THK ORANGE WKAVKR. 297 



whilst tlie male is in its ornamental plumage, he need not expect any 

 result whatever, for the bird is so much excited that he cannot get so 

 far as the construction of a nest. If, on the contrary, one brings 

 together a number in grey feathering, they build and nest, as related 

 of the Napoleon bird. Yet one chiefly obtains good results, if he turns 

 loose only a single pair of old well acclimatized Fire Weavers in a 

 bird-room, occupied only by Ornamental Finches and other small birds. 

 They are not naturally sociable, and, therefore, do not require the 

 companionship of their own species. At anyrate, whether the male 

 feels himself thus to be lord and master of the entire community, or 

 safe in the absence of larger birds, he then almost invariably builds 

 nests quickly and well, and brings up successful broods with one, and 

 indeed even with two or three females. In the bird-room of Mr. G. 

 Barnewitz, the dyer in Berlin, a strong male built, with restless zeal, 

 some twenty nests, and the single female available nested several times 

 with good results, in spite of the fact that it had a crippled wing, and 

 was only able to hop about in the scrub. Subsequently, in like 

 manner, I reared young from all the Fire Weavers, and breeding them 

 is in fact not so difficult, if one observes the following rules : First, 

 one must place the male and several hens together in grey plumage ; 

 secondly, one must prevent disturbance due to the disputes of males of 

 the same or allied species ; thirdly, one must avoid keeping other 

 larger birds in the same area ; fourthly, one must supply plenty of the 

 food mentioned on page 227. (This, in addition to their usual seed, 

 is said to consist of ' mealworms, ants' cocoons, egg-bread, &c.') For 

 building material, agave-fibre, as well as threads of cotton and bast are 

 gladly used, as also fresh grass-stalks. The nest, in the bird-room, is 

 almost always globular, with the entrance hole placed laterally in the 

 upper portion, and very ornamentally woven separately of agave-fibres. 

 The eggs are shining greenish blue and very round ; Von Heuglin's 

 statement that they are marked must be based upon a blunder." 

 Altogether, the Orange Weaver has been but little bred up to the 

 present time. The statement that the male bird is too excitable to 

 construct a nest is not necessarily correct ; for, in 1896 a cock bird in 

 full plumage in one of my bird-room aviaries built several nests, but 

 failed to persuade the hen to take possession of any of them. 



Dr. Russ states that this species is peaceable, both in store-cage 

 and bird-room, towards smaller birds ; but when in colour, drives all 

 other birds from the neighbourhood of its dwelling, and wages violent 

 warfare with males of its own, or allied species. In this respect, my 

 oldest male, does not follow the general rule, its warfare is mere 



