WE A VER-BIRDS. 



365 



recognised by the scarlet iris of the eye, the black beak, and greyish black legs. 

 It is reported to lay pale bluish green eggs, with a few violet-brown spots 

 at the larger end. An allied species from the same district is the Abyssinian 

 weaver-bird (H. galbula), in which the iris is orange-brown, the beak black 

 (except in the breeding-plumage of the male, when it becomes horn-coloured), 

 and the leg flesh-coloured. A third form is the olive weaver-bird (H. capensis) 

 of South Africa. Generally living in flocks, the members of the last-named 

 species are more numerous in the Transvaal than in Natal. According 



ABYSSINIAN AND MASKED WEAVER-BIRDS (f nat. size). 



to Mr. Ayres, they are fond of sucking the honey from the scarlet flowers 

 of the Cape broom. The nest is constructed of coarse grasses, and formed 

 somewhat in the shape of a chemist's retort, with the neck cut short and the 

 aperture downwards ; while across the entrance runs a kind of bar to prevent the 

 eggs from falling out. This nest is lined with the soft flowering heads of grass, 

 which furnish a warm bed for the young. The eggs are of a beautiful, spotless 

 green colour. Mr. Layard says that these weavers become very tame in confine- 

 ment, and will readily answer to the call. If they are supplied with cotton or 

 thread, they will weave it most industriously into the bars of the cage, forming a 

 dense mass which it is impossible to unravel. This work they perform entirely 



