82 PLOCEID.3E PLOCEIPASSEK 



what ungainly look. Sir Andrew Smith remarks that it " inhabits 

 exclusively the forests, and never condescends to visit but the 

 largest trees, hence it is only very partially scattered over the 

 country. The only specimens which have been obtained within the 

 limits of the Cape Colony were discovered in the forests upon the 

 eastern frontier. About Port Natal, however, the bird is not so 

 rare, and specimens are readily to be obtained there at all seasons 

 of the year. It feeds principally upon berries and small fruits." 



I have myself only met with this Weaver Bird on the coast of 

 Natal and Zululand, among the tall reeds that border many of the 

 rivers and lagoons. In many such localities it is quite abundant, 

 outnumbering any other species of the family. This species builds 

 among the reeds, and, its thick and clumsy-looking bill notwith- 

 standing, constructs a very neat and beautiful nest, shaped some- 

 thing like a flattened cone with the entrance at the lower edge. 

 This is attached to the stems of two reeds over the water. It is 

 woven with long pieces of coarse grass and strips of reed-leaf 

 without any finer lining. Both birds labour at its construction, the 

 male fetching the materials and working from the outside whilst 

 hanging by his strong toes head downwards with extended wings, 

 the female from the inside. Both male and female keep up an 

 incessant chattering as they pass the end of the grass stem from 

 one to the other through the walls of the nest. These Weavers 

 nest in colonies, and like many other species of the family become 

 very tame during the breeding season, so that one can easily watch 

 them from a distance of a few yards only. Although these birds 

 feed largely upon berries and large forest seeds they also take 

 insects, especially beetles and termites, as well as locusts. The 

 newly hatched young are fed on soft larvae and the pulp of berries. 



Genus VII. PLOCEIPASSER. 



Type. 

 Ploceipasser, Smith, Eep. Exp. Centr. Afr. 1836, p. 51 ...P. mahali. 



Bill large, conical, pointed, compressed laterally; the culmen 

 slightly arched and prolonged to a point among the feathers of the 

 forehead ; nostrils open, not covered by nasal plumes. Wings 

 moderately long and rounded, the first primary fairly large, ex- 

 tending nearly to the end of the primary coverts ; the second 

 and third equal and longest. Tail nearly square at the end. 



