THE GRENADIER WEAVER. 291 



be with certainty distinguished from the former, by the black colour- 

 ing of the under surface of the wings. 



"This Weaver also, I have several times lodged in my bird-room 

 in the course of years. Its nest differs from that of its relatives, in 

 that it is somewhat larger, and apparently woven, by preference, of 

 grass-stalks and leaves of reeds. The laying every time consisted of 

 five eggs and the development of the brood is normal. 



" Among the dealers this species is only too frequently over- 

 looked ; thus Mr. W. Mieth, of Berlin, possessed several pairs for 

 years, which nobody, but myself, was willing to purchase, until at last 

 he was obliged to give them away at the price of the common 

 Orange Weaver." 



As regards the change of color taking place by a complete moult, 

 as stated at the head of this account, on the authority of travellers, I 

 have my doubts : I know that in some of the Flame- Weavers there is 

 only a partial moult, many of the feathers gradually changing from 

 brown to orange, or crimson. (See also Von Heuglin's note on 

 P. franciscana, p. 295). 



Illustrations from skins in the Natural History Museum. 



THE GRENADIER WEAVER. 



Pyromelana oryx, L,ESS. 



A GRAND Weaver is the Grenadier or " Oryx Bishop," as he is 

 sometimes called ; and the older he gets, the deeper and more 

 fiery his colouring becomes. This bird is confined to South Africa, 

 its range extending from the Cape to Natal, and the Transvaal, and 

 thence to the Zambesi : from Great Namaqua-Land to Damara-Land, 

 and the Lake Regions to Benguela. 



The adult male, in breeding plumage, varies according to age, 

 from orange to vermilion, the mantle cinnabar red; as with the allied 

 species the feathers of the neck can be swelled out into a sort of 



