180 FRINGILLID^ ALABIO 



of under surface white tinged with buff ; axillaries and under wing- 

 coverts chestnut ; edge of wing black ; under surface of quills black. 



Iris brown ; bill grey-brown, the upper mandible darker ; legs 

 and feet slate-grey. 



Length 4-60 ; wing 2-50 ; tail 1-85 ; tarsus 0-55 ; culmen 0-35. 



Adult female. Above, chestnut-brown streaked with dusky ; 

 rump and upper tail-coverts paler chestnut, lesser and middle wing- 

 coverts pale chestnut ; rest of wing dusky-brown, the inner 

 secondaries edged with rufous ; tail-feathers chestnut with a 

 central streak of black towards their ends, most marked on the 

 central feathers ; crown grey streaked with dusky ; lores, eyebrow 

 and spot below eye white ; sides of face and ear-coverts grey, a 

 white spot in the centre of the ear-coverts ; below white, tinged 

 with brown on the breast, sides, flanks, thighs and under tail- 

 coverts ; axillaries and under wing-coverts pale rufous ; edge of 

 wing black ; under surface of quills dusky. 



Length 4-60 ; wing 2-60 ; tail 1-95. 



Young. Eesemble the female, but are somewhat more tawny 

 in colour, the upper surface streaked, the throat, breast and sides 

 spotted with dusky. 



Distribution. Cape Colony and Great Namaqua Land ; rather 

 local in its distribution, but found in small flocks near Cape Town, 

 Malmesbury, Knysna, Port Elizabeth, and elsewhere in the Colony 

 being perhaps most abundant in the Karroo. In Great Namaqua 

 Land Andersson met with this bird in small flocks. 



Habits. These pretty little Finches are of gentle and confiding 

 habits and when feeding allow a very close approach without 

 showing any symptoms of alarm. They are fond of perching on 

 low bushes, but obtain the greater part of their food, consisting of 

 grass and other small seeds, from the ground, where they often 

 intermingle with the flocks of Waxbills and other small Weaver 

 Finches. The males frequently utter their low but sweet song 

 from the top of a bush, chiefly in the spring, but according to 

 Dr. Russ it is, in caged birds, continued the whole year. He 

 describes it as being soft, flute-like but low-pitched. In Great 

 Namaqua Land Andersson found the Mountain Canary always in 

 the neighbourhood of water. Eickard remarks: "I fancy this is 

 the species much prized by the lads in Port Elizabeth, who called 

 it the ' Namaqua ; ' it only appears at long intervals, but in con- 

 siderable numbers when it does occur ; it sings well and becomes 

 very tame." 



