PLOCEID^ COLIOPASSEB 141 



Orange Free State, the Transvaal, Portuguese East Africa and 

 Benguela. Dr. Sharpe also records it as having been met with as 

 far north as the river Bogonota, in Masailand, an adult male having 

 been shot there by Mr. F. J. Jackson on July 20, 1890 ; and " a few 

 seen in a swamp amongst the grass two camps after Doreta on our 

 downward march " (Ibis, 1891, p. 244). 



Habits. This beautiful Widow Bird, remarkable for the extra- 

 ordinary size of the tail of the male during the breeding season, is, 

 in many parts of Upper Natal, Zululand and the Southern Trans- 

 vaal, a very common summer resident on the borders of vleis and 

 swamps as well as on the open veldt, wherever there is a sufficient 

 growth of grass to afford it concealment and a shelter for its nest. 

 On bright sunny days the long-tailed males are fond of sitting on 

 the taller heads of grass, or on some prominent bush or weed. 

 They frequently fly from bush to bush with gracefully arched tail, 

 apparently not much incommoded by its great size ; but in the 

 early morning when the grass is still wet with dew, or after a 

 shower of rain, not a bird will be visible ; they are then hiding 

 under the grass, so hampered by their wet and heavy tails as to be 

 unable to rise. At such times numbers are caught by the Zulu 

 boys, who prize the long tail-feathers as head-dresses. In autumn 

 both old and young collect in flocks of thousands and frequently 

 leave the neighbourhood of their breeding place. At this season, 

 until the following spring, they roost in dense reed-beds or among 

 thick bushes. During autumn and winter they feed largely upon 

 grass- seeds, millet and grain, in summer to a considerable extent on 

 various insects. The young are fed on small caterpillars, grubs and 

 termites. As soon as the males begin to assume their long tails in 

 spring the flocks break up, and each male, accompanied by from ten 

 to fifteen females, repairs to some suitable breeding place. As soon 

 as they have fixed on a locality the females separate and each one 

 proceeds to construct a nest in a thick tuft of grass. The cock 

 meanwhile keeps a look-out from some point of vantage and spends 

 most of his time in driving off other cocks who attempt to trespass 

 on the territory occupied by his harem. He takes no part in the 

 construction of any of the nests. Should he see a man or beast of 

 prey approaching he flies round with a warning cry, upon which the 

 hens leave their nests, creep under the grass for a short distance, 

 then rise and fly off until danger is past. The nest is an oval 

 domed structure, with a side entrance, roughly woven out of fine 

 grass lined with the flowering tops of grass or reeds. It is generally 



