these beautiful birds are greatly influenced by their change of plumage; the long tail necessitating a slow and stately motion, especially when upon the wing, and often causing its possessor to be driven hither and thither at the pleasure of the wind; when perched, the sweeping tail hangs straight down, but is borne aloft when on the ground; no sooner, however, has the moulting season gone by than the Widow Bird appears to be quite another being, hopping and flying over the country with the same activity that characterises the Finches. Most species of this group seek their food principally upon the ground, generally subsisting upon grass-seeds and various kinds of insects: they pass a considerable portion of the breeding season among the branches, as affording the most convenient situation for the bestowal of their streaming tails, whilst some are found almost exclusively inhabiting the reedy parts of the country, where they also carry on the work of incubation. The breeding season is in the spring time of the African continent. In Soudan the eggs are laid about the month of August, and in Abyssinia some months earlier. The nest closely resembles those of the Weavers. The Widow Bird is rarely brought alive to Europe, and though of a pleasing disposition, and well qualified to live in a cage, is almost entirely destitute of song. The first members of this group to which we shall call attention have been named * * * * * The MOURNING WIDOWS (_Coliuspasser_). In these birds the beak is long, compressed at its sides, slightly bent towards the tip, and appears to rise at a right angle from the forehead; the wings are of moderate length, the first quill much shorter than the four succeeding ones; the feathers of the tail are considerably broader at their extremities than at the base, the middle ones being the longest. The plumage is black, with red or yellow upon the head, breast, nape, and shoulders. THE YELLOW-SHOULDERED MOURNING WIDOW.