on Weaver■ Birds.



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by a dealer who visits Africa that he has seen them flying with

other birds of their kind occasionally in the wild state.


Looking through our magazine for the past few years I

find very little mentioned about these interesting birds ; it may

be they are not thought interesting enough to write about, or

perhaps it is having got a bad name for meddling with other

birds which are nesting (and I must admit no bird can be more

mischievous) they are not kept. It certainly is most annoying

to find a clutch of eggs ruthlessly pitched on the floor, in order

that Mr. Weaver can amuse himself with trying the material on

to everything within his reach, or building himself a nest and

usually stopping there, for very few Weavers I think have bred

in this country. Here is a chance to win a medal for someone.


Now if you can devote an aviary entirely to Weavers I do

not know of any birds more interesting. Most of them have, so

to speak, two changes of raiment, and to watch the transforma¬

tion from dull huffish brown to brilliant oranges, scarlets, yellows

and blacks, which we see in the case of the Orange Bishop,

Madagascar Weaver, Napoleon and Black-headed Weaver, when

assuming breeding plumage, must make us stop and consider

how wonderful nature is. Although we find these brilliant

colours in the Weavers, they are very hardy birds and live to

a ripe old age in captivity. I will quote Dr. Butler’s experience

of longevity among his birds: Black-headed lived 14 years,

Madagascar and Napoleon 12 years, Orange 10 years, Baya 8

years, Common 7 years, and a Red-billed 15 years. I think for

small cage birds this would take a lot of beating. Then as

regards the price, most of those I have mentioned can be

bought for 2/6 each, and very often cheaper when out of colour.

If you are within easy distance of some foreign bird dealer and

wish to keep a few find out when he is expecting a consignment

of African birds in, and if you are not well up in this species,

get a friend who is to go with you and look carefully through the

stock, usually for an outlay of a few shillings you can get two or

three kinds of Weavers; only take my advice and get them if

possible out of colour, for the pleasure of watching them come

into colour for the first time is never forgotten.


Their bill of fare is simple. Weavers require only Canary



