WE A VER-BIRDS. 



367 



its nest of line grass and suspending it among the reeds of the rivers. The eggs 

 are pure light blue. In winter the flocks of bishop-birds do much damage to the 

 grain-fields. It is often imported into Europe as a cage-bird. The adult male in 

 nuptial plumage has the upper-parts, throat, and vent, brilliant scarlet ; the wings 

 and tail are brown, and the forehead, cheeks, and chin black. After the breeding- 

 season is over, the male assumes the brown plumage of the female. Another 

 common bird throughout the Cape Colony is the black-and-yellow bishop-bird 

 (P. capensis), affecting alike the loneliest swamps and the homesteads of farmers. 



SOCIABLE WEAVER-BIRD (f liat. size). 



It breeds in the neighbourhood of water, constructing its nest of strong grasses and 

 suspending it between the stalks of two or three reeds. The eggs are very pale 

 green, thickly marked with dark greenish brown blotches and spots. This bishop- 

 bird generally lives in small companies in the open fields, and feeds chiefly upon 

 grass seeds. The adult male has the head and upper-parts rich velvety black, the 

 rump and shoulders brilliant yellow, and the wings brown. 



sociable The birds of this genus, Philceterus, which are likewise exclusively 



Weaver-Birds. African, differ from the bishop-birds in having the plumage similar 



throughout the year, and no frill round the neck, while they are distinguished from 



several allied forms by having the nostrils clearly exposed and placed well in front 



of the plumes at the base of the beak, and by the small size of the bastard-primary. 



