Birds of Gazaland, Southern Rhodesia. 285 
reference to its ery or habits, and I cannot trust my memory 
at this distance of time. 
111. Contus striatus. Speckled Mouse-bird. 
This Coly is very abundant, going about, except during 
the breeding-season, in flocks of six, eight, or more indi- 
viduals. They are inveterate orchard-thieves, attacking more 
especially the guava-crop, and, in their case, there are no 
extenuating circumstances as with the Bulbuls; out of a 
number of stomachs examined I have in no case found any- 
thing but the remains of fruit, wild or cultivated. I have 
never seen a nest of this species with more than three eggs 
(some have contained only two, the females, shot on 
leaving the nest, having no very advanced eggs in their 
ovaries), and both the whites and natives, whom I have 
consulted on this point, agree in stating that three is the full 
number of the clutch. The nests which have come under 
my observation were frequently, but by no means invariably, 
formed of green material, and were placed at from five to 
fifteen feet from the ground in a fork, in a bunch of twigs, 
or on ahorizontal branch (supporting twigs being present) of 
a “Gombati” (Hrythrina sp.) or other low tree, and once in 
the centre of a tangled thicket of C/ematis—usually near 
water. ‘Two nests now before me represent fairly well the 
two types referred to above. Both are loose and untidy 
structures with an outside diameter, exclusive of projecting 
twigs, of 5 inches, and a cup-diameter of 3: the latter is 
2 inches deep. The first nest consists almost entirely of 
green twigs of wild asparagus—a very favourite material,— 
those forming the lining being almost stripped of their 
leaves ; a very few small dry grass-stems are woven into the 
general material, and into the bottom of the cup are worked 
the remains of two green leaves of a common mallow-like 
plant, much torn and perforated by the bird’s beak or claws. 
The second nest is similar in its general construction, but is 
composed entirely of dry grasses (chiefly in the lining) and 
old dry weeds with many of the ieaves still attached. The 
hen bird sits close, sometimes requiring the bough to be 
