SOME REMARKS ON THE PROTECTIVE RESEMBLANCE 
OF SOUTH AFRICAN BIRDS. 
[With 2 plates.] 
By ALWIN HAAGNeR, F. Z. S., M. B. O. U. 
In this article it is my intention to give a short general sketch of 
this subject, dealing chiefly with those families with which I have 
had some field experience, supplemented by a few of the more striking 
instances in detail. 
It is greatly to be regretted that hitherto local ornithologists have 
paid so little attention to this interesting branch of research, and it 
is sincerely hoped that the contents of this paper may stimulate their 
activity toward further observations. 
Order PassEREs. 
Family PLocEIDé, 
At first sight one would be inclined to think that there was very 
little protective resemblance in this family, containing, as it does, 
some of the most gorgeously plumaged of South African birds; but 
this is, perhaps, the most interesting part of it. It is a very note- 
worthy fact that with the majority of the smaller and defenseless 
species the female is almost always a most inconspicuous object, with 
a somber-colored feathering, and generally manages to pass unob- 
served among its surroundings. On the other hand, the males are 
often very gaudily attired, which is true of a large number of the 
Ploceide. This is the case with the bishop birds (Pyromelana), the 
males of which may be numbered among South A frica’s most beautiful 
pirds, while the females are little brown-colored objects, whose colora- 
tion, blending, as it does, with the grass and reeds of their favorite 
haunts, renders them almost invisible to the casual eye. The same 
remarks apply to the widow birds (Viduine). Can anyone imagine 
anything more conspicuous than the long-tailed widow bird (Colio- 
passer procne), or even the smaller red-collared species (C. ardens) ? 
“Reprinted by permission from The Journal of the South African Ornitholo- 
gists’ Union, Pretoria, Transvaal, vol. 4, No. 1. April, 1908. 
493 
