6 
Whydahs (especially the Yellow-backed) and Weavers when nest- 
ing and in full colour, some of the Waxbills, particularly the 
Orange-cheek, and I think that these places are also the haunt of 
the Silverbill, but this is such an unpretentious and retiring little 
bird that I cannot feel sure that I have ever seen one wild, though 
a few are generally to be found in the cages of small birds 
brought in by the native catchers. 
The breeding season of all these birds, in Gambia at any 
rate, is during the rains, from July to October, but many of their 
nests may be seen all the year round, in trees, bushes, grass, or 
reeds, as the case may be, so well-woven from tough grass and so 
firmly fixed in position, that they withstand the violence of the 
fiercest tornado. During the dry season all the Weavers I have 
seen are quite out of colour, but among the Whydahs some in- 
dividuals at least appear to keep the breeding plumage all the 
year round, as indeed they frequently do in captivity. I have 
often seen both Combassous and Paradise Weavers in full colour 
as late as the end of February, though by then .some of the latter 
are without their long tails. The Bishops when out of colour 
gather in immense flocks, which during the dry season haunt the 
dry grass on the swamps or the patches left on the outskirts of 
the old corn fields; if disturbed the flocks rise with a loud whirr 
of many wings, and it is then that one of the numerous Hawks, 
which are always in evidence here, has an opportunity of obtain- 
ing an easy meal. Down he swoops at four or five times the 
speed of the flying swarm and picks out his victims from their 
niid.st, almost before they have realised the presence of a far more 
dangerous foe than the harmless man at whose approach they 
rose. 
I will now proceed with my notes on the different species 
found in Gambia, and hope to give a short account of each, 
though I shall omit any attempt at detailed description of those 
which are so well known as cage-birds. First on the list come 
the Whydahs, five in number, four of which I know well, but 
have as yet never met with the fifth, the Red-collared Whydah, 
though no doubt it does occur here, as it is described from the 
adjoining French Territory of Senegal. 
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