Whydahs. 
tlie i^i'rass. wliere tlie qroiind soon becomes bare and trampled 
down with the jumps, j^yrations and scratching- of tlie birds, was 
first described by the discoverer of the species, in the Ibis of 
1899 (p. 599). This account Shelley s^-ives in full and it is also 
quoted in Bird Noiks. 191 i. p. 301. Indeed so much well- 
deserved attention has this Whydah received in our pages, that 
1 need do no more here than refer my readers to the various 
articles. 
With the account just quoted is given an excellent plain 
plate of the male in full colour, which shows well the cock- 
curved tail and the general look of the bird, while extracts from 
other writers in the Ibis amplify Mr. Jackson's notes. In the 
1914 volume (p. 195). the Editor gave us a full account of the 
habits of tlie l)ird in cai)tivity, of its dance, dancing places etc., 
as seen in the aviary. In 191 5 we have some notes by Mr. Low 
accompanied by photographs (]). 2jH). while in the following 
year Mr. Shore Baily is al)le to recoril the successful breeding of 
the si)ecies in an article illustrated with [)hotos of the bird, the 
nest and eggs. The latter are here described as " greenish 
white, blotched and s])otted with various shades of brown and 
grey." 
The next g'enus I ' robracliva is distinguished from the 
other W'hydalis by the fact that there is no increase, or at least 
no marked increase in the length of the trn'l in the full-plumaged 
males, but like the other Whydahs and many of the Weavers 
the neck feathers elongate and can be erected into a sort of ruff 
during the l)reeding season. The adult males, when in full 
colour, are glossy black with red, orange or yellow shoulder- 
patches. The undress is of tlie usual Whydah and Weaver type, 
brown spotted with darker Ijrown or black, alike in male and 
female, though the adults of the former are always to be dis- 
tinguished f.Sh. iv. 59) by tlie l)right rufous of the under wing- 
coverts, which is retained throughout the year. 
0 
NAT.AL F.\N-TAILED WHYDAH. 
U rohrachya axillaris. H.L. v. 412. 
