THE BIRDS OF HAITI AND THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 405 



{EstHlda melpoda melpoda) is from western Africa, indication 

 that it was probably introduced at the time slave-ships were plying 

 between the West African coast and the West Indies. Though 

 the weaver was not collected until 1920 it is so well established 

 that there can be little doubt that it was introduced many years 

 before, probably dating back to the period of French colonization. 



The following quotations from that diligent historian Moreau de 

 Saint-Mery indicate possibility of its escape from aviaries main- 

 tained at that time. 45 



"A-peu-pres depuis 1783, on a vu s'introduire au Cap, un gout que 

 j'ai deja loue; c'est celui d'avoir de charmantes volieres, oil des 

 oiseaux fournis par le Senegal, la Guyane le Mississipi & meme par la 

 Partie Espagnole de l'Isle, charment 1'oeil & l'oreille. On est frappe 

 surtout de la mutation qu'eprouvent les senegalais qui changent 

 totalement de nuances, sans changer de plumes, & l'homme sensible 

 aime a penser que la vue & le soin de ces timides creatures, doivent 

 inspirer des pensees aussi douces qu'elles." On a later page 46 he 

 writes 



" J'ai vu en 1788, chez M. Le Sage, chirurgien aide-major de l'hos- 

 pital, un cayman, de 11 pieds de long. * * * 



" C'est chez le meme que j'ai eu occasion d'admirer plusieurs fois 

 plus de 200 oiseaux de differentes especes, venant tous de Senegal, 

 lis etaient petits & vetus de robes, tres-belles, & avec des couleurs 

 plutot agreablement nuancees que vives. Les modulations de leurs 

 gosiers flexibles avaient tou jours pour mon oreille un charine nou- 

 veau. Quelques uns d'entreux changeaient de coleur sans changer 

 de plumes." 



In a pleasant climate like that of Haiti a species like this weaver 

 should have had little difficulty in establishing itself if set at freedom. 



The weaver is a stocky bird 155 to 175 mm. long with strong, 

 heavy bill, large, powerful feet, short tail and long wings. The 

 adult males are bright yellow, marked with black on the back and 

 chestnut on the hindneck and breast, with a wash of the latter color 

 on the sides. The head is jet black, the wings dusky edged with olive 

 yellow, and the tail olive green. The female is light yellow beneath 

 becoming whitish on the abdomen, yellowish green on the head, and 

 olive green washed with gray on the back, with the wings and tail 

 as in the male. 



45 Descrip. Part. Franc, lie Saint-Domingue, vol. 1, 1707, p. 300. 

 «Idem, vol. 2, 1798, p. 426. 



