214 



Giwnf Nigerian x Yclhw Transi'nnl Weavprs. 



The Breeding of the Giant Nigerian Yellow 

 and Transvaal Weavers. 



By W. Siioee-Baily. 



The most intei'esting event in my aviaries, so far this 

 seatcn, is the successful rearing of two young hybrid Weavers. 

 The icock came from Nigeria and is aboui; the size of an English 

 Thrush. The general body colour is deep yellow; the back 

 and wings greenish yellow; barred with a slightly .-deeper 

 colour; front of the face dusky; iris of eye white. The hen 

 came from the Transvaal, and is the size of a Saffron Finch, 

 and very much resembles the cock Saffron Finch in colour. 

 Neither bird has had any seasonal change of colour since I have 

 had them. The nest, of considerable size, was hung from 



the roof of the aviary, and 

 was Tiuilt by the cock, 

 pampas grass being the 

 material used, into which 

 he wove small sprigs 

 l)lucked from the various 

 conifers growing in the 

 aviary. The hen lined the 

 nest with feathers, and on 

 examining it when the 

 young had flown, I found 

 it perfectly clean and un- 

 soiled. Two eggs were 

 laid, white, spotted and 

 blotched with purple; the 

 markings being principally 

 at the larger end. In- 

 cubation lasted ten days, 

 and the young were in the 

 nest twenty -one days. For 

 the first ten days the hen 



Baih/. 



_'vs were 



ph„t., hii ir. .s7, 



Nest in which H.vlirid We;i' 

 reared. 



alone fed the young, principally upon what flies she could catch 

 supplemented with the mealworms I supplied, which she would 

 break up. During this period the cock kept vigilant watch 

 over the nest, driving away such large birds as Crested Doves 

 and Fieldfares. During his spare moments he suspended three 



