394 Mr. V. G. L. van Somcreu on Birds 



Dryoscopus cubla suahelicus. 



Dryoscopus cubla hamatus Hartl. ; Reichenow, Vog. Afr. 

 ii. p. 594. 



(? & ? . Li. 14. 



A pair obtained in the forest at Kikuyu were in breeding- 

 condition. A nest was found in December; it was composed 

 of rootlets and fibres and decorated in a similar fashion to 

 that of D. m. nyanzcB^ but the whole structure was more care- 

 fully hidden. The eggs are very similar to those of the 

 preceding species^ but are smaller. The birds have an 

 interesting Avay of collecting bark-fibre : having selected 

 a suitable dead creeper, they proceed to loosen the bark at a 

 point where a lateral tendril has been, and, having worked 

 a piece loose, one bird will seize it in its bill and give it a 

 tug ; as the bark becomes loosened it shortens its hold, 

 hopping to the point of attachment. By several backward 

 jerks of the head the strand is loosened, bit by bit, and when 

 about six inches long it is seized firmly in the bill and the 

 bird flies off. Very often the strand refuses to come away, 

 and the bird, still holding on, hangs in mid-air; hy a rapid 

 swing of the body the libre is caught in the feet, the strand 

 is then seized at the point of resistance in the bill, and the 

 feet are placed on the branch ; then, by throwing the body 

 backwards and straightening the legs, the fibre is pulled 

 free and the bird flies off. During the whole of this per- 

 formance the bird utters an incessant loud and clear whistle. 

 When both birds are at the nest, there is much displaying 

 and calling, especially on the part of the male, who erects 

 the tuft of downy feathers of the rump into a fluffy ball on 

 the back. 



Localities. Kyambu, Nairobi, and Escarpment, in British 

 East Africa. 



Lanius coUaris humeralis. 

 S 1-3. 29.vii.06; 7.ii. 11; 14.xi. 10. 

 ? 1-2. 29. vii.06; 15. vi. 14. 

 Imm. ? . 9. iii. 12. 



