PASSERINE. 265 



The young bird is brown above, paler beneath, whitish on the 

 throat and belly ; tail blackish, and a few small white specks 

 on the wings. 



The Red Waxbill occurs throughout the Presidency, but is 

 locally distributed ; it is somewhat rare in the Deccan. It is a 

 permanent resident and breeds during September and October, 

 building a rather large globular nest of grass. The eggs, five or six 

 in number, are dead, glossless, white ovals, measuring 0'55 in 

 length by about 0'43 in breadth. 



Estrelda formosa, Lath. 



705. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. II, p. 361 ; Butler, Guzerat ; 

 Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 496 ; Deccan, Stray Feathers, 

 Vol. IX, p. 416; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India; Ibis, 

 1885, p. 129. 



THE GREEN WAXBILL. 

 Harri Lai, Hin. 



Length, 4 ; wing, 175 ; tail, 1'4. 



Bill waxy-red ; irides pale-brown ; feet plumbeons-brown. 



Above light olive-green ; quills and tail dusky, the former 

 edged with green ; beneath very pale-yellow, somewhat darker 

 on the lo\ver belly and under tail-coverts, and with broad trans- 

 verse dashes of dusky on the flanks and sides of the abdomen. 



The Green Waxbill is common on the Vindhian hills near 

 Mhow, also on the Aravalli Range ; it occurs but rarely in the 

 Deccan, and has not been recorded from Sind. 



It is a permanent resident ; both nest and eggs resemble those 

 of E. amandava, but are somewhat larger. 



SUB-FAMILY, Passerinae. 



Bill stout and strong, somewhat turned, slightly compressed 

 towards the tip ; the culmen broad, convex ; commissure straight ; 

 wings moderate ; the first three primaries about equal, the fourth 

 nearly as long ; tail moderate, nearly square, or very slightly 

 forked ; tarsus moderate ; feet formed both for hopping on the 

 ground and perching ; lateral toes about equal. 



GENUS, Passer, Brisson. 

 The characters are the same as those of the sub-family. 



Passer domesticus, Lin. 



706. P. indicus, Jard. and Selby. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. 

 II, p. 362 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. Ill, p. 496 ; 

 Deccan, Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 416 ; Murray's Vertebrate 

 Zoology of Sind, p. 183 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India ; 

 Ibis, 1885, p. 129. 



THE HOUSE SPARROW. 

 Length, 5^5 to 6 ; expanse, 9 ; wing, 3 ; tail, 2'25. 



