

It is very plentiful near plantations, usually in small groups of from four to six individuals, in 

 which the males are by far the most numerous. 



" They have no special breeding-season ; for I have found young birds in every month of the 

 year ; but I find in my journal, under the date of August 30th, that during that month I pro- 

 cured nineteen males but not a single female ; so I suppose that at that season all the hens were 

 breeding. 



" I collected three nests, all of which were very similar. They are of an oval form, and are 

 suspended from one or more twigs, at an elevation of from four to twelve feet from the ground, 

 and generally well concealed amongst the foliage. They were constructed of the hairy appen- 

 dages that are found on the bark of palm-trees, rather loosely woven together and lined with the 

 soft filaments of flowers, cotton, and other fine vegetable materials, with the opening on the 

 side most exposed to the light. I never found any of the eggs, but was brought one by a native 

 boy supposed to belong to this species : it was a nearly perfect oval, pure white, and with a very 

 thin shell. 



" It appears to me that there is only one in each brood ; for I never saw the parents feed 

 more than a single young bird. It takes a long time before the young bird becomes independent ; 

 for I have seen the old birds feeding their offspring after it has been perfectly able to fly, and 

 when it was already beginning to assume its adult male plumage. 



"The song of the male resembles that of our Hedge-Sparrow, added to which are some 

 notes similar to those of the Wren : it is, in fact, somewhat between the two songs, a little fuller 

 and in a lower key, while the call-note is like that of the Redstart. By imitating this note they 

 can be brought very close, and can be easily captured, as they are naturally very tame. 



" They feed chiefly upon insects, but will also eat small berries and fruit, and are very partial 

 to sipping the juice emitted by the banana-flower before the fruit has set. 



" I kept many alive, and fed them upon Papaya, Banana, and bread soaked in sugar and 

 water, with occasionally ants' eggs. Two males which I tried to bring to Europe died from cold 

 after having lived in confinement more than three months. 



" The natives call them ' Siwie-barbeiro ' or ' Siwie bocadonge,' and the Portuguese ' Besha- 

 flore ' (flower-kissers)." 



There is very little additional information that we can add to the accurate observations 

 made by Mr. Keulemans. Dr. Dohrn writes that the young males are " very much like old 

 females ; by and by the yellow feathers of the throat and breast are changed into grey, and soon 

 after begin to show blue metallic spots. Having observed these different stages of growth at the 

 same time, I think that the hatching and breeding of these birds must be very irregular. 

 According to the assertion of the natives they keep their nests during the whole year." He 

 further adds : — " I doubt if this species has been found in Angola, mistakes in localities in these 

 parts being very common ; for cruiser and merchant vessels usually touch at several places of the 

 coast and the adjacent islands, and, if special care be not taken, collections from different places 

 are easily mixed up together." 



The adult male here figured and described was collected by Mr. Keulemans, and is now in 

 the Marquis of Tweeddale's collection ; and the female was kindly lent to me by Dr. Finsch, and 

 is now in the Bremen Museum. 



