302 SAVAGE SUDAN 
“parrakeets in miniature.” These latter are silverbills 
[aE dymosyne cantans ), tiny creatures of a freckled mouse- 
grey—plain enough, yet refulgent in the tropic sunlight— 
and with black tails sharply cuneate. Already, at the 
end of February, it was evident that the fancies of 
silverbills lightly turned to thoughts of love, and the 
Silverbills Courting. 
“ A Bride worth Winning.” “ Rejected.” 
wooing was pretty to watch, though hard to portray. 
At this first interview, the date named struck me as 
indicative of their breeding-season ; but I presently found 
that silverbills are deceptive, or at least that I had failed 
sufficiently to gauge the amorous propensities of our little 
friends ; for in the following December not only were they 
feeding full-fledged young but also renewing a vigorous 
courtship at the same time! Thus do silverbills (and, 
with them, a vast proportion of “Ethiopians”) reject 
