58 
The Month's At rivals. 
colour sufficiently well to describe it, but in shape lie closely resembled the 
one whose photo appears in this month's Bird Notes. He was just com- 
mencing to sing and I had no difficulty in recognising the notes of the St. 
Helena Seedeater; the song was remarkably loud and clear. 
I had a pair of these Seedeaters build in my aviary in Port Klizalielh 
a few years ago. The nest, which was built about the beginning of October 
was a very neat structure, composed chieflv of fine dry grass and was built 
in some drj' heather fixed at the back of the aviary. As the aviary was very 
crowded at the time, I removed the pair with their nest to a smaller one, 
but this quite unsettled them, and the hen, after laying two eggs on the 
ground, gave up all ideas of nesting. 
Unfortunately these birds escaped shortly afterwards, so I was unable 
to give them an opportunity of breeding, under more favourable conditions, 
the following season. 
In the Colony they are known by the name of " Geel-saysie," but are 
often confused with Serinus icterus. In the neighbourhood of Port Eliza- 
beth they are most plentiful amongst the scrubby bush growing on the 
sand-hills near the beach. I found a nest early in December last, built in a 
fork of a low bush about three feet from the ground, close to the sea-shore. 
I discovered the nest from seeing the birds carrying nesting material in that 
direction and found that it was not quite completed. H. E. Br.iss. 
^be flDontb's Bnivals. 
Mr. F. C. Tliorpe has recent'.y imported some Godmau Tauagers {Euphoitia godmani). 
This is one of the races of the well-known Violet Taiiager {Euphonia violacea), and closely 
resembles it in ontward appearance, thongh it is much smaller. Those recently imported 
are not quite up to the standard measurements of this species but I think the identification 
is correct. It may be useful to distinguish between four species of Euphonia which resem- 
ble one another in colouring. The smallest is the little Dwarf Tanager (Euphonia minuta) — 
a very pigmy among Tanagers. a pair of which may be seen in the new Bird-house at the 
Zoological Gardens ; under tail-coverts white. Next in point of size comes the Godman. A 
little larger and with wide and heavy mandibles is the Thick-billed Tanager (E laniitosiiis), 
also to be .seen in the Bird-house. T.astly, the common E. violacea, which needs no descrip- 
tion. Mr. Beebe met with the Godman Tanager in Mexico and from his charming book 
(" Two Bird-lovers in Mexico ") I quote the following :" Not far from camp were several 
groves of wide-branching wild fig-trees. Th.ese were the grandest trees in this part of 
Mexico, branching almost from the ground and stretching out their vast mass of foliage 
on all sides. Some of them measure fully ten feet through near the base. Their fruit is 
devoured by cattle, deer and birds, though in this locality it was not yet ripe Here we 
found the little Godman Euphonia in abundance— four inches of yellow and violet ; the 
male with his bright yellow cap, breast and under parts, and his mate of a sombre greenish. 
The voice of the Euphonia is out of all proportion to his size— a loud but slow and hesitating 
phe-Hi ! phe-iii ! " I may add that the note of the Godman appears to me to be identical 
with that o( E. violacea. W. E. T. 
