SEED-EATERS. 



105 



Russ to that of a Lark. Individual birds, however, 

 even in a wild state, differ remarkably in the singing 

 powers, some being far superior to others in the rich- 

 ness and fulness of their notes. The cock of this 

 species has, in confinement, been known to pair with 

 the hen of both the Common Cage Canary and the 

 Yellow-bellied Seed-eater. 



" In Cape Colony the Cape Canary usually breeds in 

 September and October, in Upper Natal in October and 

 November. The nest, neatly constructed and cup- 

 shaped, is built in a thick low bush, of dry grass and 

 bents, with sometimes a little moss, lined with hair, 

 feathers, and downy seeds. The eggs, three or four in 

 number, are white, faintly tinged with blue, and 

 streaked and spotted at the obtuse end with purplish- 

 brown and reddish-brown. They measure 0.75 x 0.55. 



This species is also called the Grey-necked Serin, 

 which, perhaps, is a better name for it, when one con- 

 siders that several other species have borne the name 

 of Cape Canary incorrectly. 



Some years ago Mr. Abrahams kindly sent me an old 

 male bird of this species in order that I might become 

 acquainted with its song, which has been greatly 

 praised. It did not live for many months after I re- 

 ceived it, but ite song was decidedly pleasing a clear, 

 Tinging trill, with little variation, but no shrill notes. 

 I/ike most of the African Serins, it was fed chiefly upon 

 canarr and millet, certainly the most wholesome food 

 for Canaries, excepting when breeding or moulting,- 

 when all Serins are the better for more variety. 



SULPHUR SEED-EATER (Serinux sulphur atus). 



Above greenish-yellow, with blackish streaks, except- 

 ing on rump and upper tail-coverts and lesser wing- 

 coverts ; remaining wing- feathers blackish, with yellow 

 lx>rders ; a broad golden-yellow eyebrow streak ; lores 

 dusky; feathers encircling eye, ear-coverts, and cheeks, 

 dull greenish ; a spot at base of lower mandible, a broad 

 stripe under the ear-coverts, and the throat golden- 

 yellow ; sides of neck, breast, and sides of body pale 

 greenish-yellow ; remainder of under surface yellow ; 

 flights below dusky, with the inner margins grey ; 

 upper mandible dull yellowish, lower mandible pale 

 yellow; feet dull brown; 1 irides hazel. Female smaller 

 and duller, the yellow stripe on the face smaller and 

 duller. Habitat, Cape Colony, the Orange Free State, 

 Natal, the Transvaal, and northward on the east side 

 of Africa to Masai-Land. 



Messrs. Stark and Sclater say (" (Birds of South 

 Africa," Vol. I., p. 170) : "This large and conspicuously - 

 coloured> Seed-eater is rather common in many parts of 

 Cape Colonv, both on open pasture .land and in bushy 

 localities. In winter these birds form considerable 

 flocks, often joining with other Finches to search for 

 seeds on the ground. The principal part of their food, 

 however, consists of small berries and their seeds ; the 

 latter they crack with their powerful bills for the sake 

 of the kernels. In spring the males sing delightfully, 

 their notes being both nowerful and mellow; for this 

 reason they are frequently kept as cage-birds, and even 

 exported to Europe*. The ntest, usually built in Septem- 

 ber in Cape Colony, is a small and neat cup-shaped 

 structure, and is nearly always placed in a low bush, 

 rarely more tha.n 4ft. above the ground. It is con- 

 structed outwardly of drv grass-stems and the smaller 

 stalks of plants, and is lined with finer grass and cot- 

 tony down. The eggs, generally four in number, are 

 either white or white faintly tinged with blue ; about 

 one-half of them are unspotted; the remaining half 

 "have a few deep black spots, or one or two zig-zag mark- 



ings towards the larger end. They are usually some- 

 what elongated, and tapering towards the smaller ex- 

 tremity. They average 0.85 by 0.60. 



"Incubation lasts tor fourteen days, and the young 

 remain in the nest for from three to four weeks. During 

 this period they are fed on insects and on the contents 

 of the crops of the parent birds." 



Though common in some parts of South Africa, this 

 bird is rare in the bird-market, and not cheap. Mr. 

 Abrahams sent 'me a male in November, 1899*, and I 

 turned it into a flight-cage with a hen Canary ; it 

 seemed pleased to have even so much liberty after being 

 confined in a 'small cage, and whistled a few notes 

 hardly worthy of the name of a song, but afterwards 

 became quite mute. As it never showed any inclination 

 to breed, I subsequently turned it out into a moderate- 

 sized aviary with the other birds. It struck me as being 

 a particularly stupid, silent, but quite inoffensive bird. 

 It died early in 1901. 



In November, 1906. Lieut. Honsbrugh sent me two 

 Serin-finches, one of which sang very prettily ; both were 

 probably aberrant forms of the following : 



ST. HELENA SEED-EATER (Serinus flaviventris). 



Above the crown is greenish-yellow, with dusky spots, 

 the mantle and back yellowish-green streaked with 

 black ; the rump yellow ; lesser wing-coverts greenish- 

 yellow, the remaining wing- feathers blackish-brown, 

 with yellow borders ; tail-feathers similar ; forehead 

 and a broad eyebrow-stripe, as well as feathers en- 

 circling eye golden yellow ; lores dusky ; ear-coverts 

 greenish-yellow ; cheeks and entire under surface golden 

 yellow; beak horn-coloured, the upper mandible 

 dusky ; feet dusky brownish ; irides hazel. Female 

 much duller and browner ; the back much more heavily 

 streaked' ; all the yellow either replaced by green as on 

 the rump, paler yellow, as on the borders of the wing 

 and tail feathers, or greyish-white, as on the abdomen 

 and under surface of the flights ; breast and flanks 

 streaked with smoky brown. Habitat, Cape Colony to 

 the Orange Free State and the Southern Transvaal; 

 common at Potchefstroom ; introduced into St. Helena. t 



Messrs. Stark and Sclater say ("Birds of South 

 Africa," Vol. I., pp. 171, 172) :" Although not such 

 a favourite cage-bird as the ' Cape Canarie.' the 

 'Kleine Seisje' is by no means a despicable songster, 

 many of its notes being exceedingly true and sweet. 

 In the neighbourhood of Saldanha. Bay, where it is, 

 together with the larger Serinus albigularis. abundant 

 among the bushes that overgrow the sandhills at the 

 back of the beach, it breeds in September. A nest found 

 on the 28th of this month, with five fresh eggs, was 

 placed in the top of a low bush about 15in. off the 

 ground. It was slightly but neatly constructed of small 

 twigs and dry grass-bents, and was thickly lined with 

 the cottony seeds of a bush that grew not far off. The eggs 

 are of a faint blue-green ground-colour, sparsely zoned 

 and marked at the large end with small spots of dark 

 and light reddish-brown. They measure 0.70 by 0.52." 



I purchased a pair of this species about 1889 or 1890, 

 and lost the hen in 1891, whereas the male was still 

 singling vigorously in 1898. The cock is a most melo- 

 dious singer, and does not produce the ear-piercing notes 

 of the Norwich Canary. In an aviary with Weavers of 

 its own size it is quite capable of holding its own, and 

 when groundsel or other green food is supplied it will 



* He probably saw my statement, published that year in 

 " Foreign Bird-Keeping," that I had nerer possessed th species. 



t Captain Shelley has distinguished this bird by a separate 

 name, calling it S. tnarshalli, but he himself thinks it may be 

 a descendant of the slightly different typical form from the Cape. 



