TYPICAL WEAVERS. 



203 



early in the spring, towards the end of July or begin- 

 ning of August, when many of the males still retain 

 their immature or winter dress ; but the nests are not 

 completed, or the eggs laid, as a rule, until the begin- 

 ning of November. 



" As a breeding-place these birds prefer reed-beds, if 

 any are available, but should there be none, they sus- 

 pend their nests from trees and bushes overhanging 

 water, or occasionally over dry ground. When built 

 among reeds, the nests are usually attached to two 

 stems by the sides ; but when in trees they are sus- 

 pended from the drooping twigs. Like most of the 

 Weaver birds, this species becomes very tame during 

 the breeding-season, and it is a pleasing sight to watch 

 the busy birds as they are engaged in constructing 

 their ingeniously-formed nests. They work with the 

 greatest energy, the male fetching the long green grass- 

 stems out of which the nests are woven, and usually 

 assisting from the outside by passing one end through 

 to the female inside the nest, she passing it back again, 

 and so on. Whilst engaged in this work the birds fre- 

 quently hang back downwards with extended wings, 

 swaying gently to and fro, and all the time keeping up 

 <i ceaseless chattering. 



" In districts where the Sanseviera grows the nests 

 of the Masked Weaver-Birds are often constructed 

 entirely of the marginal fibres of this plant. 



" The entrance to the nest is from below, the nest 

 itself being shaped like a retort without a neck, or the 

 shell of a garden snail. Although this species subsists 

 largely on grain and grass-seed during winter, it feeds 

 freely on insects during summer. The young are fed 

 on soft larvse, caterpillars and small grasshoppers. 

 They remain in the nest for about thirty days. 



" The eggs of this Weaver, usuallv three in number, 

 vary remarkably in colour, even in the same nest. They 

 are of some shade of white, cream-colour, pink, green, 

 or blue; often unspotted, but more frequently marked, 

 more or less thickly, with small spots and dots of 

 various shades of red and brown ; less often they are 

 blotched and clouded heavily with large masses of the 

 same colours. They are somewhat elongated in shape, 

 and average 0.93 by 0.58." 



Dr. Russ does not appear to discriminate between 

 this and other species of Hyphantornis ; he says they 

 are separated by scientists, but are probably only local 

 races, and their differences are of no importance to the 

 aviculturist. Why the aviculturist should not be 

 accurate as well as the systematist I fail to see. This 

 species has been exhibited and even bred in the London 

 Zoological Gardens. 



EYEBROWED WEAVER (Hyphantornis super ciliosus).* 



General colouring above yellowish olive, with blackish 

 centres to the feathers ; wings and tail dark brown, 

 with narrow pale margins to the feathers ; crown 

 yellow, washed with chestnut on the forehead ; sides 

 of head, chin and centre of throat black : breast orange- 

 yellow in front, more golden behind ; abdomen, thighs 

 and under tail-coverts sandy buff ; upper mandible 

 horn-black, lower blue-grey ; feet brownish-flesh ; irides 

 brown. Male in winter above sandy brown, deepen- 

 ing to dull black on the crown : mantle with blackish 

 centres to the feathers ; wings and tail with the pale 

 edges broader ; sides of head and a broad eyebrow- 

 stripe reddish buff, the latter separated by a black 

 stripe passing through the eye; throat, sides of neck, 

 body below and under tail-coverts reddish buff ; centre 



* Shelley has founded a new genus Pachyphantes for this species, 

 on account of its stout beak, but the beaks of Hyphantornis are 

 not all cast in one mould. 



of breast white. Female differs from the male in having 

 the forehead and crown black, some of the feathers 

 tipped with olive-yellow ; sides of forehead chestnut 

 passing into a broad golden yellow eyebrow-stripe ; the 

 yellow of the upper neck partly spreading over the ear- 

 coverts ; soft parts as in the male. Hab., Liberia to 

 the Congo and eastward to the Upper White Nile. 

 (Shelley.) 



Nothing appears to have been recorded respecting 

 the wild life of this species. 



This Weaver was purchased by the London Zoological 

 Society in 1884 and exhibited in the Gardens ; it 

 appears, however, to be very rarely imported. 



BAYA WEAVER (Ploceus bay a). 



When in breeding plumage the male is mostly brown 

 above, with black or dark shaft streaks; the mantle, 

 however, is yellow ; the lower back is uniformly brown 

 aJid the upper tail-coverts are yellow; the crown of 

 the head, sides of neck and breast are bright golden 

 yellow ; the base of the forehead and a mark extending 

 above the eye and over the ea.r-coverts, cheeks, chin 

 and throat blackish-brown, varying to pale brown on 

 the throat; abdomen white, pale brown, with darker 

 shafts to the feathers at the sides ; beak, dark horn- 

 brown ; feet flesh-coloured ; iris, dark brown. 



The female is altogether browner, has no black mask 

 but a pale eyebrow streak; the crown of the head 

 brown streaked with black like the back, the throat and 

 chin buffish white ; the breast and sides of body belovv 

 oohreous buff ; otherwise, excepting in its paler beak, 

 it is not unlike the male. Hab., the greater part of 

 India and Ceylon. 



The wild life of the Baya and its allies has been 

 thoroughly studied; the nests, which are somewhat 

 purse-like when built on trees, are usually suspended 

 from the fronds of some lofty palm-tree, thirty or- 

 forty nests being sometimes seen attached to a single 

 tree"; at other times they are hung from the thatch of 

 a bungalow, whilst in Ceylon they have been observed 

 in branching trees. The eggs are usually two in 

 number and pure 'white ; but as many as six or even 

 oVht have been taken from one nest, being perhaps 

 the produce of more than one hen. 



In captivity the Baya is always ready to build it 

 grass or hay is supplied to it: the nest is extremely 

 closely and firmly constructed, the -walls being of such 

 thickness that very little light can possibly penetrate 

 to the egg-cavity. As I never possessed hens of this 

 species the nests built in my aviaries were never com- 

 pleted, the male bird being apparently unable to form 

 the cup to contain the eggs without the assistance of 

 the female; if completed it is easy to see that they 

 would somewhat resemble those of the genus Hyphan- 

 tornis, excepting that the upper portion (or roof of the 

 nest) is carried in conical tapering fashion to the 

 branch from which it is suspended, giving it externally 

 a more purse-shaped character. The entrance is from 

 'below, and the bird after entering comes immediately 

 upon a stout, transverse perch of plaited substance 

 which divides the entrance from the cup ; in unfinished 

 nests this perch naturally has an opening on both 

 sides of it. 



The Baya is not only extremely quarrelsome when 

 nesting, but is an arrant thief ; it also certainly not 

 only plunders materials from the nests of other and 

 weaker birds, but sometimes picks to pieces and eats 

 their newly-hatched young. Yet Dr. Russ states that 

 he found it altogether peaceable. Possibly, as he had 

 eighteen examples of four races the Baya, Many ah, 

 Bengal, and Yellow-bellied Weavers together in the 



