4o8 CA.vARrES AND Cage-Birds. 



signifies, the Madagascar Weaver is a native of that island. Imported to St. Helena, this Weaver- 

 bird has increased there with such rapidity, that he is blamed for doing damage to crops. The 

 Madagascar Weavers arriving in England from beyond the seas come mostly from St. Helena, 

 those from Isle of France being, as a rule, shipped to Bordeaux, Marseilles, or other French ports. 

 According to the latitude under which the Madagascar Weavers are born, they will assume their 

 magnificent plumage towards the end of our summer or the beginning of our winter. This Weaver 

 does not display the strong contrasts of intense black and bright orange, or crimson, or yellow, 

 like the Bishops ; but his prevailing colour is perhaps even more striking, and its effect is increased 

 by the greater part of the bird being of the brightest tint — that is, intense scarlet. The brown 

 wings and tail, each feather slightly shaded with faint olive-green, do not heighten the beauty 

 of the bird much. 



In the aviary the Madagascar Weaver, when in colour, is as inclined to fight other male 

 Weaver-birds as any Bishop, but his mode of attack is different. Whilst the Bishops erect their 

 feathers and raise their bodies into an almost upright position, the Madagascar will lean his head 

 and body forward, and dart with head well down and drooping wings straight upon his enemy. 

 When the room is very large, the disputes arising when several pairs of various Weaver-birds 

 are kept together will not matter very much, because after a time each pair will establish itself 

 supreme in some part of the room, and will only resent intrusion ; but in a cage or small aviary 

 fatal consequences are but too likely to result from such struggles. 



The nest of the Madagascar Weaver-bird is entered from below, and consists of an elongated 

 ball with a short tube bent downwards attached to its side. A remarkable feature in all the 

 Weaver-birds' nests is that whilst the top is so very thick, the bottom and sides are so thin that the 

 eggs can be seen through the interstices of the material composing the nest. Dr. Russ first 

 bred Madagascar Weaver-birds in 1S69, and since then others have been equally successful ; but 

 to wait two or three years until cage-bred Weavers come into colour is a long time. As regards 

 food and treatment, precisely the same applies that has been written about the Weaver-birds in 

 general. 



RED-BEAKED WEAVER-BIRD {Qnelea sanguinirostris), West Africa. (Illustrated.) 

 Ploceus safzguinirostris (Russ), Loxia sangidnirostris, Eniberiza quelea. Passer Senegalensis erythrorrhynchas, Fringilla quelea, 

 Plocais Lathami, EupUctes sanguiniroslris, Quelea occidentalis, Hyphantica sanguinirostris, Quelea Laihami, Quelea 

 oncutaiiSy Coccothraustes sanguinirostris^ Euplectes gregarius^ Loxia Afrkaua et quelea socia^ Kmberiza quelea^ Ploceus 

 Aithiopicus. English dealers' name — Red-beaked Weaver-bird. German name — " Rothschuabeliger Webervogel," or 

 " Dioeh," or "Blutschnabelweber." French name — " Le Travailleur." 



The Red-beaked Weaver is the most common and cheapest of all the Weaver-birds, but for 

 all that one to be strongly recommended to amateurs, and especially to beginners, for the bird is 

 very hardy, can be kept almost anywhere and in any numbers, and will amuse his owner by his 

 industry in weaving, for which reason the French have named him " Travailleur." This Weaver, 

 whose appearance is much like that of a hen-sparrow, with a red beak, can generally be bought for 

 the small sum of five shillings per pair, and though his plumage when in full colour cannot be 

 compared with that of the magnificent Bishops, it is yet rather pretty, for the face of the male 

 will become black, and the head, throat, and chest will be suffused with a pretty roseate tint. 

 The hen-bird will, like all Weaver-birds, retain the former colour of her plumage, but her 

 beak will in the breeding season become of a wax-like yellow colour. 



In a small cage these Weavers will interlace bits of Berlin wool between the bars of their cages; 

 but to appreciate these interesting birds several pairs should be placed in an open-air aviary, which 

 should be plentifully studded with shrubs, and additional branches should be fixed in convenient 



