The Weaver Family. 1 1 1 



resemble them in others, and on the whole are 

 better included in this family than placed in a divi- 

 sion by themselves. 



To English amateurs they are known as Whydah- 

 birds, the name being derived from that part of the 

 Dark Continent where most of them are to be met 

 with namely, the kingdom of Whydah on the West 

 Coast of Africa, their distinguishing feature being the 

 extraordinarily long tail grown by the male during the 

 breeding season, when these elongated feathers fre- 

 quently attain to a length of fourteen and even sixteen 

 inches, which, as the bird itself only* measures about 

 five inches, is certainly a little out of proportion ! 



THE PARADISE WHYDAH, Vidua paradisea (illus- 

 trated at Fig. 36), is a most graceful creature. The 

 general colour of the bird when in its full nuptial 

 dress is black that is to say, the head and face ; the 

 wings and the long tail are of that colour, but the neck, 

 nape, and breast are dusky orange, while the belly 

 and vent are a lighter shade of the same tint; the 

 beak is dusky horn, and the legs and feet leaden- 

 grey. 



The tail consists of twelve feathers, the central 

 pair of which grow to the greatest length and have 

 an inward curve, so that when the tips nearly touch 

 the ground as the bird hops about, the centre of these 

 long plumes is a good way from it. The next pair 

 are about a quarter of the length of the central pair 

 and twice as broad they are inserted sidewise, and 

 have a hair-like termination which is really a pro- 

 longation of the midrib of the feather; the remaining 

 tail feathers are short and inconspicuous. 



