EAST AFRICAN BlRl)S. 845 



Malaconotus poliocephalus blanchoti Steph. 



Chestnut-breasted Thick-billed Shrike. One of these beautiful 

 Shrikes was seen sitting on its nest in the fork of a rubber 

 sapling which had sprung from the stump of a felled rubber-tree. 

 l"'he nest was at a height of 18 feet from the ground, and was 

 slightly hidden by a few withei^ed yellow leaves, but all the 

 surrounding trees in the plantation were bai'e of foliage. The 

 eggs, of which there were three in the nest, were slightly 

 larger than a,n English Blackbird's, and were thickly freckled 

 with brown and faint purple on a white ground. One contained 

 a chirping chick, already breaking from its shell, and this I left ; 

 the other two were unfertile and easily blown (Morogoro, 

 2. xi. 17). 



EUROCEPHALUS RUPPELLI ReicllW. 



The White-headed Shrike was found building a very beautiful 

 and solid nest on the tip of a branch of mimosa-thorn quite 

 12 feet from the trunk and perhaps 9 feet from the ground 

 (Kongwa, 25. iv. 17). 



Crateropus kirki Sharpe. 



A nest of this species was taken on a mimosa bough about 

 10 feet from the ground. It held three eggs of Kii'k's Babbling 

 Thrush and one slightly larger egg of a Cuckoo {Coccystes cafer); 

 all the eggs were uniform greenish-blue (Lumbo, 22. x. 18). A 

 cock-bird was found sitting on thi-ee eggs (Morogoro, 23.iii. 17). 



Pycnonotus barbaxus micrus Oberhols. 



The Yellow-vented Bulbul breeds during the greater and lesser 

 rains, if not all the year round. Many nests were found at 

 Morogoro on the following dates : — Two young ones in a. nest 

 in boughs of a flamboyant (8. xii. 17 j; two eggs and three eggs 

 in a similar situation (14. xii. 17) ; young in a nest in a bunch 

 of bananas in palm (16. i. 18); two eggs (26.iii. 17); and one 

 egg (11. iv. 17). 



After a night of heavy rain, I witnessed a somewhat unusual 

 sight. Not 15 yards from wiiere I was standing, termites 

 were flying from their nest-holes. No less than seven species of 

 birds were engaged in catching them, of which five were seed 

 or fruit eaters. The birds were two Weavers {Lagonosticta sene- 

 gala subsp.), two Waxbills ( U. niassensis), one Finch {S. icterus 

 barbaiics), one Sparrow (P. g. suahelicus), two Pied Wagtails 

 (M. vidua), emd two of these Bulbuls, whilst, to add to the colour- 

 effect, a dainty Scarlet-breasted Sun-bird (C. s. incestimaia) 

 hovered above and captured the termites on the wing (Morogoro, 

 10. iv. 18). 



Pycnoxotus tricolor pallidus Roberts. 



Very abundant at Lumbo. Five nests, each containing two 

 eggs, were found on 28. x. 18. 



