THE SOCIABLE WEAVER BIRD. 441 



The man shrank back behind the nest, but his imprudent move- 

 ment brought its own punishment. 



Knowing that the ascent of the tree was impossible, and at the 

 same time unwilling to leave its prey, the lion sat down at the 

 foot of the tree, and kept watch upon the man. Hour after hour 

 the lion mounted guard over its prisoner, until thirst overpow- 

 ered hunger, and the animal was forced reluctantly to quit its post 

 and seek for water. The man then scrambled down the tree, and 

 made the best of his way homeward, little the worse for his im- 

 prisonment except the fright, and a skin scorched by long expo- 

 sure to the sun. The artist has introduced this little episode into 

 the illustration, because it enables the reader to judge of the enor- 

 mous size of the nest. 



Season after season the Weaver Birds continue to add their 

 nests, until at last the branch is unable to endure the weight, and 

 comes crashing to the ground. This accident does not often oc- 

 cur during the breeding months, but mostly takes place during 

 the rainy season, the dried grass absorbing so much moisture 

 that the weight becomes too great for the branch to bear. 



The nest group which is shown in the illustration is of medium 

 size, as can be ascertained by its shape. In its early state, the 

 nest-mass is comparatively long and narrow, spreading out by 

 degrees as the number of nests increases, so that at last it is as 

 wide and as shallow as an extended umbrella. The dimensions 

 of some of these structures may be gathered from the fact that 

 Le Vaillant counted in one unfinished edifice, besides the desert- 

 ed nests of previous seasons, no less than three hundred and 

 twenty nests, each of which was occupied by a pair of birds en- 

 gaged in bringing up a brood of young, four or five in number. 



Those who are acquainted with Borneo and the customs of its 

 inhabitants can not fail to perceive the analogy between these so- 

 cial nests of the Weaver Bird ond the " long houses" of the Dyaks, 

 each of which houses is in fact one entire village, sheltering a 

 whole community under a single roof. 



The Weaver Birds have but few enemies. First, there are the 

 snakes, which are such determined robbers of nests, swallowing 

 both eggs and young ; and then there are the monkeys, which 

 are capable of sad depredations whenever they can find an op- 

 portunity. Monkeys are extremely fond of eggs, and there is 

 scarcely a better bribe to a monkey, ape, or baboon, than a fresh 

 raw egg. The bird which laid it is almost as great a dainty, and 



