CAGE BIRDS 189 



latter, and an exclusive fruit diet is not sufficient to keep 

 them in health. A few will eat meal worms, which should be 

 given to such as will take them. Tanagers are sensitive to 

 cold and draught, but if kept in tight box cages and well 

 cared for they live for long periods. 



Weavers 



The Weavers (Ploceid^) contain a great number of 

 species which are freely imported, their brilliant plumage 

 and hardiness in captivity making them popular as cage 

 birds. For ease in presentation, they are best taken in the 

 sub-groups into which they naturally fall, the Whydahs, 

 the typical Weavers, the Waxbills and the Mannikins and 

 Grassfinches. 



Among the Whydahs, all of which are African, the males 

 generally are chiefly black with long, flowing tails in most 

 species, which make them wonderfully graceful when on the 

 wing. The females are brown and sparrow-like in appear- 

 ance, the males assuming a similar plumage during the 

 winter months. Whydahs make good cage birds, but are at 

 their best in an aviary, where their beautiful flight is seen 

 to the best advantage. A few species have been bred in cap- 

 tivity, the nest being dome-shaped and usually close to the 

 ground. Whydahs may be fed with the usual seed, white 

 millet being a particular favorite. A little soft food and a 

 few meal worms are useful, particularly during the molt. 



The Paradise Whydah (Steganura paradisea) is the 

 best known species. The male is black in general, with a 

 nuchal collar and the upper breast chestnut, fading to whit- 

 ish on the abdomen. The lower back is white. The hen is 

 'of the usual inconspicuous, brownish color. The tail of 

 the male is long and full, sometimes reaching a length of a 

 foot, although the bird itself is no larger than a sparrow. 



