HOUW HOEK AND STANFORD 1 05 



birds and Red Bishop-birds, the black and red plumage 

 of the latter forming a brilliant picture in the sunlight 

 against the background of faded reeds of the previous 

 year and the sparkling water. These two birds often 

 shared the same clump of reeds for their nesting sites, 

 the Bishop-birds fastening their domed nests to three or 

 four reeds, which acted as supports, while the Weaver- 

 birds generally suspended their curiously-shaped nests 

 from two reeds, the slightest wind making both reeds 

 and nest oscillate freely. There is generally quite 

 enough noise among a small colony of Weaver-birds, 

 but when it comes to a large colony, augmented by that 

 of Red Bishop-birds, the chattering and quarrelling that 

 take place are almost beyond description. 



Weaver-birds were so very common in South Africa, 

 and made such a distracting noise whenever they were 

 approached, that I am afraid I did not avail myself of 

 all my opportunities of photographing them and their 

 nests ; the latter, however, were exceedingly difficult to 

 take, owing to the fact that they were almost perpetu- 

 ally swinging to and fro, suspended as they were from 

 the reeds, or some slender twig of a branch. 



I once watched these birds building their nests, 

 which they often begin in June or July. A commence- 

 ment is made by the birds twisting long strands of grass 

 round the end of some pendent twig, and making a loop 

 of this grass, about six inches in diameter, fastened 

 again to the same twig ; this is the foundation of the 

 nest. The bird stands in this ring every time he 

 returns to the nest with fresh material, and works from 

 this position, pushing one end of a strand of grass 

 through the ring, and then putting himself into all sorts 



