THE WEAVER BIRDS 1541 



between the stalks of two or three reeds. The eggs are very pale green, thickly 

 marked with dark greenish-brown blotches and spots. This bishop bird generally 

 lives in small companies in the open fields, and feeds chiefly upon grass seeds. The 

 adult male has the head and upper parts rich velvety black, the rump and shoulders 

 brilliant yellow, and the wings brown. 



The birds of this genus, Philcsterus, which are likewise exclusively 

 3C1 * e African, differ from the bishop birds in having the plumage similar 



Birds throughout the year, and no frill round the neck, while they are dis- 

 tinguished from several allied forms by having the nostrils clearly ex- 

 posed and placed well in front of the plumes at the base of the beak, and by the 

 small size of the bastard primary. Among the four representatives of the genus the 

 best known is the common sociable weaver bird (P. socius), of the interior of South 

 Africa. This species congregates in large flocks, many pairs incubating their eggs 

 under the same roof, which is composed of whole cartloads of grass piled on a branch 

 of some camel' s-thorn tree in one enormous mass of an irregular umbrella shape, look- 

 ing like a miniature haystack and almost solid, but with the under surface (which 

 is nearly flat) honeycombed all over with little cavities, which serve not only as 

 places for incubation, but also as a refuge against rain and wind. Dr. Guillemard 

 remarks that the nests of the sociable weaver birds probably last for a great number 

 of years. They are constantly being repaired by their active little inhabitants. It 

 is curious that even the initiated eye is constantly being deceived by these peculiar 

 dome-topped structures, since at a distance they closely resemble native huts. The 

 nesting chambers themselves are warmly lined with feathers. The sociable weaver 

 bird subsists chiefly upon seeds, and often feeds in company with many individuals 

 of its own kind. The eggs are drab in ground color, closely speckled with purple 

 gray. The male birds are somewhat pugnacious, frequently indulging in fights 

 with their rivals. The plumage of the adult males is drab brown above, edged with 

 gray. The chin is black and the under parts are pale isabelline brown, the flanks 

 being varied with black, edged with whitish. 



With these birds we reach a group of genera in which the nostrils 

 Cut-Throat / 



Weaver are more or ^ ess completely hidden by the nasal plumes, and which are 



Finches specially distinguished by the tail being somewhat elongated and its 

 feathers narrow, as well as by the pointed wing and the swollen and 

 rounded beak, in which the cutting edge of the upper mandible is festooned near the 

 base. The genus Amadina includes three African species, one (A. fasriata) having 

 the throat marked by a crimson band extending to the ear coverts. This species 

 ranges across Central and Northern Africa, and is represented in South Africa by 

 another (A. erythrocephala) , in which the whole of the head and throat are red. 



It would be impossible in the limits of our space to point out how 

 The Munias ,. . , . ,. . . . r ,, . ,,. , 



the munias are distinguished from all their allies, but it may be men- 

 tioned that the central tail feathers are produced and pointed, while the whole tail is 

 wedge-shaped. They possess a powerful, swollen, and rounded beak, which is most 

 strongly developed in the common Java sparrow. The wings are moderately long, 

 and the tail is graduated and rounded at the extremity. Some thirty species of 

 munias are known, ranging through the Oriental region to New Guinea and Timor, 

 while several species also inhabit the African continent; Sharpe's munia being a 



