THE RED-FACED FINCH. 147 



THE RED-FACED FINCH. 



Pytelia afra, GMEL. 



ALSO known by the name of "Wiener's Astrild " or Pytelia wieneri, 

 the name bestowed upon it by Drs. Finsch and Russ. Previously, 

 in 1870, it had been confounded by Finsch and Hartlaub with P. 

 inclba ; it was, later, described by Cabanis in 1877, as P. cinereigula 

 and the name of P. pyropteryx was proposed for it by Schalow in 1884. 

 Altogether this little bird is well-off for names. Its habitat is West 

 Africa, from Congo to Angola and Mossamedes, across to Lake 

 Tanganyika and the Zanzibar district of Eastern Africa. 



The male above is dull orange slightly shaded with olive ; the 

 hinder part of the back and upper tail-coverts crimson ; the median 

 and greater wing-coverts externally tinted with red ; flight feathers 

 dull brown with a vermilion shade on the outer webs ; central tail 

 feathers crimson, the remainder black, crimson externally ; the fore- 

 head, eyebrow, cheeks, chin and upper throat bright crimson ; a grey 

 lozenge-shaped patch enclosing the eye ; crown of head, nape, sides of 

 neck and lower throat ash-grey ; remainder of body below olivaceous 

 yellow, slightly golden towards the front of the neck ; barred irregularly 

 with white, more distinctly on the abdomen ; under tail coverts some- 

 what dusky, barred with white ; under wing-coverts whitish ; edge of 

 wing yellowish ; flight feathers below dull blackish, with greyish inner 

 edges. Length ^ inches. Beak crimson, the base of upper mandible 

 brown ; legs rose-pink ; iris deep red. 



The female is duller-coloured than the male, and has no red on 

 the forehead, face and throat. Length 4A inches. 



Young birds resemble the female excepting that they are whiter 

 on the throat and have a paler and browner beak. 



In 1880, Mr. W. A. Forbes gave an account of one of Wiener's 

 specimens of this species, presented by him to the Zoological Society, 

 in June 1879, an d which was still living at that date (May 3ist, 1880). 

 A coloured illustration of the bird accompanies Mr. Forbes notes ; 

 which are rather interesting to the cabinet-naturalist than to the 

 aviarist. 



