Weaver-birds and Munias 823 



of the grasses are drawn over and tied together at the top like the framework 

 of a native hut; the eggs are almost invariably four in number. The females 

 greatly exceed the males in number, the proportion being often ten or fifteen 

 to one. 



Bishop-birds. With the tail shorter than the wings and nearly square, 

 and the feathering of the body soft and velvety, and the neck frilled, are the 

 brilliantly colored Bishop-birds (Pyromelana), also of Africa. One of the hand- 

 somest is the little Red Bishop-bird (P. oryx}, the male of which in breeding 

 dress is brilliant scarlet above and velvety black below, while the female and 

 male in non-breeding plumage are brown, each feather with a dark stripe; the 

 length is five inches. It is a sociable species, congregating in immense flocks 

 both in winter and summer, but during the latter season the flocks appear to 

 consist almost entirely of males in their gaudy red and black plumage. It also 

 breeds in large companies, in reedy pools and swamps, suspending its nest 

 of fine grasses from reeds and flags. During the winter season the flocks do 

 much damage to grain-fields if they happen to be near their nesting place, but 

 otherwise they do not stray far. Slightly larger and of wholly different appear- 

 ance is the Black-and-yellow Bishop-bird (P. capensis} of South Africa, the 

 full-plumaged male of which is deep velvety black, with the rump and shoulders 

 brilliant yellow; the female and male in winter dress are light brown, each 

 feather dark-striped. Its habits are similar to those of the other species; it feeds 

 largely on the seeds of grass. 



Sociable Weaver-birds. With the widely known Sociable Weaver-birds 

 (Philet&ms} we may close our account of the African members of this group. 

 They are small birds, about five inches long, with no frill such as that found in 

 the Bishop-birds, a very small first primary, a short, thick bill, and plain, largely 

 brownish plumage. The best-known of the four or five species, and the Sociable 

 Weaver-bird par excellence, is P. socius of the interior of South Africa. Gre- 

 garious and sociable at all seasons, they are especially remarkable for the manner 

 in which they combine their energies in the construction of a common domicile. 

 An acacia with a straight smooth stem or an exceedingly thorny tree, such as 

 predatory animals cannot easily climb, is usually selected by the bird com- 

 munity. When the site is chosen, the birds begin by constructing a roof, which, 

 Mr. Andersson says, often comprises whole cart-loads of grass piled on a branch 

 in one enormous mass of an irregular umbrella shape, looking like a miniature 

 haystack, and almost solid, but with the under surface which is nearly flat 

 honeycombed all over with little cavities, which serve not only as places for 

 incubation, but also as a refuge against rain and wind. There is no connection 

 between the chambers and each is lined warmly with feathers. Their eggs are 

 three or four in number, of a drab color, closely speckled with minute spots of 

 purple-gray. 



Munias ; Java Sparrow. The extra- African forms of this subfamily, known 

 as Munias, are referable to some half a dozen genera, and in general possess 

 a powerful swollen bill, and a tail in which the central pair of feathers are often 

 produced and more or less pointed; there is no spring change of plumage. The 



