NOTABLE SOUTH AFRICAN BIRDS 68 



starling (Juida leucogaster) and Burchell's {Jnida 

 anstralis) are good examples. 



Weaver-birds and finches there are of forty-six 

 species. Some, as the yellow fink weaver {Hyplian- 

 tornis capensis), yellow reed finch {Pyromdana capen- 

 sis), and the scarlet reed finch {Ploceus oryx), are of 

 extremely handsome colouring, The white-browed 

 weaver-bird (Flocejoasser mahali) sings occasionally 

 during the rainy season and very beautifully. But 

 the chief interest among these birds lies in their 

 wonderful nests — some hung dependent from a single 

 slender swaying branch overhanging a river or 

 watercourse ; some beautifully fastened to two or 

 three reeds ; some built among spreading trees. All 

 are marvels of patient and ingenious work. The 

 large, hollow, grass-woven nests are perfect examples 

 of the most fairy-like basket-work. How, one asks 

 oneself, can it be done ? The well-known social 

 weaver-bird (Phiktcerus socius), a small brownish 

 species, which builds a huge, rick-like nest of grass 

 among the branches of the giraffe-acacia tree, was 

 exceedingly abundant in the forests round Setlagoli, 

 British Bechuanaland. I saw a good deal of their 

 interesting colonies, in which order and good feeling 

 seem to prevail. The huge nest is umbrella-like in 

 form, flat underneath, and pierced with many holes, 

 in which these feathered republicans make their 

 nests. 



