240 Mr. ^\. L. Sclatcr on Birds cuUedcd 



country. It frequents long grass and bushes in the vicinity 

 of native lands^ often occurring in flocks of considera]:)le 

 numbers, Avhich do no inconsiderable amount of damage to 

 cro])s of millet and oats. The flight is straight and rather fast, 

 even with males in breeding-dress. I did not discover a 

 nest. Apparently the breeding-dress is not assumed till the 

 second summer, as a male shot in December is in full winter 

 dress, and another shot in jNIarch was in worn plumage and 

 liad evidently passed through the breeding-season in a parti- 

 coloured dress. 



The soft parts are: — 



(J , in summer. I rides liazel ; bill and legs and toes black. 



^ , in winter, and ad. ? . Bill, legs and toes horny 

 brown.] 



77. V]DUA PRINCIPALIS. 



Z. Sibudeni. Oct., Nov. (9) ; Tv. Wakkerstroom, Mch., 



A|)l. (4) ; Legogot, Apl., May (3) ; Woodbush, Nov., Jan. 

 (:2) ; Pietersbnrg, Feb. (1); P. Eeira, Dec. (2); Tamba- 

 rara, Apl. (2). 



The males moult in March ; one collected at Wakker- 

 stroom on March 4 has only one long tail-feather left, though 

 still keeping the body-plumage intact. Three other males 

 from the same place, dated March 10 and 23 and April 11, 

 shew the gradual clianoe of tlie male into the winter dress, 

 which closely resembles that of the female. 



[" Hlegwane^' of Zulus. 



The Pin-tailed Widow-bird was noted commonly in Natal 

 and Zululand, the South-Eastern, Eastern, and Norlh- 

 Eastern Transvaal, and the Beira and Goronguza districts of 

 the Portuguese country. It usually frequents the vicinity 

 of native lands and gardens, where it is found in small 

 flocks of about half a dozen, comprising both sexes. The 

 call is " zwee-zwee '^ quickly uttered, and the flight is slow 

 and jerky, especially that of males in breeding-dress; the 

 food consists principally of the seed^s of various grasses and 

 plants. 



The soft parts are : — Irides hazel ; bill bright red ; legs 

 and toes daik brown.] 



