PLOCEID^ LAGONOSTICTA 91 



46. Pytelia nitidula. Hartlaub's Bed-faced Weaver Finch. 



Estrelda nitidula, Hartlaub, Ibis, 1865, p. 269 ; Sharpe, ed. Layard's 



B. S. Afr. p. 472 (1884). 

 Pytelia hartlaubi (Bianconi), Sharpe, ed. Layard's B. 8. Afr. p. 469 



(1884). 



Pytelia nitidula, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii, p. 305 (1890). 

 Hypargus nitidulus, Shelley, B. Afr. i, p. 32 (1896). 



Description. Adult. Above olive-green ; the rump and upper 

 tail- coverts yellowish-green ; an anteocular spot, extending round 

 the base of the upper mandible, orange-buff ; wings and tail oliva- 

 ceous ; under surface of body pale olive, many feathers of the breast 

 and abdomen with dusky centres, each enclosing two white spots ; 

 under wing-coverts varied with olive and white. 



Bill black ; feet lead-coloured. 



Length 3'20 ; wing 1-75; tail 1-20; tarsus 0-50; culmen 0-30. 



Distribution. From Natal to Mosambique ; Durban, Natal 

 (Ayres) ; Inhambane, Portuguese East Africa (Peters) ; Mozambique 

 (Bianconi). 



Genus II. LAGONOSTICTA. 



Type. 

 Lagonosticta, Cab. Mus. Hein. Th. i, p. 171 (1850)... L. rubricata. 



Bill as in Estrilda; the nasal orifice concealed by plumes. 

 Wing longer than the tail. Tail short and much graduated, fan- 

 shaped, the feathers very broad. Tarsi and feet as in Estrilda. 

 Plumage vivid, generally varied with various shades of red ; the 

 lower surface dotted with round white spots. Size very small. 

 The " Euddy Waxbills," or " Fire Finches " as .they are sometimes 

 called from their vivid colouring, are confined to Africa. Twenty- 

 one species are admitted by Dr. Sharpe in the Catalogue of the 

 British Museum, and five occur in South Africa. Two of the South 

 African species build domed nests of dried grass in thick grass-tufts, 

 near the ground ; but Heuglin states that the more northern 

 Lagonosticta minima builds an artistic little nest under rafters in 

 roofs, in holes in walls, and in crevices. All the Euddy Waxbills, 

 whose nesting habits are known, lay white eggs, from three to 

 seven in number. Birds of this genus feed on grass and other 

 small seeds, occasionally on spiders and small insects. Heuglin 

 remarks of Lagonosticta minima : " The Blood-Finches are 



