583 
Birds of Southern Cameroon. 
place and gone farther down on the twig. This wreath 
shews how a nest is begun-—in the same manner as that 
described for Ploceus cucullatus (f Ibis/ 1909, p. 45). 
My series of eggs shews a remarkable variation in colour 
and markings ; but in one case only did those in the same 
nest differ. Two eggs (Nos. 284 & 285), one pure white, 
the other speckled, were found in the same nest. Even in 
this case I have reason to believe that they were not laid 
by the same bird; for, though the boy found three eggs in 
the nest, and one got broken, only two very distinct empty 
egg-sheaths were found in the bird’s ovary, shewing that 
she had laid only two eggs. Another hen Ngas must there¬ 
fore have laid an egg in the nest. 
Most of the twenty-nine eggs vary little in size, the average 
measurements being 21 x 14 mm. One very elongate speci¬ 
men (No. 464) was 23 x 14 mm. Two very small eggs 
(Nos. 540 & 541 from one nest) measured, respectively, 
19 X 13'5 and 18 x 13 5 mm. 
[In addition to the types already described (‘ Ibis, 5 1909, 
p. 44), the more recent collections contain a number of 
examples which are uniform pale greenish blue.—W. II. 
O.-G.] 
Nestlings have the inside of the mouth flesh-red-yellowish 
when very young, and the smaller margins of the gape 
white. 
Ploceus ocularius. 
Reich. V. A. iii. p. 45. 
Sitagra ocularia Grant, Trans. Zool. Soc. xix. p. 280. 
Nos. 2770, 3763, 4134. All ? ad. Bitye. 
Nos. 3578, 4168, 4277. All J ad. Bitye. 
Nos. 3804, 4262. Young. Bitye. 
All of my specimens have the crown a little greener and the 
pure yellow of the forehead less extended than in specimens 
of P. ocularius from Ruwenzori and South Africa ; otherwise 
they are similar. They are not Ploceus brachypterus. The 
young birds have no black about the eyes, and the bills are 
of a pale yellowish-horn-colour. This species is not very 
rare, and is found in bikotok or in grassy places. 
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