2;i8 Breeding of Hybrid Crimson-crowned Weaver. 



this time to have any inclination for nest building, although he 

 has since built several of a somewhat rough description. 



1 M'as away on holiday the first two weeks of August, 

 and lost the chance of seeing what was going on during that 

 time, but on imy return I found that both the WJiydah hens 

 were incubating, the Red-collared in a highly woven and 

 rather deep cup-shaped nest, attached to the stems of some 

 tall horse-radish, well concealed. The nest was tilted to one 

 iside, so that it was protected >to a certain extent from rain, 

 hut I Tmade kioubly sure by having a sheet of iron placed on 

 top of the .netting. The nest was a totally ditYerent structure, 

 from tht one in which she reared young last year, that being 

 a very loosely constructed dome-shaped aftair. The two 

 eggs were bluish green, thickly speckled with brown, with a 

 ring of denser spots at the larger end. From the situation of 

 the nest, which was in what might be called the sphere lof 

 influence of the Crimson-crowned Weaver cock, I had my 

 doubts from the first as to whether the young Red-collar 

 had had anything to do with its construction, more especially 

 as he would have had to cross the territory of his bitter 

 enemy, the Red-shouldered Whydah, a thing he was very loth 

 to do. On 'testing the eggs of both Whydahs a week after 

 my return, I tiound that each set of eggs was fertile, and the 

 question now arose as to what live-food I should be able 

 to give parents in the event of the eggs hatching out. Wasp 

 grubs were unobtainable in our neighbourhood, a very curious 

 fhing, as there had been plenty of cjueen wasps in evidence 

 in the spring, and young wasps are generally far too plentiful 

 with us in the fruit season. Last year my Inan dug out three 

 or four nests every day during August and the beginning of 

 September: this year he hasn't found one. Mealworms it 

 was impossible to get from the dealers, so I decided to try 

 gentles, althougli' I had heard a bad report of these from, 

 •vfeirious quarters. On scattering some of these rather dis- 

 gusting grubs on the feeding table, I saw the Crimson- 

 crowned Weaver carrying one to the Red-collared Whydah 

 on the nest, thus proving that he was her husband, for the 

 time being at any rate. A few days later two young ones 

 were hatched, I cannot give the exact i)criod of incubation, but 



