Birds of Southern Cameroon. ■ 529 



"^riie young birds, which are partly feathered, have no 

 eliestnut whatever in tlieir plumage, but bear some resem- 

 blance to the adults. The throat and chest, however, ai'e 

 white, as well as the rest of the under side, and above they 

 are of a dull greyish-black. 



Another nest like the one described above was brought in 

 with a sitting female (No. 3083) caught on the nest. The 

 bird when held with a string tied to its foot made a snapping 

 noise with its bill. Two eggs that were in the nest measure 

 18 X 12 and 175 x 12-5 mm. 



[They are of a rather long oval sliape and somewhat glossy. 

 The ground-colour is dull greenish-white, with a heavily 

 blotched and spotted zone of umber-brown and dark grey 

 round the larger end and with a few small scattered markings 

 over the rest of the shell. — O.-G.] 



Erythrocercus maccalli, 



Sharpe, Ibis, 190-1, p. 628 ; 1907, p. 453. 



This tiny forest bird does not feed singly, as other Fly- 

 catchers do, but in little flocks, sometimes by themselves, 

 sometimes in company with birds of other kinds in an 

 ejak. They continually make an excited twittering in a fine 

 insect-like tone of voice, which sometimes reminded rne of 

 a brood of very young chickens. They are never still for a 

 second, but when on a twig continually turn themselves and 

 spread their tails in the manner of Elininin loug'icauda. 

 They search for insects among the foliage, and only once 

 have I noticed them pursuing their prey in the air. 



This species was al)undant about my camj) at Assobam. 



The departure from the usual custom of Flycatchers 

 extends also to the nidiHcation of this species, judging 

 irom a nest that was brought by my boy with two nestlings 

 in it, and a breeding male Erythrocercus maccallii, which he 

 had shot " at the nest." This nest looked almost like that 

 of a Cisticola, being suspended from two small twigs and 

 some of their leaves, to which it was fastened with cobwebs 

 stuck on (not setvn as the nests of Cisticola and Prinia) ; 

 it was composed of dry leaves with a little down inside, 



