Mv Weavers — Pasi and Present. 213 



Possibly tlie cocks, which outinimbered the hens by four to one, 

 were the cause. When I restock I shall try and get true pairs 

 only. Possibly better luck will then attend me. 



WHYDAHS. — The Whydah family were represented by 

 six varieties: — Paradise (Sti ganura paradisca) Pintail (Vidua 

 principalis ). Golden-backed ( Pcnihctriopsis macrura). White- 

 winged (Coliostruthus albonotata J, Red-shouldered (CoUopas- 

 scr axillaris), and Jackson's (Dcpranoplcctcs jacksoni). 



This little group I am not going to say more about now, 

 but will reserve it for another article in the near future. 



The staple food used in the aviary was white millet, also 

 Indian millet, canary, hemp, and charlock; a small dish of sop 

 made of stale crust or cake, Nestle's milk, and warm water was 

 much liked. Ants' eggs and wasps' grubs, wdien procurable, 

 were a great relish, either fresh or dried, and also smooth cater- 

 pillars. If, however, you wanted to win the hearts of your 

 little feathered friends, then nothing will do it quicker than to 

 offer them mealworms or spiders. Ripe fruit, such as plums, 

 oranges or bananas were freely taken, also given food, such as 

 would be given to our British birds or canaries. 



Do not feed your birds from one large seed tray; place 

 half a dozen in different parts of the aviary, so as to enable 

 your birds to feed without crowding. It is when they all try 

 to feed at once that fighting occurs, especially with the Weavers, 

 Imt, taken as a whole, the character usually given them of being 

 spiteful I consider a libel ; at nesting time all birds are apt to 

 be spiteful to others. During the number of years I have 

 kept Whydahs I haye only had two or three birds which proved 

 a nuisance in the aviary, and, as a few canaries were flying low 

 with them and only one accident occurred, 1 think this is enough 

 proof; mischievous they may be and are, but then so is the Zebra 

 Finch. 



If you think of keeping a few Weavers, start with pairs; 

 forget about the bad name they have been given, and judge for 

 yourself as to their character. I shall be much surprised if you 

 do not find they compare very favourably with other orders of 

 birds in this respect. 



