PLOCEID^E SYCOBBOTUS 71 



insects and the saccharine juice of various flowers. It pays con- 

 stant visits to the conspicuous scarlet flowers of the " Kaffir-bourn," 

 and feeds side by side with various Sunbirds on the nectar. I 

 have noticed this Weaver also feeding with Sunbirds and Gurney's 

 Long-tailed Sugar-bird on the honey of the Australian " Bottle- 

 brush." 



Mr. Ayres remarks that in the neighbourhood of Eustenburg 

 several species of Sunbird and Weaver Finches, including the 

 present, frequent a common parasitic plant for the sake of the 

 nectar; he writes in the Ibis : "About Potchefstroom the birds 

 of this species are much brighter in plumage this season (1886) 

 than I have ever noticed them previously " probably because the 

 plumage of this Weaver is sometimes stained an intense orange 

 colour by the mingled nectar and pollen of certain flowers. 

 Occasionally this species feeds on figs and other fruit. 



Its nest and eggs resemble those of the larger Cape Weaver 

 Bird, the eggs being a trifle smaller ; the nest is, however, frequently 

 suspended between two reeds and is then built of strips of reed- 

 leaves. 



When alarmed this Weaver utters a loud " chur-r-r," at ordinary 

 times a cheerful chattering note. 



Genus III. SYCOBROTUS. 



Type. 

 Sycobrotus, Cabanis, Mm. Hein. i, p. 182 (1850) S. bicolor. 



Bill as long as the head, the culmen curved to the tip, rounded 

 at the base, the lateral margins curved and slightly sinuated. 

 Nostrils basal, oval and exposed, shut in by a horny membrane, the 

 base just reached by the nasal plumes. Wings moderate but some- 

 what rounded, the first quill short, the second equal to the eighth, 

 the third longer than the seventh, the fourth and fifth equal. Tail 

 of moderate length, slightly graduated. Tarsi robust and strongly 

 scaled. Toes moderate, the inner shorter than the outer. Claws 

 strong and curved. 



This genus includes four species of African Weaver Birds. They 

 differ considerably from the majority of the Ploceince in their habits 

 and are usually met with in pairs, never in flocks, in the forest 

 or thick bush. They feed very largely on insects, and build large 

 and roughly constructed retort - shaped nests, suspended from the 

 branches of trees. They lay two or three spotted eggs. 



