402 Canaries and Cage-Birds. 



exception of scarlet shoulders, bordered by a stripe of white. The bushy tail consists of 

 numerous feathers, each fifteen to sixteen inches long, and curved after the manner of a 

 domestic cock. I have seen this magnificent bird in various zoological gardens, but never met 

 with one in colour at any dealer's. It is more than probable that the scientific travellers, who 

 assert that this Whydah-bird is a clever weaver and constructs an artistic nest, are mistaken. 

 The males of all the Weaver-birds are the architects of their nests, and it is incomprehensible 

 how a bird with such an enormous tail could build a nest after the manner of Weaver-birds. 

 It may well be that this Whydah-bird inhabits the disused nests of Weaver-birds, and adapts 

 them to his own purposes. The enormous tail becomes a source of peril to its wearer. I 

 saw a glorious stuffed specimen, of which the owner told me he had picked up the bird alive 

 at Natal after a heavy shower of rain. The poor bird could not fly with his tail thoroughly 

 wet. A strong wind also impedes the flight of a male Long-tailed Weaver-bird. Would it 

 be very surprising if many full-grown male birds in full colour became the easy prey of 

 Carnivora ? 



Owing to the Zulu war and other causes it seems probable that our knowledge of 

 the South African fauna will now be considerably added to, and that the certain improvement 

 of the means of communication with the interior of the South African colony will cause the 

 shipment of larger numbers of hitherto rare birds. 



YELLOW-BACKED WHYDAH-BIRD {Coliopasser mar.rurus). West Africa. (Illustrated.) 

 Vidtia macroiira (Riiss), Loxia macrciira, Loxia longicauda, Fringilla chrysoptera, Fringilla flavoptera, Penlhdria macroitia. 

 English dealers' name — Yellow-backed Whydah-bird. German name— "Gelbriickige Widafink," or " Trauerwida." 

 French name — " Veuve a dos d'or," or " Veuve chrysoptere." 



About the size of a full-grown, well-fed' sparrow, the Yellow-backed Whydah-bird is a 

 strong-bodied and strong-billed bird, whose gentle manners in the society of smaller birds had 

 better be doubted. Instead of describing the beautiful velvet-black plumage of the male, I 

 may refer the reader to the illustration. The female is pale-grey on the back ; wings and 

 tail are dark brown. On the shoulders and back each feather has a very narrow yellow edge ; 

 the breast is dull white. The beak of the female is reddish-brown, while that of the male is 

 black. The Yellow-backed Whydah-bird is until now rather rare, and not often met with in 

 private collections. 



ULTRAMARINE OR STEEL FINCH {Fringilla uliramarina), Africa. (Illustrated.) 

 Vidua nikns (Russ), Fringilla niiens, Fringilla uliramarina, Loxigilla nitens, Amadina nitens, Hypochera niiens, Hypochera 

 uliramarina, Fringilla funerea, Tiaris fimerea. English dealers' name — Combasou. German name— " Stahlblaue 

 Widafink." French name — "Combasou." 



Few beholders of the Ultramarine Finch would suppose this very small and short-tailed 

 bluish-black bird to belong to the family of Whydah-birds ; and no one who happens to see a 

 cage with fifty or a hundred of these birds in a dealer's shop would suppose that a little foreign 

 Finch, obtainable for a few shillings, happens not to be included in the list of birds living at 

 the London Zoological Gardens. 



The Ultramarine Finch, or Combasou, is about the size of the St. Helena Waxbill, and, 

 like the other Whydah-birds, he scratches with his feet in the sand, and the male changes 

 the colour of his plumage completely when the breeding season arrives. On the other hand, 

 his tail is short, like that of the common Finches. The male when out of colour, and the 

 female, are pale brown, with reddish-brown marks over the back, and stripes over the head, 



