542 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



color, but the male of Jacaii.i lias a ln'autiful velvety |iiirple and black plumajje, the 

 licak being partly white ; while the same sex in Episeo]>u8 is of a ]iale lilue color, with 

 white spots on the wings. In their habits they botli resemble the common house 

 sparrow of Eurojje, which does not exist in South America, its place being in some 

 measure filled by these familiar tanagers. They are just as lively, restless, l)old, and 

 wary ; tlieir notes are very similar, chirping and inharmonious, and they seem to be 

 almost as fond of the neighborhood of man. They do not, however, build their nests 

 on houses." 



When intci'iiolatitiL; the weaver-birds and the American orioles, or hang-nests, 

 here, between the tanagers and the Fringillida?, .as this family is generally accejHed, 

 we do not wish to be understood as considering the finches to be " two families dis- 

 tant" from the tanagers. The relationship between all these four f.imilies is so inti- 

 mate, and they interdigitate in so many ]>laees, that it is impossible to give an entirely 

 satisfactory arrangement .-it present. It seems as if the Gordian knot can only be 

 solved by cutting the families asunder, and then re-arranging them, or by entirely 

 discarding the present family distinction, an<l regarding tiieiii all as members of one 

 family. 



The weaver-birds, or pLocEin.K, arc quite as characteristic of the PaL-eotropical 

 countries as are tl>e tanagers of the Xeotropical. They are diiefly African, however, 

 for it is estimated that not less than four fifths of all the known species — somewhat 

 over two hundred and fifty — inhabit the dark continent, the rest being scattered 

 over the Oriental and Australian regions ; none are foun<l in the Palrearctic, in New 

 Zealand, or in America. Tlie weavers are sparrow-like or finch-like birds, usually 

 with conical, thick, and heavy bills, but with ten visible primaries. This is their 

 chief, not to say their only, distinction from the sparrows. There are three well- 

 maiked types within the family, the true, weaver-birds, the vida-tliiclies, often called 

 wicldw-finches, an<I the small so-called w.'ixbiiis. 



The first mentioned of these, as the iiMiiie inclicatcs, are well known for their 

 extraordinary nest-building. They are generally str(>ngly-t>uilt birds of a sparrow's 

 size. The females and the males in autumnal plumage are mostly plain brownish 

 birds with dusky streaks and sjiots, but towards the breeding season the males assume 

 a new, often liighly :ind brightly colored dress. Two ty])ical species are figured in 

 the accoinjianyiug cut, but too little is shown of the nest to give us an idea of some 

 of these remarkable structures. I would like, however, to call the attention of the 

 reader to Fig. 124, on p.age 2(54 of this volume. On the tree in the background are 

 visible two curious roof-shaped structures, round which a number of birds are seen 

 flying. These re])resent the wonderful straw roofs which the sociable weavers (J'hile- 

 tcfriis xociits) of South Africa, build. A colony of birds unite in the construction of 

 this roof, which is often so heavy that the strong branches of Acacia giruffa give 

 way iiniler the weight. From the under side of the i-oof then each ])air susjiends 

 its own individual nest, which is woven of dry grass. The nests, often twenty to 

 forty under the same roof, with the openings downwards, are placed close together 

 and firmly cDnnected. This structure protects the nests most effectively against 

 injiMT, for not only does the rain run off the sloping roof, but any enemy who wants 

 to get at the eggs or young ones is apt to slide down its slippery sides. Other species 

 build beautiful pendent retort-shajied nests which they suspend from the utmost 

 twigs of some tree overhanging a river, or from the fromls of some lofty palm, with 

 the view of securing the offspring against danger from climbing mammals or snakes, 



