Half-Masked, Golden, and Spot-Winged Weavers. 3 



My third failure occurred late in September, when 

 insect life was getting scarce and the nights were cold. This 

 was with an unknown Weaver hen, that I have called the 

 Spot-winged Weaver (Perhaps our Editor can give us its true 

 name). This bird very closely resembles a Napoleon or 

 Taha hen, but is about twice the size. It is, however, rather 

 warmer in colour on the back than are P. afra and P . taha, 

 and it has two distinct lines of white spots across the wing 

 coverts. These are plainly shown in the photo. I got this 

 bird some time ago from Air. Ycalland, as a cock, and he 

 informed mc that several had sceJi it but ha'd been unable 

 to name it. Possibly all mistook the bird for a male out of 

 colour. 



In the middle of September I saw one of my cock 

 Tahas paying the bird a good deal of attention, and from this 

 I imagined that my ideas as to sex must be wrong. Sure 

 enough by the 1 7th of the month she, had constructed a 

 dome-shaped nest in some wild convolvulus, and had laid 

 two eggs therein, which were white, lightly marked with faint 

 red spots, large editions in fact of the Napoleon Weavers. 

 She sat very steadily, the cock taking no notice of her what- 

 ever. On the 1st October a young one was hatched, I had 

 removed one of the eggs for iny collection. The hen fed 

 steadily for five or six days, like all the other Weavers prin- 

 cipally upon mealworms, which unfortunately, at this time, were 

 hard to get. Whether I was too meagre with the supply, 

 or whether my photographic efforts were too much for her I 

 can't say, but on October 7th, I found the nest empty and 

 my hopes of breeding an interesting hybrid dashed to the 

 ti;round. 



My Malabar Mynahs. 



Bv Weslkv T. Page, F.Z.S., Etc. 



Before I sp<'ak of \w\ present pair 1 had better de- 

 scribe their plumage, and give a few notes of them in their 

 native haunts. 



Ailtili MtiL- : Above ;i^h\ ->;icy, sulTiist-il with losy-Iiiown <i;i ilu- ii[)|)f.'r 

 1)111 k win^-< uvcris bl;i<ki>li grey; nights blaik, (•dgccl witli :i purplish 



