SOME STRANGE NESTS 177 



Indian weaver are common objects to be 

 noticed even on a railway journey. So 

 common are they, and so well woven, that 

 the natives sometimes collect them, after the 

 birds have done with them, to use for stuffing 

 mattresses, for they are so springy and tough 

 that they can be squashed flat without damage. 

 One African weaver-bird even goes in for 

 what one may call a " tenement nest," and 

 has long been well known as the " republi- 

 can " because of this. The colony all unite 

 to make a great roof of thatch among the 

 boughs of a tree, and then the pairs each 

 build their separate nests under the shelter. 

 This interesting bird has never been brought 

 here so far as I know, which is a pity, as an 

 aviary of them would be a most interesting 

 sight, although they are not pretty-coloured 

 birds, unlike most of the weavers, of which 

 the cocks in the nesting-season are generally 

 gaily decked out in yellow or red, though the 

 hens are plain and look much like sparrows. 

 It is a curious thing that the only other bird 

 which builds a tenement nest is a parrot, 

 because as a rule parrots do not build nests at 

 all, but just gnaw and scratch out a hole in a 



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