338 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



[Weaver-Birds. . 



in Gloucestershire, as dcterminetl localities. (See !| 

 ' Mag. Nat. Hist^ May, 1830, p. 236, and June, 

 1830, pp. 310, 311, for interesting communications 

 on the subject by Messrs. Brown and Long.) It 

 appears that they breed in April, commencing their 

 nest in March. This is placed on the topmost 

 boughs of the fir or pine, and consists of slender j 

 twigs of <ir, then a layer of coarse grass, lined with | 

 finer grass and a few long hairs. The eegs are of j 

 a slightly bluish-white, sparingly speckled with red. 

 The male has an agreeable song. It is, however, 

 in the vast pine-forests of Norway, Sweden, Ger- | 

 many, &c., that this crossbill is the most abundant. ^ 

 In those gloomy solitudes it finds a congenial resi- 

 dence and food in abundance. While at work [ 

 upon the fir-cones, extricating the seeds, or while ] 

 climbing in flocks of ten or twenty among the 

 branches, using, like a parrot, their beaks and feet, 

 these birds utter a continuous eentle twitter, dif- 

 ferent from the song of the male, which is poured 

 out piiucipally during the breeding season. At 

 various times vast flocks from the Continent visit 

 different parts of our island in the winter, evidently 

 driven southwards by the severity of the season ; 

 they seek the shelter of fir-woods, and some perhaps 

 remain altogether. 



Besides the seeds of the fir, hemp-seed, and the 

 seeds of apples are eagerly devoured, and they are 

 said to divide with ease an apple in halves, in order 

 to procure the kernels.* Crossed as their bill is, 

 these binis can pick up the smallest seeds and shell 

 or husk them ; they can also open the shell of an 

 almond, fii^t picking a hole in it, and then inserting 

 the bill and wrenching off pieces by the lateral mo- 

 tion of the under mandible. The following narra- 

 tive of the habits of the crossbill in confinement is 

 verv interesting:— "My friend Mr. Morgan," says 

 Mr' Yarrell, "kept apair of these birds for some time, 

 and had opportunities for observing their curious 

 habits. They were impatient under confinement, 

 and restless, climbing over the wires of their cages, 

 by the use of their beak and claws, like parrots, 

 One of their principal occupations was twisting out 

 the ends of the wires of their prison, which they ac- 

 complished with equal ease and dexterity. Ashort, 

 flat-headed nail that confined some strong net-work 

 was a favourite object on which they tried their 

 strength ; and the male, who was usually pioneer in 

 every new exploit, succeeded by long-continued ef- 

 forts in drawing the nail out of the wood, though 

 not without breaking off the point of his beak in the 

 experiment. Their unceasing destruction of cages 

 at length brought upon them sentence of banish- 

 ment. During the period of their captivity a com- 

 plete 'change took place in the colour of their plu- 

 mage, without the shedding of a single feather." 



The permanent colour of the plumage of this spe- 

 cies is spotted olive-gieen, but the male of the year 

 acquires in the autumn a general roseate tint. 



Mr. Gould (' Birds of Europe') observes that in the 

 minds of many naturalists some doubts still exist, 

 and that they existed still recently in his own, a to 

 whether the rich rosy-red colouring assumed by this 

 bird is characteristic of the breeding season, or the 

 permanent livery of the adult male. He states that 

 during his recent visit to Vienna he had an opportu- 

 nity of observing both sexes in every stage, an ex- 

 amination of which afforded him abundant proofs 

 (hat the red plumage is acquired during the first 

 autumn, for he saw many lately fledged that had 

 their plumage thickly spotted ; others that had par- 

 tially lost their spotted appearance, and had partly 

 assumed the red colouring ; and others that had their 

 feathers entirely tinted of this colour; while the 

 adults, as most ornithologists have stated, were cha- 

 racterised by a plumage of olive-green, which ap- 

 pears to be permanent. 



The same naturalist saw crossbills, 8\|ailow8, mar- 

 tins, and various small birds exposed for sale in the 

 markets, for the purpose of the table. 



Besides the present species, the parrot-crossbill is 

 found in Eastern Europe, and tne white-winged 

 crossbill occasionally occura in the North ; the latter, 

 and a species nearly resembling the common cross- 

 bill (L. Americana,) are natives of North America. 

 Amone the Fringillida: is a singular group of birds, 

 termed Weaver-birds, les Tisserins of the French 

 (Ploceus, Cuvicr), intermediate between the Finches 

 and the Sturnidse ; and which construct the most 

 singular and extraordinary nests, some pendent from 

 thetwigs of tall trees overhanging the water ; others 

 supported on the stronger branches, generally in 

 clusters ; some compacted together, so as to form 

 one large dense mass of interwoven grasses. In 

 these birds the bill is conical, and more or less elon- 

 gated ; the ridge of the upper mandible slightly bent, 

 the tip without any notch ; the claws are large : 

 they are divided in various subgenera, but are all 

 peculiar to the old world, Africa and India. It 



• A Unje flock of thew. birds, which visited the sonth of Ireland at 

 the commcncemeiit of the present century, in the autumn, did much 

 damage in the apple-orcharUs. In general, however, they aeek the 

 piii*.wo9di. 



would appear that their mode of building their ] 

 nests is, under the direction of instinct, designed to 

 secure the youni and eggs against the attacks of 

 tree-snakes, which abound in the localities they oc- 

 cupy. Of these the Boomslange (Bucephalus Ca- 

 pensis) in Southern Africa is one of the most for- 

 midable. 



1309, 1,">10.— Nksts of the Pensile Weaveb-Bibb. 

 Barrow, in his ' Travels in Africa,' notices clusters of 

 suspended nests, attached to slender twigs, fabri- 

 cated by a species of Loxia, which unfortunately he 

 neither names nor describes. These nests usually 

 overhans a river or pool of water, and are shaped 

 like a chemist's retort, with a body and long neck, 

 at the end of which is the aperture, close over the 

 surface of the water; the neck leads to a snug cham- 

 ber, in which the young are reared ; the structure is 

 composed of intervvovcn grass. Though not capable 

 of identifyins the species, we suspect it to be the 

 Nelicourvi, Loxia (Ploceus) pensilis of Sonnerat. 

 We have seen nests of a similar form, constructed 

 of wiry elastic grass, and attached to the leaves of 

 palms, brought from Ceylon and the continent of 

 India,— perhaps the work of the Ploceus (Euplectes) 

 Philippensis. Colonel Sykes observes that this 

 weaver-bird "is very common in Dukhun, and there 

 are few wells overhung by a tree where their nests 

 are not seen pendent ; they live in small coinmu- 

 nities. and are verv noisy in their labours." Pringle 

 describes the South African nest as woven of a kind 

 of toueh grass, the cylindrical passage being twelve 

 or fifteen inches in length; and twenty or more 

 often hang from a single tree, 



is a native of the districts bordering on the south- 

 east coast of Africa ; but, according to Dr. Smith, is 

 not found to the west of Cafi'reland. It is rare, and 

 frequents the banks of rivers, suspending its nest, 

 which is of a kidney shape and composed of closely 

 interwoven grass, from the branch of a tree over- 

 hansing the water. The eggs are three or four, of ' 

 a delicate greenish blue. The length of the bird is j 

 about seven inches. i 



1511.— The Sociable Weaveb-Bibd 



(Ploceus socius, Cuvier). Phila;terus lepidus, Smith ; 

 Euplectes lepidus, Swainson; Loxia socia, Latham ; 

 Ploceus Patersonii, Lesson. 



According to Dr. Smith, the banks of the Orange 

 River constitute the southern limits of the range of 

 this species, which was only obtained in great abun- 

 dance in the districts around Latakoo far from water. 

 The most striking peculiarity, adds Dr. Smith, "ob- 

 sei-ved in this species is the extraordinary manner 

 in which a number of individuals associate and 

 build their nests under a common roof. When a 

 nesting-place has been selected, and the operation 

 ofbuildineis to be commenced «& iniVw, the com- 

 munity proceed conjointly to construct the general 

 covering which interests them all : that being ac- , 

 complished, each pair begin to form their own nest, 

 which, like the roof, they construct of coarse grass ; 

 these are placed side by side against the under sur- 

 face of the general covering, and by the time they 

 are all cornpleted the lower surface of the mass 

 exhibits the appearance of an even horizontal sur- 

 face, freely perforated by small circular openings. 

 They never use the same nests a second time, 

 though they continue for many years attached to 

 the same roof. With the return of the breeding 

 season fresh nests are formed upon the lower sur- 

 face of those of the preceding year, which then 

 form an addition to the general covering. In this 

 manner they proceed year after year, till at last the 

 weight often becomes such as to cause the destruc- 

 tion of its support, upon which a new building is 

 commenced. They appear to prefer constructing 

 these nests upon :large and lofty trees ; but where 

 such do not occur, they will even condescend to 

 foim them upon the leaves of the Arborescent Aloe 

 (Aloe arborescens), as occasionally happens towards 

 the Orange River. The commencement of the roof 

 is firmly interwoven with the branches of the trees 

 to which it is intended [to be suspended, and often 

 a great part of the principal branch is actually in- 

 cluded within its surface. Each female lays from 

 three to four eggs, of a' bluish-white colour, freely 

 mottled towards 'the large end with small brown 

 dots." Paterson and Le Vaillant give a somewhat 

 similar account of these nests, some of which they 

 saw of enormous size ; the latter traveller mentions 

 one which had three hundred and twenty inhabited 

 cells, each cell being the property of a pair of birds. 

 The grass used is a wiry kind, called Boschman's 

 grass. Thus, then, do these weaver-birds found a 

 republic, and cluster together under one roof their 

 separate homesteads ; the labour of each busy arti- 

 ficer contributing to the general good. Fig. 1512 

 shows the nests of this bird apparently just finished, 

 or but little added to ; while Figs. 1513 and 1514 

 represent a structure of long standing, with the ad- 

 ditions of several years, and completely covering 

 the branches. The general colour of the sociable 

 weaver-bird is brown, varying in its shades; the 

 feathers of the back edged with pale buff, which is 

 the general tint of the under parts. Total length 

 about five inches. 



1515.— The Ybllow-crowned Weaver-Bibd 

 (Ploceus spilonotus). P. flaviceps. Swains. ; P. 

 stictonotus, A. Smith. This species, of which the 

 male has the plumage varied with yellow and brown, 



1510. — The Yellow-headed Weaveb-Bird 

 (Ploceus icterocephalus). Nests of. These kidney- 

 shaped nests attached to long pendent twi.gs are the 

 work of a South African Weaver-bird, closely allied 

 to, if not identical with, the preceding. They are 

 composed of strong interlaced grass, and lined with 

 the heads or panicles of the same, forming a smooth, 

 soft, and cool bed. The opening is lateral, near the 

 top, the dome above protecting the inside from 

 rain. 



1517.— The Taha Weaver-Bird 



(Euplectes Taha. Smith). According to its orii:i:v 1 

 describer, Dr. Smith, this species is a native oi 

 Africa, but does not extend its range south of 20'. 

 In districts north of this degree it was common, and 

 large flocks were often observed among the trees 

 near the banks of rivers; but, according to informa- 

 tion gained from the natives, the birds leave the 

 trees at the commencement of the breeding-season 

 for the reeds which skirt the rivers, and from which 

 they suspend their nests. These and other allied 

 species are very destructive to gardens and corn- 

 lands, and the natives are obliged to watch the crops 

 to prevent the grain from being devoured. The 

 plumage of the male (upper figure) is mingled yel- 

 low, grey, and brownish-black ; in winter yellowish- 

 brown above, dashed with brownish-black ; under 

 parts greyish-white, tinged sienna yellow on the 

 chest. The female (lower figure) resembles the 

 male in his winter dress. 



1518. — The Mahali Weaveb-Bibd 



(Pliopasser Mahali, Smith). This bird was seen for 

 the first time by Dr. Smith upon a tree on the bank 

 of one of the tributaries to the Orange River ; but he 

 met with small and occasionally large flocks as far 

 north as the tropic of Capricorn, the species being 

 disposed to congregate. Twenty or thirty nests 

 were to be seen on one tree. Insects and seeds are 

 the food of this species, and in search of these the 

 bird passes much time upon the ground. If dis- 

 turbed while feeding, the whole flock take wing, and 

 settle in a neighbouring tree, where they remain till 

 they see the way clear for their return. 



The nests, observes Dr. Smith, in figure and tex- 

 ture, had many of the characters of those of Ploceus, 

 but resembled those of some of the South African 

 Pyrgitse (sparrows) in the manner in which they 

 were armed. The walls of each nest were entirely 

 , composed of stalks of grass, the thickest ends of 

 i which were so placed as to protrude externally for 

 several inches beyond the compact structure des* 

 fined to contain the eggs. Thus each nest appeared 

 armed with numerous projecting spines, and bore 

 considerable resemblance to the body of a porcu- 

 pine with its spines partially erected. The design 

 is to oppose an obstacle to the advance of snakes 

 towards the eggs and young. The plumage is 

 varied with different tints of brown, and with white, 

 the chest and under pails being cream-yellow; 

 the throat and under tail-coverts white. Length 

 six inches and a half. 



Fig. 1519 represents the clustered nests of this 

 species. 



1520.— The Red-billed Weaver-Bird 

 {Textor erythrorhynchus, Smith). This species 

 inhabits Southern Africa, north of the '25lh degree 

 of latitude ; and, as Dr. Smith states, is never seen 

 where herds of buff"aloes are scarce. Whenever dis- 

 covered, it was always in attendance upon these 

 animals, flying over them or perched on their back, 

 busily employed in collecting insects from the hide, 

 and passing rapidly from one part to another, ihe 

 huge beast paying no attention to its movements. 

 Sometimes numbers of these birds were seen 

 associated with the buffaloes, and sometimes only 

 one or two. 'i'heir food consists of parasitic insectSr 

 at least in part, such having been found by Dr. 

 Smith in the stomachs of those specimens which he 

 examined. 



This bird, besides being of service to its bulky 

 associates by ritlding them of the parasitic insects 

 which isfest their hides, performs for them another 

 important service. On observing any unusual ap- 

 pearance, the attention of the bird is immediately 

 directed to it, and if it sees anything to excite 

 alarm, the bird flies up, whereupon all the buffaloes 

 instantly raise their heads, and endeavour to dis- 

 cover the cause which led to the sudden departure 

 of their sentinel. Iftheir apprehension is confirmed, 

 they take to flight in a body, accompanied by theii 



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