WEAVERS. 



151 



CHAPTER XII. 



WEAVERS (Ploceidce}. 



WAXBILLS (Estrildince). 



This sub-family was erected by Captain Shelley to 

 contain those Weaving-finches which poissess no distinct 

 winter plumage, and was intended to embrace the whole 

 of the Waxbills, Grassfinches, and Mannikins. Un- 

 happily there is one Waxbill the Indian Amaduvade, 

 or Avadavat 'which possesses a very well denned -winter 

 plumage. I think, therefore, while adapting the sub- 

 family, it would be better to restrict it to the Waxbills, 

 and define it as containing long slender Finches with 

 tapering cone-shaped beaks ; the males when courting 

 pointing their beaks 1 straight upwards to the sky ; the 

 Grassfimches and Mannikins I would distinguish as 

 MuniincK. 



DTJFRESNE'S WAXBILL (Coccopygia dufresnii). 



Entire top of head and nape leaden grey ; mantle 

 yellowish, olive, indistinctly barred with dull greyish ; 

 lower back and upper tail-coverts orange -vermilion to 

 bright tawny ; wing smoky blackish, the feathers, espe- 

 cially the secondaries, externally edged with olive ; 

 central tail-feathers black, the others smoky brown, 

 paler next to shafts and -partly fringed with whitish ; 

 sides of head from just above eye, including cheeks, ear- 

 coverts, chin, and throat, jet black ; bordered behind 

 from sides of neck across lower throat with white 

 which shades off into sordid pale grey behind, the 

 whole breast and flanks being of this colour; abdomen, 

 thighs, and under tail-coverts pale huffish, brighter just 

 behind the breast ; upper mandible black, lower dim- 

 son ; .feet black ; irides bright red. Female without 

 black on head, which is leaden grey, fading to white on 

 chin and throat. Hab., S. Africa from the Cape to 

 the Zambesi. 



According to Capt. Shelley (" Birds of Africa," Vol. 

 IV., (Part 1, pp. 234-5), "Mr! Atmore says that it is 

 common at George, wherever there is cultivation ; it is 

 restless in its habits and migratory, appearing in 

 autumn." 



Mr. Stark says (" Birds of South Africa," Vol. I., 

 p. 108) : " In Natal this pretty little species is, when 

 not breeding, usually met with in small parties of ten 

 or twelve, feeding on the ground on grass-seeds. When 

 searching for food they keep close together, and con- 

 stantly utter a sharp, chirping call-note. If disturbed 

 they rise simultaneously with a. prolonged 'chirrup' 

 and fly for a short distance to settle again on the 

 ground. This Waxbill breeds in Natal not uncom- 

 monly, but not, so far as I have observed, near the 

 coast. Not far from Howick, at a height of about 

 3,000 feet I have met with their nests in some numbers. 

 Unlike many of the Waxbills, they build in tall bushes 

 and young trees, at a height of from six to ten feet. 

 The nests are rough-looking, oval structures, with an 

 entrance hole on one side, constructed of fine dry grass. 

 The flowering ends of the grass being woven together, 

 the stiff stalks are left projecting in all directions. 

 The interior is lined with grass tops, down, and 

 feathers. The eggs are very small, pure white in 

 colour, and four or five in number. When first hatched 

 the young are fed on small caterpillars." 



Hagenbeck. of Hamburg, first received this bird in 

 1869, and in 1874 both Hagenbeck and Jamrach received 

 it. Dr. Russ obtained two males from the former 

 dealer in that year ; later again he succeeded in 

 securing two pairs, but he says that they were diseased 

 when he received them and soon died ; this appears 



to be frequently the case with this lovely little bird, 

 which when first imported is very delicate, and as it 

 is by no means cheap, I have not been tempted to 

 purchase it. Of late years it has been imported by 

 Mr. Hamlyn and others. It has been exhibited at the 

 Zoological Gardens of London for many years. I shall 

 not forget the indignation of the late Mr. Abrahams, 

 on the occasion of its first appearance at a Crystal 

 Palace Show, to find that this bird, which at that _time 

 was a very great rarity, had been passed over with a 

 v.h.c. " on account of its perfect condition," the judge 

 said, while in the same class the males of two widely 

 different Weavers (one in winter plumage) had been 

 awarded first prize as a true pair. He gave that judge 

 a very uncomfortable half-hour; -so much so that I 

 believe he never again ventured to- judge foreign birds. 

 I was sorry for him, too. for he was a good fellow. 

 Well, both the judge and his censor have passed away, 

 and the owner of that Waxbill only suffered as all of 

 us have done who have ventured our birds on the show- 

 bench. 



Dr. Rus describes the Black-throated Waxbill 

 (Lagonosticta nigricollis], but I cannot discover that 

 it has ever been imported. 



MASKED FIREFINCH (Lagonosticta larvata}. 



Slaty-grey above ; hind neck washed with vinaceous 

 red ; lower back, upper tail -co verts and margins of tail- 

 feathers crimson'; tail otherwise black; wings more 

 dusky than back, quills pale smoke-brown with ashy 

 white margins ; sides of head, chin, and throat black ; 

 breast vinous red, flanks marked with black-edged 

 white spots; centre of breast, abdomen, thighs, vent, 

 and under tail-coverts dull black; under wing-coverts 

 whitish, varied with vinous and grey ; beak and feet 

 slate grey ; irides dusky brown. Female not dif- 

 ferentiated. Hab., North-east Africa. 



All that Captain Shelley tells us about the life of this 

 Waxbill is that Mr. Kuschel describes the egg as white 

 and measuring 0.56 by 0.43. 



The late Mr. Erskine Allon had this rare species in 

 his birdroom, and appears to have considered it rather 

 less delicate than most of the other Firefinches ; he 

 gave the same trivial name to the following species, 

 but mentioned both scientific names ; otherwise, in spite 

 of the fact that he certainly possessed many rare birds, 

 one might have doubted whether L. larvata was actually 

 one of them. 



VINACEOTJS FIREFINCH (Lagonosticta vinacea). 



Vinous red above, brighter and deeper on upper tail- 

 coverts and outer edges of tail-feathers ; tail otherwise 

 dull black; primaries, their coverts and inner webs of 

 secondaries dark brown ; crown leaden-grey with a few 

 black feathers at base of forehead ; sides of head, chin, 

 and upper throat black ; lower throat and breast vinous 

 pink grey at base of feathers; centre of abdomen, 

 thighs, and under tail-coverts dull black; some small 

 white spots on flanks ; under wing-coverts white ; inner 

 edges of quills whitish; beak and feet leaden grey; 

 irides brown. Female not differentiated. Hab., Sene- 

 gambia. 



Nothing appears to have been recorded respecting the 

 wild life of this species. 



Mr. Allon had this in his birdroom, and a few ex- 

 amples have been imported of late years; it was evi- 

 dently unknown to Russ as a cage-bird.* It was ex- 

 hibited at the Palace in 1903 and 1904. 



*Mr. Seth-Smith says (Avicultural Magazine, N.S. vol. II., p. 103) : 

 "These little 1'irennches are more often imported than is generally 

 supposed ; I once picked out six from a lot of common Firennches 

 in a dealer's shop." He was not sure whether they were L. larvata 

 or L. vinacea. 



