CAPE, OR YELLOW-HUMPED WEAVER. 181 



The bird before us is particularly striking in its 

 plumage, and is one of the most typical of these in- 

 genious architects, at least in its form ; for in its bill 

 it is almost an exact counterpart of the genus Coc- 

 coborus of the American continent. The Weavers, 

 however, are entirely restricted to the old world ; 

 they are known by their very small spurious quill, 

 and by their large and long toes and claws; the 

 former, indeed, is generally so minute, that it can 

 seldom be detected without very close examination, 

 while the great length of the toes and claws (besides 

 typifying the great footed rasorial types), probably 

 enables them to be employed by the bird in building. 



In the adult bird the feathers of the head and 

 neck are so closely set, and so intensely black, as 

 to resemble the richest velvet ; the same rich black 

 uniformly spreads over all those parts which are not 

 yellow, but in young birds the upper plumage is 

 light brown, with a black stripe down each feather ; 

 we suspect that the full plumage is not acquired 

 even after the first moult ; for although the bird is 

 common to Senegal and other parts of Africa, the 

 specimens usually seen are in immature plumage. 

 The wings reach only to half the length of the tail, 

 which is slightly rounded, and has the feathers 

 broad and truncate; the tertials are lengthened 

 as long as the primaries, the four or five first of 

 which are nearly of equal length ; these and the 

 scapulars are edged with brown. The hinder toe, 

 with its claw, is considerably longer than the lateral 

 ones ; and the middle is equal to the tarsus, although 



