Finches. 2 1 5 



Bayas are fond of fruit, particularly of grapes. The 

 BLACK-HEADED, TEXTOR, or CAPMORE WEAVER 

 (Ploceus textor) though sometimes called the " Common 

 Weaver," is not nearly so often imported as the Red- 

 billed or Red-headed Weavers. The RED-BILLED 

 WEAVER BIRD or DEOCH (Ploceus sanguinirostris), 

 another native of Africa, is very well known. It is a 

 light brown bird, striped with black, with a reddish 

 tinge on the breast and lower part of the body. The 

 chin and cheeks are black, but they vary much in 

 colour, the cheeks of some are orange-coloured instead 

 of black. Before the breeding season the head, breast, 

 and lower parts of the body of the full-grown male 

 take on a roseate hue. The young males and hens 

 are mottled throughout with brown and yellowish 

 fawn-colour. They weave long pendent nests, often 

 multiplying these. Some of these birds kept in the 

 Crystal Palace afforded great amusement by their 

 thefts. They were provided with abundant materials 

 for weaving their nests, but they were continually 

 pilfering grass and hay from their neighbours, delight- 

 ing in stolen goods. I have heard of a pair kept in 

 an aviary with some Pigeons, who amused themselves 

 by weaving their legs together while they were sitting 

 still. These birds have been accused of tormenting 

 the little birds in an aviary, by holding them up by the 

 feathers dangling in the air, till they counterfeited death 

 in order to escape ; but the probability is that they 



