302 FOREIGN FINCHES IN CAPTIVITY. 



RUSS' WEAVER. 



Que/ea ness/, FlNSCH. 



KNOWN to inhabit the Transvaal and West Africa, and probably 

 occurring everywhere in company with its typical form the Red- 

 billed Weaver. 



From Q. quelea, Russ' Weaver chiefly differs in having no black 

 mask on the face, and in its buff tinted cheeks ; when fully adult it 

 is a very handsome bird, though the absence of the black on the face 

 detracts somewhat from its beauty. In habits it exactly corresponds 

 with the commoner species, building precisely in the same way, and 

 defending its nest just as Q. quelca does. I have found it equally 

 hardy and enduring. 



I purchased a male of this variety from Mr. Abrahams, some five 

 or six years ago, and turned it into my Weaver aviary ; it moults 

 regularly and consorts with the Red-beaked phase, chasing the hens, 

 and quarrelling with the cocks, in the noisy but harmless fashion of 

 Q. quelea. 



Dr. Russ has the following remarks respecting this Weaver in his 

 Handbuch: "For years past there has been a bird in the shops which 

 has always been associated with the Red-billed Weaver, as agreeing 

 with it, and never described. A male, which I possessed five years 

 ago, and which always acquired its ornamental plumage in the same 

 manner, I in 1877 sent to Dr. O. Finsch, who determined and described 

 the bird. 



" Far less abundant in the trade than the common Blood-bill, this 

 much more beautiful rose-red Weaver is imported along with it. As 

 a room-bird it shows the same disposition in every particular ; eagerly 

 builds nests, but does not succeed in breeding. For some years past 

 I have lodged several pairs in the bird-room without having bred them 

 hitherto." 



It has been said that every child thinks its own doll the best. 

 Whether this be true or not, it is certain that when a pretty species is 

 named in honour of a naturalist, it seems to him to acquire additional 

 charms ; the rarity of a species also has a tendency towards enhancing 



