268 
Annals of the Transvaal Museum 
Estrilda] the tail is as long, or almost as long as the wing, and the claws 
are short and stout ; its nest is made in the deserted nest of some weaver, 
or is a domed structure placed in a dense thicket. I propose to erect this 
species to generic rank with the name of Glaucestrilda, type E. incana 
Sund. E. angolensis (L.) is referable to the genus Uraeginthus Cab., char- 
acterised by its pale blue breast, long and pointed tail and the second 
primary pointed at the tip. E. granatina (L.) is referable to the genus 
Granatina Sharpe, characterised by having a different style of colour pattern, 
the tail still longer than in Uraeginthus, but the second primary normal 
in shape. The nests of the two last genera are said to be globular structures 
of dry grass stems, with an open entrance at the side, placed in thorn 
trees at no great height from the ground. E. dufresnei (Vieillot) is referable 
to the genus Coccopygia Rchb., characterised by its peculiar style of 
coloration, the bill black above and white or yellowish below; in the 
proportionate length of wing and tail it does not differ much from Man- 
dingoa. Its nest is like that of Estrilda in shape and composition, but is 
placed amongst the matted twigs of trees. Spermestes nigriceps Cassin has 
been removed to the genus Lepidopygia Rchb. by Oberholser {l.c. p. 882), 
with which I concur. 
Cryptospiza reichenowi (Hartlaub) has been taken at Vumba by P. A. 
Sheppard, to whom the Transvaal Museum is indebted for specimens. 
Coccopygia kilimensis Sharpe was recorded from Gazaland by Swyn- 
nerton (This, 1908, p. 20). Shelley (Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. xiii. 75, 1903) has 
given South African specimens of Neisna flava the specific name of clarkei, 
which we should use in the status of a subspecies. 
In regard to the weavers, the material at my disposal does not repre- 
sent sufficient of the species found beyond our limits to arrange the groups 
in their fuU natural order; but, nevertheless, the South African species fall 
into quite natural groups which I shall presently discuss. The fact that two 
species may look extraordinarily alike, males having black heads for 
example, such as “ Ploceus” tahatali and “ Ploceus” cahanisi, does not 
necessarily mean that they are allied, so that arranging the groups on this 
character is entirely artificial and is not even “ convenient,” since we should 
be able to identify the females as well as the males. Anaplectes Rchb., type 
A. ruhviceps (Sundevall), has been recognised by all authorities as distinct. 
It has the bill yellow to orange in colour, long and slightly curved on the 
culmen, the nostrils well in front of the frontal feathers; the outermost 
primary is less than a third of the length of the second, but longer than the 
culmen; tail about three-fifths of the length of the wing; tarsi and toes 
rather short and stout ; colour bright scarlet, in males in breeding plumage, 
over the head, neck, upper back and breast. Its nest is composed of dry 
sticks, woven into a rough structure with a downwardly projecting 
entrance, the upper part of the structure with broad leaves interwoven 
to form a heavy covering impervious to rain. The eggs are blue-green. Its 
habitat is the forest of the tropics. Sycohrotus Cab., type S. gregalis Lcht., 
should also have been kept quite apart from the others, but Reichenow has 
lumped it with “Ploceus,” of which it is recognised as a subgenus only. 
It is characterised by its relatively rounded bill, the culmen curved from 
the base to tip, nostrils well below the line of the culmen, the cutting edge 
of the bill whitish, but the rest dark horn blue; legs and feet short and 
