66 
Mr. G. L. Bates— Field-Notes on the 
Either the first plumage of Cinnyris chloropygius continues 
for a long time after the bird has begun to breed, and there is 
at least one moult before the changing moult; or there exists 
another species of the same size having a plain olivaceous 
plumage throughout life.) 
1914. Parus funereus. 
Pentheres funereus Sharpe, Ibis, 1908, p. 337. 
The two specimens obtained were all that I have ever seen. 
The first was shot on a little tree at the back of my house at 
Efulen, where it was in the act of pulling to pieces a large 
caterpillar. In the stomach were found bits of the cater¬ 
pillar, just swallowed. When this bird was freshly killed, 
the nostrils were seen to have a raised ring round them, as 
in Indicator ; when the specimen dries, this is not apparent. 
The other example was obtained at the Ja, shot by a boy, 
who said that there were two together. 
1943. Pholidornis rushite. 
Sharpe, Ibis, 1908, p. 321. 
These pretty little creatures, which would stand a good 
chance of a prize for the smallest of birds, are generally seen, 
three or four together, flitting about in the tree-tops, catching 
insects, or rather picking them off the twigs; for the insects 
most frequently found in their stomachs were the Cocci 
that adhere to the bark of twigs. A favourite foraging- 
place with them seemed to be the parasitic plants, like 
mistletoe, found on the branches of trees. When feeding 
they were heard to make a scarcely audible little twitter. 
One of these little birds was brought to me alive by a boy 
who said that he had caught it in his hands. The way in 
which he came to be able to catch it was evident when I 
examined the bird, for its wing-quills were found to be stuck 
together by the strong, viscid, yellow threads of a spider’s 
web. This is not the first small bird which I have known 
to be caught by becoming entangled in the web of a certain 
kind of large blaok-and-yellow spiders. 
