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SAVAGE SUDAN 



"parrakeets in miniature." These latter are silverbills 

 (sEdymosyne cantans\ tiny creatures of a freckled mouse- 

 grey plain enough, yet refulgent in the tropic sunlight 

 and with black tails sharply cuneate. Already, at the 

 end of February, it was evident that the fancies of 

 silverbills lightly turned to thoughts of love, and the 



SILVERBILLS COURTING. 

 "A Bride worth Winning." 



" Rejected. 



wooing was pretty to watch, though hard to portray. 

 At this first interview, the date named struck me as 

 indicative of their breeding-season ; but I presently found 

 that silverbills are deceptive, or at least that I had failed 

 sufficiently to gauge the amorous propensities of our little 

 friends ; for in the following December not only were they 

 feeding full-fledged young but also renewing a vigorous 

 courtship at the same time! Thus do silverbills (and, 

 with them, a vast proportion of "Ethiopians") reject 



