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ABOUT THE WHYDAH. 
However, our readers can take the jeu de mots for what it is worth, 
and be thankful that a ray of humour illuminates the dreary waste of 
scientific nomenclature. 
The whydahs belong to the weaver-bird family, but in their habits 
are very like the buntings. In their love-season they live together in 
pairs, though some species are described as polygamous. The males, 
according to the nature of their attire, modify their behaviour. When 
dressed in all their nuptial bravery, with long drooping tail-feathers, 
silken and glossy, they execute the most remarkable movements. 
At rest on a branch, they simply allow their caudal appendage to 
hang undisturbed; but when walking they are forced to lift it up, 
and for this purpose they rest it slightly against any neighbouring 
object. Necessarily it has an influence on their flight, which it helps 
to slacken considerably. The bird seems to drag it through the air 
laboriously, and when the wind is strong can scarcely fly at all. But 
when the " moulting" process is over, the whydah moves with rapidity, 
flies like the finch and the sparrow, alternately raising and lowering 
his wings in such a manner as to describe in the air an undulating 
line. He lives upon seeds and insects. 
THE BUPHAGA. 
Insect-feeding birds are numerous in Africa, as in all tropical 
regions, and are among the best friends of both man and beast. As, 
for example, the Buphaga Africana, which alights on the backs of 
the cattle, and relieves them from the parasites that infest their hides. 
His long claws and elastic tail enable him to cling to every part of the 
beast, and pursue a thorough investigation. He is also a frequent com- 
panion of the rhinoceros, to which, besides being of service in ridding 
him of his insect- toi'turers, be acts the part of a sentinel. Mr. Andersson 
relates that on many occasions the watchful bird prevented him from 
securing a shot at the huge pachyderm. The moment he suspects 
danger he rises almost vertically into the air, uttering sharp, shrill 
notes that never fail to attract the attention of the rhinoceros ; and 
the latter, without delaying to ascertain the cause, seeks immediate 
safety in headlong flight. Mr. Gordon Gumming avers that the bird 
