4



C. S. Webb—A Collector in French Cameroon



which I caught were all obtained in a palm-nut grove, which was thick

with bushes and coarse grasses, and all within a radius of 100 yards.

They are one of the most difficult birds to observe owing to their shy

and retiring habits, and there must be few people who have approached

these birds close enough to see their white spots with the naked eye.

The slightest disturbance is sufficient to frighten them to another

thick clump of vegetation, where they conceal themselves. In these

situations they feed unseen on fallen seeds. They are usually solitary

or in pairs, but by baiting places with millet in thickets for a period

several would be found feeding together, although any disturbance would

cause them to split up again. By crawling slowly on my hands and

knees on a path which I had worn through the vegetation I approached

several times within a few yards of these Waxbills feeding on a baited

patch. They display great nervousness at all times and seem to be

constantly in expectation of an attack by some natural enemy. They

are very pugnacious little birds and cannot be caged together at random.

After a lot of trials pairs may be found to suit each other and then there

is no further trouble, but they seem to have individual ideas as to what

is a suitable companion. It does not take many seconds when a pair

is put together to prove whether it is “ love at first sight ” or war.

They are caught by putting a wire netting cage shaped like a fish-trap

over a patch which has been baited.


The Gaboon Blue-billed Weavers (Spermophaga hasmatina pustulata),

although also very shy, are nevertheless frequently seen flying from

one thick patch of vegetation to another, usually near water. Their

strong bills enable them to crack very hard seeds without difficulty,

but they must devour quite a lot of seed which has become softened

through lying on the wet earth. In a country with such a big rainfall

and a humid atmosphere it could hardly be otherwise. My experience

has been that hard millet alone causes enteritis in these birds and they

soon develop a craving for mealworms, which they will not eat when

first caught. I have no evidence that they eat anything but seed (and

sand) in their wild state, so their taste for mealworms is probably

brought about by the lack of soft “ milky ” seeds. If a regular supply

of mealworms is given in conjunction with millet they keep perfectly

healthy. I do not know if this applies to Blue-billed Weavers which



