THE RED- BILLED WEAVER. 299 



The female, and the male, when out of colour, are nearly alike ; 

 but the male is somewhat greyer ; its slightly larger size and bolder 

 carriage, also serve to distinguish it. In colouring the female is 

 brown, the centres of the feathers being dark-brown, the wing and 

 tail-feathers brown, with a yellow margin ; crown of head and back of 

 neck brown ; a line of creamy white above the eye, as also the eyelid 

 and feathers below the eye ; lores and ear-coverts greyish ; cheeks and 

 under surface of body yellowish white, pure white in the centre, the 

 throat and chest tinged with buff, and greyish at the sides ; sides of 

 lower body brown, the flanks with darker streaks ; thighs white ; under 

 tail-coverts whitish ; under wing-coverts yellowish ; beak ochreous 

 yellow. Length 41 inches. 



This Weaver is so abundant, that travellers do not appear to have 

 taken the trouble to study its life-history. The following scanty notes 

 from Sharpe and Layard, are about all that I have come across : Mr. 

 Ayres speaking of it in the Transvaal says that it is " tolerably common 

 in Potchefstroom and the neighbourhood in summer, associating freely 

 with the flights of Pyromelana oryx, which swarms here. It feeds with 

 them on the open grassy plains and corn-fields, principally on small 

 grass seeds which they pick up from the ground." Mr. Andersson 

 says, that it " is a very common species in Damara Land, where it 

 congregates in immense flocks after the breeding season, and is also 

 common in the Lake regions." 



In captivity this bird is an indefatigable nest-builder, continuing 

 to form one spherical nest after another, as long as material is freely 

 supplied ; but, if this is withdrawn, it will set to work with equal zeal 

 to pick the nests to pieces again. When building, it always commences 

 in the same way, forming either an oblique or perpendicular hoop of 

 plaited hay or fibre, between two or more branches, or in the fork of 

 a branch ; from this hoop it works, starting from the bottom and 

 gradually filling in the back, finishing off with the front, in the centre 

 of which it leaves a round hole to enter by. I have never known any 

 lining to be added. Even when made of fine hay this nest is so 

 strongly woven, that it is difficult to tear it apart ; yet I have seen 

 one of my Baya Weavers gradually pick one to pieces in little over a 

 day, without spending more than half his time over the piece of 

 mischief. 



If disturbed when building, the Red-beaked Weaver raises both 

 wings perpendicularly, and moves them gently up and down, much 

 after the manner of a large butterfly when perched on a flower ; and, 

 if the intruder persists in its interference, the architect turns upon it, 



