138 BIRD AECHITECTS 



in Grahamstown. It is olive-green on the upper parts, 

 except the crown of the head, which is grey, the latter being 

 also the colour of the under parts, excepting the centre of 

 the abdomen and under tail-coverts, which are white. 



It inhabits the thick bush and forest regions, ranging 

 from George in the Cape Colony eastwards and northwards. 



It constructs a neat purse- or semi-dome-shaped nest of 

 fibres and fern stems lined externally with moss and in- 

 ternally with vegetable down. It is situated in a low thick 

 bush, and has the leaves in the immediate vicinity of the 

 nest stitched to it with fine fibre-like flax from seed pods, 

 &c., and cobwebs. It lays three pure white eggs. 



This Warbler is sometimes called the Bush-goat on account 

 of the plaintive goat-like call which the bird gives utter- 

 ance to. 



The Crombec {Sylviella rufescens), known to the Boers as 

 the Stomp-stertje (Stump-tail), is ash-grey above and tawny- 

 buff below. Its range is extensive, the bird being found 

 throughout the Cape, to the Transvaal, Zululand, Mashona- 

 land and German South-West Africa. It frequents the 

 mimosa scrub, building a pretty pendent nest of dry stalks 

 and leaves, woven together with cobwebs, and lays two or 

 three white eggs with a ring of brown and purple spots 

 roimd the blunt end. 



The Black-chested Wren- Warbler {Prinia flavicans) is 

 brown above, eyebrow, throat and cheeks white, under 

 surface light yellow, with a dark brown band across the 

 breast. 



It builds a light, artistic, oval-shaped nest of fine grass, 

 beautifully woven, with a domed side entrance near the top, 

 lining it with white vegetable down. The eggs — ^usually 

 three in number — are pale bluish-green in colour, marked 



