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 in 

 * Gen. Hist, of Birds, iii., p. 117. 

 G 



