284 FOREIGN FINCHES IN CAPTIVITY. 



and an indistinct eyebrow olive-yellow ; feathers round eye whitish ; 

 sides of face and ear-coverts dark brown ; cheeks and under surface 

 whity-brown ; streaked, excepting on the chest and abdomen, with 

 dark brown ; abdomen whitish ; under wing-coverts yellowish, quills 

 dusky, with buff inner edges. Length 6 inches. 



The male, in winter plumage, somewhat closely resembles the 

 female, but is decidedly larger : at this season the beak is said to be 

 brown, with paler lower mandible and the legs yellowish flesh- 

 coloured. 



Messrs. Sharpe and Layard give the following account of the wild 

 life of this species : - 



"It is a very common bird throughout the colony, affecting 

 indiscriminately the solitary vley (morass) in the midst of the veldt 

 (open uncultivated country), or the homestead of the farmer. During 

 the breeding season it is seen about reeds, among which it breeds ; 

 placing its nest with great art, so as to include in its structure three 

 or four of the firmest and most upright stems, which support it like 

 pillars. The male generally perches on the topmost twigs of the 

 bushes, mingled with the reeds, or on the heads of the reeds them- 

 selves ; and his brilliant yellow rump, contrasting with his, otherwise 

 intensely black plumage, render him peculiarly conspicuous." 



" In Natal, Mr. Ayres says that they frequent, more particularly, 

 the hills fifteen or twenty miles inland ; they are found in small 

 companies in the open fields, and feed principally on grass seeds." 



"Mr. Andersson gives the following note: This is a comparatively 

 scarce bird in Damara and Great Namaqua Land, but is very abundant 

 at Lake Ngami ; it sometimes occurs in large flocks in the open 

 country, and is also found in small communities in the neighbourhood 

 of water, and in humid situations, where it breeds, constructing its 

 nest of strong grasses, and suspending it between the stalks of two or 

 three reeds." 



In the first edition of Layard's work we read : " Having kept 

 several in cages, I am enabled to describe the moult which takes 

 place. The first thing which changes is the bill ; the black com- 

 mences to show at the tip of the lower mandible, which gradually 

 darkens, from the usual horn-colour to the deepest black ; before this 

 is accomplished the upper mandible has begun to blacken, and a few 

 black feathers are visible round the neck ; the breast next shows a 

 change, and a feather or two on the back darkens, and thus by 

 degrees the whole bird changes to its splendid black. This trans- 

 formation commences about July, and is complete in September, which 



