the Uganda Protectorate without the beautiful 



