30 Bearing of hybrid Hyphantomis cucullatus x H. spilonotus.


large in the aviary leading the ordinary life of a happy young

weaver-bird.


I sometimes fancy I catch a reminiscent look in the eyes of

his parents as they survey him, but Squeaks treats them both with

sublime indifference, as well he may. As I said before, he is quite

the dearest little bird that anyone could possess and his affection

for me is almost ludicrous. He knows my voice (and I believe my

step) and if I approach anywhere near the aviary he clings to the

wire shrieking a welcome.


His voice, by the way, is not the least amusing thing about

Squeaks at present. It is just losing its infantile quality and taking

on that peculiar, rasping note, characteristic of the weavers. He

retires by himself into a quiet spot and solemnly tries what he can da

vocally. The result is weird in the extreme and appears to astonish

even himself. It resembles more than anything the noise of a very

small, rusty and obstinate key being turned in an equally rusty and

obstinate lock.


One of his charming, if somewhat embarassing tricks, is to

perch on my head, and, firmly bracing both feet, tug furiously at a

piece of my hair, with which he desires instantly to begin nest¬

building, for he has the weaving instinct very strongly developed and

even before he could eat seed would seize on any little bit of wool

or grass and try to weave it into loops. My hair, being fair, strikes

him I presume, as a rich find of dried grass ready, so to speak, to

his beak.


I hope I have not made this account too long; perhaps, in

conclusion, I ought just to describe the personal appearance of my

little bird, but on second thoughts will leave it to my husband who


is better at that sort of thing than 1.


* * *


[The above hybrid resembles the young of II. cucullatus.

It is, I think, a cock, and should it survive may show some variations

on assuming adult plumage. Until this appears 1 should not like to

assert too positively that the hen bird was II. spilonotus. 1 am as

positive however as one can be in the difficult matter of identifying

the hen, and, secondly, the more difficult task of assigning to her a

particular nest in a colony perhaps of fifteen others. M\ six weaver



