53 
Birds of Southern Kamerun. 
with the little prisoner in it, besides two eggs. This nest was 
of the water-bottle shape already described under Spermestes 
poensis, but was composed entirely of fine grass-tops, with 
no Usnea. The girl found it set in the forks of a shrub 
at about the height of her shoulders from the ground. 
Another nest at Efulen, which I have good reason to think 
belonged to Estrilda atricapilla , was very curious in that it 
was double. Above was a water-bottle-shaped nest like that 
just described, and it was empty. Below was an addition 
pressed against the main nest like a small growing onion 
flattened against a larger. The addition had an entrance 
of its own, and contained five little white eggs. It seemed 
to be used for breeding-purposes, while the main nest was 
used merely for a sleeping-place, probably by several birds. 
Different reasons make me think that in this and other 
Spermestince several of the little hen birds lay in the same 
nest. The five eggs just mentioned were all fresh, and if one 
bird had laid them all the first would already be somewhat 
incubated. The nests are extremely large for such small 
birds, and would probably be built by several in partnership. 
Five and six (note the six young of Spermestes poensis above) 
is an unusually large number to be the brood of one small 
bird in this country. 
The two eggs brought by the little girl mentioned above 
measured 13 x 10 mm. The five eggs from the double nest 
were just like them, but a trifle longer—14-14*5 mm. long 
by 10-10*5 broad. 
[Five eggs are of a rather long and perfectly oval form, 
pure white and almost devoid of gloss.—O.-G.] 
1539. Vidua serena. [Bendenga-Osesang.] 
Sharpe, Ibis, 1908, p. 343. 
Though found wherever I have collected much, this Widow- 
bird is nowhere abundant. Even the breeding males have 
not been seen very often, and of course the others attract 
very little attention. Whenever I have seen the plain birds 
they have been mingled in the flocks of little Estrildce. 
The breeding males fly with much jerking of their long 
