194 



FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



little smaller. Hab., Senegambia to the Niger; pos- 

 sibly Benguela. 



According to Ussher it is seen at times in large 

 flocks, and affects swamps ; that is about all that is 

 known of its wild life. It has, however, been bred in 

 Germany, so that we know it builds a cave-like nest 

 and lays four pale blue-greenish eggs. 



When in colour the male is very excitable, puffs up its 

 feathers and sings its strange song, which commences 

 with four or five clicks and then goes off into a sort 

 of hacking cough ; the bird's plumes are also shown to 

 great advantage in flight, which is short, jerky, abrupt, 

 and very like a clockwork toy ; between each flight, 

 usually in pursuit of some other bird, the wings are 

 jerked up and down over the bird in a most mechanical 

 manner. 



I have never known the Napoleon Weaver to injure 

 another bird, but I had one killed in 1896 by an Orange 

 Weaver. That the species is naturally long-lived is 

 proved by the fact that a pair which I purchased in 

 1888 lived until the 21st August, 1900. One which I 



NAPOLEON WEAVER. 

 (Snnjiny to hen with crest erected.) 



purchased in 1907 was much persecuted by a young 

 male of the Orange Weaver, which had not yet acquired 

 its breeding plumage, but nevertheless was chasing and 

 singing to the hens as well as making attempts to build 

 with any stray bits of grass or hay which it could 

 find. I have had a considerable number of specimens 

 of both species, both males and females ; they can 

 generally be obtained when out of colour at about 

 three shillings a pair, or even cheaper. 

 CRIMSON-CROWNED WEAVER (Pyromelana flammiceps). 



The prevailing colour of the male bird in breeding 

 plumage is fiery orange-red ; the centre of the back 

 and feathers of 'the shoulders are glossy orange-brown ; 

 a narrow band in front of the forehead, an elongated 

 patch from the beak to the back of the cheek and en- 

 closing the eye, the chin, front of throat, chest, and 

 front of belly, velvety black ; the feathers of the wings 

 and tail black, edged with white and pale buff; thighs, 

 vent, and under tail coverts, brownish orange ; iris of 

 evo, brown ; beak black ; feet dull flesh coloured. 



Female above tawny reddish brown, deepest on the 

 head, each feather broadly centred with black, flights 

 blackish, the inner secondaries with broad tawny- 

 reddish brown borders, the remainder with the outer 

 edges slightly paler; tail-feathers blackish edged and 

 tipped with dull tawny; sides of head pale brown, 

 slightly dusky at base of cheeks and upper portion of 



ear-coverts, which also show ill-defined dusky flecks -, 

 a broad eyebrow stripe, a few feathers below eye, the 

 eyelids, sides of throat and sometimes tne chin more 

 or less denned sulphur yellow; sides of neck breast, 

 sides and flanks tawny huffish with darker streaks ; 

 centre of upper throat or of entire throat, of hinder 

 breast, abdomen and under tail-coverts white; wings 

 and tail below slaty-blackish. According to Sharpe and 

 Shelley the tawny-burnsh parts of the under surface are 

 streaked with blackish-brown and the under tail-coverts 

 are rufous buff (possibly my examples may not lie 

 typical) ; beak fleshy horn-brown, darker on culnien ; 

 feet flesh-pink ; irides hazel. Male in winter plumage 

 with the wings blacker than in the female. Hab. ? 

 " Tropical Africa generally, between 17 deg. N. lat. 

 and 18 deg. S. ranging from Senegal into Benguela on 

 the west, and from the Zambesi into Abyssinia in 

 Eastern Africa." (Shelley.) 



According to Biittikofer, " the adult males frequent 

 the tops of the canes, where they remain for hours, 

 quite isolated from other 'birds, and even from their 

 females and young ones, being apparently proud of 

 their brilliant plumage, as they are indefatigable in 

 exposing it in the most obvious manner." Captain 

 Shelley says ("Birds of Africa," Vol. IV., Part 1, 

 p. 105): "These Bishoip Birds are abundant through- 

 out our Gold Coast possessions and in Togoland, M 

 the males assume the bright red plumage for the breed- 

 ing and rainy season, which lasts from the latter part 

 of April to the end of August. They frequent the 

 more open country, often in flocks, accompanied by 

 P. franciscana. Drs. Reichenow and Liihder, found 

 them breeding abundantly on the plains of Accra, and 

 with young in August. The nest is of the same oval 

 form as with members of the genus Jli//i/ian/i>rni,<, bu-t 

 is hung singly from the high grass and constructed of 

 fine grass." 



On p. 108 we read : " The eggs, generally three in 

 number, are of a pale greenish blue, with or without 

 small reddish brown and greyish brown spots, and 

 measure on an average 0.75 in. by 0.58 in." 



Externally the nest may bear some resemblance to 

 those of aypkantornisj but the species of Pi/rn- 

 nii'lntia build simple domed nests with an opening in 

 front: the species of Hyphantornis build nests re- 

 sembling a snail-shell with the opening below. 



According to other authors this is a marsh-loving 

 species, and breeds in solitary pairs in August and 

 September, building its nest in tall grass or thickets. 

 The eggs are said to be three in number, of a verdi- 

 gris-green colour, spotted at the larger end with 

 purplish black. When not breeding the species ili 

 dense flocks amongst the reeds and swamps and on the 

 borders of lakes. 



When in colour this handsome Weaver fetclx 

 fairly high price, and I have never been forti: 

 enough to secure a cock bird among tlmse \\Y 

 which I have purchased in their undress uniform. '1 

 I have secured hens, and in 1907 I purchased what I 

 supposed to be a male out of colour, Avhich promptly 

 died. I believe, however, that the tatter is a li 

 P. orix. 



According to Bartlett, "The brilliant colours of the 

 male are assumed by a gradual moult of the whole of 

 the feathers, and' after the breeding season they 

 become like the females and young males." But I do 

 not believe this to be the case: indeed. I am satisfied 

 that, as with other species of Pyrnmelana ', only those 

 feathers which have to be replaced by long silky 

 plumes are moulted out and that all the others gra- 

 dually assume the summer colouring, instead of _ being 

 moulted out. As a similar statement is made in the 



