Birds of Southern Kamerun. 65 
swallowed. Sometimes tiny shells and grains of sand were 
found ! 
Many of the nests of Sunbirds found hanging on bushes 
probably belong to this species. Some of them have been 
identified by having the bird caught in them; but the birds 
thus caught have always been females, and it is assumed 
that the plain-coloured females corresponding in measure¬ 
ments with the males of this species really belong to it. 
These nests are constructed, like those of other Sunbirds 
already described, of stringy fibres more or less mixed with 
dry leaves and lichens, and lined with fine white pappus- 
down. Though the entrance to the nest is very small 
(20 mm. in diameter, or just fitting the thumb) the inside is 
roomy for so small a bird. The nests with sitting birds 
were all found in the month of April, in different years. 
Though this was partly a mere accidental coincidence, since 
breeding birds were killed in several other months, yet 
doubtless it shews a preference for that month for breeding, 
when rains, but not the hard pouring rains, refresh the 
vegetation after the drought. The number of eggs of this 
Sunbird was never more than two, and they varied little 
in size; length 14-15 mm., breadth 10*5-11 mm. 
[Five eggs are of a pointed oval form and are more or less 
glossy. The ground-colour is pale bluish-white, with a 
strongly marked zone round the larger end, consisting either 
of separate spots or of confluent clouds and longitudinal 
streaky markings of dark grey, with a few minute blackish 
surface-markings.—O.-G.] 
(I wish here to mention a number of specimens of tiny 
Sunbirds which I have collected, in size and in the bill 
corresponding to this species, but with plain olivaceous 
plumage. They have been omitted from Dr. Sharpens paper. 
They might be thought to be females or young males of 
C. chloropygius ; but among them were many males with the 
testes large—sometimes extremely large. And some that 
were moulting shewed the new plumage that was just 
growing to be of the same colour as the old. These males 
in plain plumage appear to be very numerous. 
ser, ix.— vol. hi. 
F 
