THE BRONZE MANNIKIN. 259 



whitish towards the croup and barred with dark brown ; those of the 

 croup and the upper tail-coverts whitish, barred with blackish ; tail- 

 feathers dull black ; a band of metallic-green across the shoulder (most 

 vividly developed in my female skin*) ; wing-coverts brown, lesser- 

 coverts sometimes slightly tinged with green ; flights brown, the 

 primaries narrowly fringed along the outer web with whitish ; lores, 

 cheeks, sides of neck, chin, throat, and chest bronze-brown, slightly 

 glossed with purplish, the fringe of the feathers glossed with green ; 

 breast and abdomen snow-white, the sides barred in front with blackish, 

 glossed with metallic-green, behind with brown ; under tail-coverts 

 white, barred with blackish ; under wing-coverts somewhat yellowish ; 

 primaries below sordid whitish, dusky greyish towards the tips ; 

 secondaries browner ; tail-feathers below slaty-black. Length 3 inches ; 

 upper mandible leaden-grey, slightly paler at base and below ; feet dark 

 horn-brown, legs dark brown. 



The female is almost exactly like the male, but apparently the 

 brown chest-patch of this sex is slightly more restricted and less glossy, 

 and the upper surface slightly browner ; but with only two skins before 

 me, I doubt the constancy of these characters, and merely give them 

 for what they may be worth. f 



Very little has been published respecting the wild life of 5. cucullata; 

 but Von Heuglin says that it is fond of building on the Mango-trees 

 in the negro villages ; so that it is the exception to find one of these 

 trees without the nest of this finch. He often found five or six on the 

 same tree. The nests are spherical and very large in proportion to 

 the bird ; marvellously strongly compacted together of fine grasses. 

 The same nest is used several times in succession. The sitting consists 

 of four white eggs. 



Mr. C. B. Bewsher says that in the Isle of Anjuan, this bird is 

 found " on high lands in flocks ; common ; nest and eggs sent," and 

 that the native name is " Nean Saughan." 



Mr. K. Newton remarks of the above : " The eggs are white, and 

 measure '55 by '42 ; the nest is, like those of many of the genera, 

 entirely composed of the almost ripe stalks of grass, with the seed still 

 on them, and is a domed structure." 



Dr. Russ says that the nidification is also described by Dr. H. 



* The sexes of my birds were ascertained by dissection. The probability is that the female 

 was a much older example than the male. A.G.B. 



t Since writing the above, Mr. Abrahams has confirmed these characters, and he adds : " the 

 male has a slightly wider beak at the base *****, is a much larger and bolder bird, and the 

 markings are more pronounced, the head is broader, and the bronze patch on the shoulder is 

 larger than in the hen." A.G.B. 



