THE WEAVER ORIOLE. 73 
every successive year. The principal colour of 
the body was yellowish orange, but the wings and 
tail had a blackish ground. The younger bird had 
not the golden brown on the head till the end of 
the second year, which occasioned the excusable 
mistake of supposing it to be a female, as it is one 
of the characteristics of female birds to preserve 
for a long time the marks of youth. The two 
birds were kept in the same cage, and lived at first 
upon the best’terms with one another, the younger 
generally sitting on the highest bar, holding its bill 
close to the other, which it answered by clapping 
its wings, and with a submissive air. 
Having been observed in the spring to interweave 
chickweed into the wirework of their cage, it was 
imagined to be an indication of their desire to nes- 
tle; and accordingly, upon being supplied with fine 
rushes, they built a nest so capacious as to conceal 
one of them entirely. They renewed their labour 
on the following year; but the younger, which had 
now acquired its full plumage, was driven off by 
the other from the nest first begun. Determined,. 
however, not to be idle, it commenced one for itself 
in the opposite corner of the cage. The elder, 
however, did not relish this, and, continuing his per- 
secution, they were separated. They went on 
working at their several buildings; but what was. 
built one day was generally destroyed the next. 
Latham tell us that one of them, “ having by chance 
got a bit of sewing silk, wove it among the wires,. 
which being observed, more was put into the cage,. 
when the bird interlaced the whole, but very con- 
fusedly, so as to hinder the greater part of one side 
of the cage from being seen through: it was found 
to prefer green and yellow to any other colour.’’* 
It seems difficult to conceive in what manner a 
bird could ever be able to interweave materials im 
* Gen. Hist. ee iil, p. 117, 
