THE BIRDS OF LIBERIA 743 
Hypargos schlegeli (Sharpe) 
Pytelia schlegeli Sharpe, Ibis, ser. 2, vol. 6, p. 482, pl. 14, 1870: Fanti. 
Length 4 inches; olive green above, the upper tail-coverts and throat orange to orange red; 
eye region, cheeks and chin red; below black, with numerous small white spots, the middle of 
belly olive green with similar round spots; wings dark blackish brown edged with olive green; 
tail with the inner vanes of the feathers blackish brown, the outer vanes and all of the middle pair 
olive green; bill black with red tip and edges. The female has the eye region, cheeks and chin 
yellowish brown, the lower surfaces dull gray washed with olive. Sierra Leone to the Congo, east 
to the Lakes. 
Birds of this genus are always rare. They frequent thickets of weeds and 
low growth and are solitary in habit. Biittikofer records but a single bird, 
a female taken at Robertport, December 14, in brushwood on an old _ plan- 
tation, and I saw one for a brief glimpse in a similar situation on the edge of a 
field at Paiata, but it very quickly darted back into cover. 
Lagnosticta polionota Shelley. Fire Finch; ‘‘Thunder-bird” (Kemp) 
Lagnosticta polionota Shelley, Ibis, ser. 3, vol. 3, p. 141, 1873: Cape-Coast Castle. 
Length 4.25 inches; male with wings and back olive, back of head and crown olive, washed with 
rosy; rump and under side bright crimson except center of belly and under tail-coverts which are 
black; a few small white dots on sides of breast. Female similar but duller below, pinkish with 
buff belly. 
Avoiding the forested area, this species seems also to be absent from the 
coast region of Liberia, for Biittikofer did not meet with it in the Cape Mount 
region or elsewhere, nor did Lowe find it on the south coast. In eastern Liberia 
we saw it at Gbanga a number of times and succeeded in securing a pair, the 
first record for the country. It occurs usually in pairs though once we saw three 
together, haunting the edges of rice-fields or weed tangles. In walking along the 
hard-trodden paths through these fields or threading the footpaths through 
weed jungles, one would occasionally come upon a pair feeding on the open 
ground, but they would fly up instantly and dash into the nearest weed-patch; 
again one would mark down the spot where a bird had alighted and walk up to 
find it gone. They reminded one strongly of Lincoln’s Finch in their shyness 
and secretive ways. Kemp has recorded similar behavior in this species as 
found in Sierra Leone and mentions hearing a weak plaintive song. Those we 
saw in September were not heard to sing. 
Estrilda melpoda (Vieillot). Orange-cheeked Waxbill 
Fringilla melpoda Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. Sci. Nat., vol. 12, p. 177, 1817: West Coast of Africa. 
Small, 4 inches long; male with crown gray, back and wings brownish olive, rump scarlet, 
tail black; cheeks orange red; sides of head and body, under tail-coverts and breast pale bluish 
gray; chin and middle of abdomen whiter, the belly with a wash of yellowish; bill red. Female 
slightly duller. Senegambia to Congo. 
This little bird is a common species in open places, around the edges of rice- 
fields or other cultivated ground, frequenting weed growth or short grass to feed 
on the seeds. We often saw it in small flocks in such places or along the larger 
cleared paths. Biittikofer records three albinos with red cheeks and upper tail- 
