( 36 ) 



unfinished for some unknown reason, though some no doubt are used 

 by the cocks to roost in. These nests are composed of thin shreds 

 of grass, bamboo or palm leaves, woven together and have a long 

 fuDuel-shaped entrance ; this weaving is so wondei ful in texture 

 that it is impossib'e to tear it. Each nest, finished or unfinished, 

 has patches of dried mud attached to the inside ; whether put there 

 to balance the nest, or for the bird to sharpen its bill upon, is 

 unknown ; natives declare they are for securing fireflies for illumi- 

 nating purposes. Weaver-birds always breed in colonies generally 

 suspending their nests at a good height from the ground ; when 

 they are low down they will be found on inspection to be hanging 

 over water. They lay two or three pure white eggs. 



Bayas are ingenious little birds, and as thev are easily fed, are 

 often kept in cages, and taught all manner of tricks such as firing 

 cannon and telling fortunes. 



Burmese name — Sa-goung-kwet. 



(No. 721. Ploceus atrigula.) 



THE STRIATED WEAVER BIRD 



Is very like the last, but has its breast boldly streaked with black. 

 It weaves a nest similar in shape to the last, though with a shorter 

 funnel, and suspends it from the tops of two or three pieces of kine- 

 grass in swampy localities. 



(No. 723. P. manyar.) 



THE GOLDEN WEAVER BIRD. 



During the breeding season the male is the handsomest of the 

 whole family, being a rich gold with black cheeks and throat, the 

 female is very like the hen of the common house-sparrow. 



They nest in small communities in thorny trees or patches of 

 kine -grass. The first nests I found were in a garden near Rangoon, 

 where they had taken possession of a clump of hibiscus bushes, 

 stripping them of leaves and flowers leaving only the bare stems. 

 These nests are quite different to those . of the Baya birds, being 

 made of coarser materials, woven together into a cylindrical dome- 

 shaped structure with an opening near the top. Their eggs are 

 also different, being of all shades of grey and drab, some spotted 

 and others uniform in colour. 



They are found in the Southern parts of the Province in increasing 

 numbers fiom Mandalay southwards to Rangoon, 



Burmese name — Sa-iva. 

 (No. 724. Ploceella javanensis.) 



