Birds of Southern Cameroon. 587 



l)himage and its ratlicr smaller size it is exactly like a female 

 (not nearly like one, as is No. 3784) ; yet it was a breeding 

 male ! 



The K6-es6ng is a most lovable bird, in spite o£ its some- 

 Mliat ungainly appearance and big bill. I have already 

 described its pretty song and its admirably woven nests. 

 The latter are made of fine shreds torn from the leaves of 

 the big grass Fanicum phcatum, the folds o£ the ribbed or 

 ])licate leaves of which are seized by the bird one at a time, 

 all at the same height, and torn upwards to the tip, leaving 

 the grass-blade neatly and regularly shcdded. About the 

 end of July, a pair of K6-es6ng began to build in some tall 

 grass near my house. About the 1st of September I heard 

 the singing of the male again, after it had been silent for 

 some time, and that afternoon Avent to look at the nest. 

 On peering among the cane-like grass-stems I saw a pretty 

 sight. On the roof of their house were perched three young 

 birds, nearly fledged, and the chestnut head of the father 

 could be seen not far oft', as he assisted at the debut of his 

 off"spring. Forty-one days had then elapsed since the birds 

 commenced building. 



Additional eggs are exactly like those previously de- 

 scribed. 



Spermosptza guttata. [Edumvin.] (Text-fig. 16, A, 

 p. 590.) 



Sharpe, Ibis, 1908, p. 347. 



The small white spots which characterise the plumage 

 of the lower breast and abdomen of the female are not 

 found in young female birds, which have those parts of a 

 uniform slate-grey washed with brownish. In several of 

 my specimens, feathers having spots are mixed in varying 

 numbers \\\i\\ the uniformly coloured ones, and it can be 

 seen in some cases that the spotted ones are new and the 

 others old. 



A very young male (No. 4032) with the plumage only 

 half-grown had the parts which are red in the adult dull 

 dark brown. This young bird had the margin of the gape 



