xxx TAILS AND WINGS AS NUPTIAL LIVERY 373 



Colies have a bad reputation among the settlers, 

 because they steal ripe fruit. The plumage of the cock 

 and hen are almost identical. The colies dart about in 

 flocks of six, eight, or ten. The Masai use the skin of 

 the mouse-bird to decorate their heads. 



A Shrike (Lanius humeralis), very common around Nairobi ; 

 it is very fond of sitting on a prominent branch of a dry, 

 leafless, prickly acacia. In the vicinity of the railway it 

 prefers to perch on a telegraph wire. This shrike has the 

 same habits as the English butcher bird and keeps a larder. 



Shrikes are sure to attract attention. The Scarlet- 

 bellied Bush-Shrike is common in the thorn-orchards of 

 the Sudan ; it has a flute-like note, usually uttered 

 from a thorn bush. The black and white shrike, like 

 our butcher bird, keeps a larder. 



