TYPICAL WEAVERS. 



199 



p. 295) publishes the following field-notes : "Accord- 

 ing to Dr. Beichenow the species is abundant in 

 Carnaroons. Near the coast, at Bibundi, Mr. Sjostedt 

 met with it singly or in pairs amongst the thick grass 

 interspersed with 'bushes and stunted trees, on the 

 summits of which it would perch, but never saw it 

 frequenting the higher trees." Mr. G. L. Bates, who 

 procured two full-plumaged males in the middle of June 

 at Efulen, writes : '' All the Weaver Finches that I 

 have seen are confined to the clearings, unless it be the 

 black red-breasted ' Edumvin ' (Spermospiza guttata), 

 which I have seen building in high trees in the forest." 



Kuschel appears to have described the egg, but 

 Captain Shelley does not tell us what it is like. 



This beautiful bird has also been exhibited at the 

 London Zoological Gardens more than once : in 1894 

 four specimens were purchased. In the Zoological 

 Society's List, Mashonaland is given as the locality of 

 the species, but this is not confirmed by Shelley and 

 therefore is probably an error. 

 WHITE-BILLED BUFFALO WEAVER* (Textor albirostris). 



Black ; browner on under surface of flights and tail ; 

 primaries partly white-edged ; beak black, the basal 

 portion in adult birds covered with a pale yellow fleshy 

 cere ; feet pale slate-colour ; irides brown. Female 

 slightly smaller and browner than male. Hab., N.E. 

 Africa from 16 deg. N". lat. to the Equator. 



According to Jackson, the nest is a large mass of 

 black thorns, three or four nests being clustered 

 together ; all with three eggs. The following, also, I 

 take from Shelley's " Birds of Africa," Vol. IV., 

 Part II., pp. 315, 316: "The Nile district and 

 Abyssinia I look upon as the true home of the species ; 

 but here, according to Brehm, it is not very common 

 and was not met with further north than 16 deg. N. 

 lat., and he informs us that it breeds in colonies of from 

 three to eighteen nests, each 3 or 4 feet in diameter, 

 including the surrounding structure of thorny twigs and 

 small branches, loosely arranged, giving the structure 

 the appearance of a thick bristly bush ; on one side, 

 usually to the westward, is the entrance, which at the 

 mouth is wide enough to admit a man's fist quite easily, 

 but gradually diminishes to just sufficient size to allow 

 the bird to pass. The interior of each nest is lined 

 with fine rootlets and grass. During the nesting season 

 these birds are exceedingly noisy and may be heard at 

 a great distance, and he writes : ' During a few 

 minutes I spent under a tree I wrote down the following 

 sounds. One of the male 'birds began : Ti, ti, terr, terr, 

 terr, zerr, zaili ; another Guk, guk, zai ; a third uttered 

 the sounds, Guik, guik, guk, guk, gai ; others screamed, 

 Chi, gu, gu, gu, gai, and a few listened intently. They 

 behaved like a swarm of bees. Some came, others 

 went, and it seemed almost as if all the grown fledg- 

 lings had also collected on the tree, for the large 

 number of birds did not correspond to the few nests. 

 The flight is very easy and hovering, marked by slow 

 flappings of the wings. The wings are carried very 

 high. Its run is quick and nimble, and the bird is also 

 an adept in climbing.' " 



According to Heuglin the nests " contain three or 

 four eggs, coloured like those of our House-Spairrow, of 

 a blunt oval shape and with a rather thick rough shell. 

 They measure on an average 1.2 by 0.8." 



This species feeds upon pastures in company with 

 Glossy Starlings. It has been exhibited at the London 

 Zoological Gardens. 



CHESTNUT-BACKED WEAVER 

 (Cinnamopteryx castaneofusca). 

 Male above chestnut with black bases to the feathers, 



* Also called the Ox-Bird. 



showing most prominently on the scapulars ; upper tail- 

 coverts, wings, and tail, black ; head all round and 

 breast black as well a.s the under surface of the wings 

 and tail ; remainder of under surface chestnut ; beak 

 black ; feet and irides brown. Female above brown ; 

 mantle streaked with bls/ck ; lower back and rump 

 rufescent ; upper tail-coverts similar but darker ; wings 

 blackish ; median and greater coverts with whity-brown 

 edges, the latter and the primaries slightly olivaceous ; 

 crown of head similar ; lores and sides of face sandy 

 brown ; under surface greenish yellow becoming sulphur 

 yellow at middle of breast and abdomen; chest, sides, 

 thighs, and under tail-coverts tawny buff ; beak brown, 

 fleshy on lower mandible ; feet brown ; irides brown. 

 Hab., Senegambia to the Congo. 



The following notes are from Shelley's " Birds of 

 Africa," Vol. IV., Part II., pp. 357-8 :" According to 

 Dr. Biittikofer the species is common throughout 

 Liberia, frequenting the neighbourhood of human 

 habitations in preference to the deep forests. In habits 

 it resembles Hyphantornis cucullatus, but apparently 

 prefers less elevated breeding places, such as reed- 

 jungles, where they attach their nests to the tops of 

 one or two of the shafts. One December evening, at 

 Robertsport, his attention was attracted by an unusual 

 noise, caused by a great number of these birds flying 

 to and fro, ' talking palaver,' as his boy aptly sug- 

 gested ; for early next morning a cloud of them came 

 and took possession of the tree and immediately began 

 constructing their hanging nests, and continued actively 

 at work the whole day, and by sunset he counted fifty- 

 four of their nests apparently finished, when the birds 

 flew off together to roost elsewhere. The following 

 morning, soon after they had come back, he heard again 

 a great chattering, and he saw the birds examining 

 the nests from all sides, and then, as if by a signal, 

 they all took flight together to a cane-grove on the 

 other side of the station, where they immediately com- 

 menced buildiing other nests, which they fastened to 

 the tops of the canes from 8 to 12 feet from the ground. 

 A few days after they had laid their eggs, two to three 

 in number, and he never again saw these birds return 

 to the tree where they had first commenced building, 

 having, he suggests, possibly been scared away from 

 the tree by a colony of ants or a snake they may have 

 discovered among the boughs. The eggs were uniform 

 bluish green." 



Mr. Boyd Alexander obtained the species at Pong, 

 and writes : " Breeds in May. The nests, constructed 

 of coarse grass-blades and lined with fresh leaves, are 

 suspended underneath the fronds of the palm-trees in 

 damp situations. A large number may be found 

 together. Both males and females share in the in- 

 cubation." 



Russ says (1879) : " Up to a short time ago the Fox- 

 Weaver was one of the very rarest birds to be seen in 

 the market ; now it is occasionally imported, yet one 

 cannot regard it on any account as one of the commonest 

 birds. The females only occasionally come to hand and 

 therefore one finds true pairs of this species in few 

 collections." He notes that the price is from 24 to 30 

 marks for a pair. It has been exhibited at the London 

 Zoological Gardens, but I have never seen it in any 

 English bird-shop. 



SHORT-WINGED WEAVER (Hyphanturgus brachypterus) .* 



Above olive-yellow ; rump and upper tail-coverts 



brighter ; wings dark brown, the feathers edged with 



olive-yellow ; tail-feathers dull olive-yellow, with 



brighter edges ; head orange-yellow, more olire on 'bock 



of neck ; lores and a broad streak through the eye 



* Dr. Sharpe places this species in the genus Sitagra. 



