The Wit of the Wild 



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joins its nests together into a huge mass, in 

 which each pair has a chamber where birds and 

 eggs seem safe from all enemies except climb- 

 ing-snakes; and these composite structures are 

 repaired and used year after year, no doubt by 

 the descendants of the original builders. 



Still more advanced, however, are the colonies 

 of another species, the " social " weaver, which 

 literally dwell under one roof. These birds 

 erect mushroom-shaped structures among the 

 branches of a tree, the top of which is a conical 

 covering of grass, all lying smooth and length- 

 wise from peak to eaves a regular thatched 

 roof. In the thickness of this roof are as many 

 nesting chambers as there are pairs in the flock 

 perhaps fifty or more. The entrances are 

 narrow holes on the under side, and they are 

 almost entirely inaccessible, while the thick roof 

 not only protects the sitting mothers, but shel- 

 ters the whole flock from blazing sun and tor- 

 rential rains. 



An attack upon it is resented by the com- 

 bined forces of the colony, and any damage done 

 to this huge structure (which may be five or six 

 *>$ 194 5 



