PLOCEID.E ESTRILDA 107 



fibres and hay-stalks loosely thrown together, arched over, with 

 a lateral, broad, and scarcely rounded entrance ; inside, on the 

 contrary, rather carefully lined with horse-hair, wadding, and soft 

 feathers. Laying three to four, even sometimes seven to nine eggs, 

 which are incubated alternately by the male and female for two 

 hours at a time. Nestling down yellowish-white. Expansions of 

 the beak yellowish-white. Young plumage bright yellowish-grey, 

 to be distinguished by the weak but clearly perceptible reddish- 

 yellow colouring of the croup ; little beak shining black ; eyes dark 

 brown ; feet black-brown." 



The eggs of this species are pure white, and measure on the 

 average 0-52 x 0-40. 



C^e^o/^ 0^^ 



58. Estrilda dufresriii. Dufresne's Waxbill. 



FringiUa dufresnii, Vieill. N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. xii, p. 181 (1817). 

 Fringilla melanotis, Temm. Planches Col. ii, pi. 221, fig. 1 (1833). 

 Estrelda dufresnii, Gray, Gen. B. ii, p. 369 (1849) ; Layard, B. S. Afr. 



p. 197 (1867) ; Sharpe, cd. Layard' s B. S. Afr. pp. 469, 849 (1884) ; 



Shelley, Ibis, 1886, p. 330. 

 Estrelda inelanogenys, Sund. (Efv. K. Vet-AJcad. StocJch. 1850, p. 97 ; 



Layard, B. S. Afr. p. 196 (1867). 

 Coccopygia dufresnii, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii, p. 305 (1890) ; Shelley, 



B. Afr. i, p. 29 (1896). 



Description. Adult male (Swellendam). Above, crown and back 

 of neck grey ; back and wing-coverts olive-colour ; rump and upper 

 tail-coverts scarlet ; tail black ; inner secondaries olive tinged with 

 crimson ; rest of quills dusky, edged with olive ; the greater 

 coverts tinged with crimson ; lores, ear-coverts, sides of face, 

 cheeks, and upper throat black ; sides of neck and under-surface 

 of body dull whitish, tinged with grey on the breast, sides, 

 and flanks, with brownish on the abdomen and under tail-coverts ; 

 under wing-coverts buff; under surface of quills dusky, their inner 

 margins yellowish. 



Iris red ; upper mandible black ; the lower red ; legs and feet 

 dark brown. 



Length 3'80 ; wing 1-75 ; tail 1-50 ; tarsus 0-55 ; culmen 0-35. 



Adult female. Differs from the male in having the face and 

 throat pearl- grey instead of black, and in being smaller. 



Length 3-60; wing 1-90; tail 1-35. 



Distribution. Eastern South Africa ; occurring as an autumnal 



