C. S. Webb—A Collector in French Cameroon



and the females of some species are entirely black. Even the young

birds have the black markings, which makes them generically distinct

from other Weavers. They are entirely insectivorous and spend their

lives in the high tree-tops searching for food among the leaves. In

consequence they are difficult to capture alive. The three species which

I obtained were the Crested Malimbus [Malimbus malimbicus), Blue¬

billed Malimbus [M. nitens), and the Black-throated Malimbus [M.

cassini).


The Negro Finches [Nigrita) are another interesting group. They

all subsist on insects and the oily husk of palm-nuts. The Grey-headed

Negro Finch ( Nigrita canicapilla) has the forehead and under parts

black with grey upper parts and black wings with white spots. This

bird is very handsome and is full of character. It also has very pleasant

call-notes and once these are learnt it becomes apparent that these

birds are not at all uncommon, though very inconspicuous in their

natural surroundings. The first pair which I saw flew up from the

ground and I found that they had been feeding on the fleshy husk of

fallen palm-nuts. By setting nets in the surrounding vegetation I

managed to catch them when they returned the following morning.

For a while they have to be given this oily flesh which surrounds the

palm-nut, until they take to insectivorous food, and even then it is

better to mix a little crude palm-oil with it. There is something very

charming about Grey-headed Negro Finches, and I regarded them as

one of the nicest 44 seed-eaters ” I have ever collected.


There is one species of Negro Finch, the Chestnut-breasted [Nigrita

bicolor), which might easily be taken for a Firefinch [Lagonosticta).

It was rather uncommon at Eseka and I only saw a few single specimens.

Negro Finches are not gregarious, and all those I saw were singly or

in pairs.


The third species of Negro Finch which I collected—the White¬

breasted (. Nigrita fusconata) —is a small black and white bird with

graduated tail feathers. Like the others it is very fond of palm-nut husk.


The Cameroon forest contains some fine Sunbirds, the most note¬

worthy being the Superb Sunbird [Cinnyris superbus). Its name is a

very fitting one. This bird can occasionally be seen feeding on banana

and paw-paw flowers in the native plantations in the forest, but it has



