“78 GARDEN AND AVIARY BIRDS. 
which had been brown, now becomes black fading again 
when the winter plumage is assumed. 
In Bengal and Burma, extending east to Java, is 
found another Weaver-bird which, except for being 
usually larger, is almost indistinguishable from the true 
Baya, that is, the hens and winter-plumaged cocks; the 
cock of this Eastern Baya (Ploceus atrigula) never dons 
such a bright wedding-garment as the typical Indian bird 
and is thus easily distinguishable at the breeding sea- 
son. The only yellow he shows is on the crown; his 
throat is a smoky grey; and the rest of his plumage 
remains very sparrowy, except that some individuals, no 
-doubt with a strain of the more aristocratic Baya blood, 
show a few yellow feathers on the breast. 
As to their habits, the two birds may be treated 
together. They are mainly seed-eaters, but probably 
feed their young on insects. They are always gregarious, 
even breeding in company, and their nests are the most 
perfect examples of bird architecture. They are made of 
grass or palm-fibre, very strongly woven together, and 
are inshape like a bulb suspended above by a short cord, 
-and ending below in a long tube. The nest is of course 
begun from above with the cord, and across the lower 
part of the bulb, inside, runs a partition, which divides 
the spout from the chamber or pocket in which lie the 
eggs and young. The excellence of the workmanship 
is most remarkable, but the end of the spout is always 
left frayed out and untidy, so as to give less foothold to 
an enemy. The bird itself enters the nest on the wing, 
shooting up the spout or tube. These nests cannot” 
