I/O CASSEL1.S BOOK OF BIRDS. 



direction, and thus render the roof water-tight. At this stage the beautiful fabric presents the 

 appearance of a cone, placed upon the half of a ball. An entrance to its interior is next obtained 

 by constructing a long tubular passage, extending downwards from a hole at the side, quite to the 

 bottom of the nest, to the exterior of which it is firmly attached. The interior is lined with 

 soft stems of grasses, and very frequently the birds may be seen employed upon this wonderful 

 structure, even after the eggs have been laid ; these latter, from three to five in number are at 

 first white, then red, and only gradually acquire their green colour. From Heuglin we learn that the 

 male undertakes the principal labour of constructing his own abode, and that he may frequently be found 

 building it, as though in anticipation, at times when he has no especial need of a nest. As far as we 

 could ascertain, the care of brooding devolves entirely upon the female ; she is, however, assiduously 

 tended by her mate, who likewise shares her toils when the time comes for feeding the nestlings. 

 This latter duty is performed so diligently that scarcely a minute elapses between the arrivals of the 

 parents bringing supplies to satisfy the gaping young ; they hang upon the lower part of the nest, 

 thrusting in their heads and placing the morsel into the outstretched beaks of their hungry progeny. 

 At such times, when the nests are numerous and placed closely together, a settlement of Weaver 

 Birds can be compared to nothing but a bee-hive, as the inhabitants perpetually fly backwards and 

 forwards in one unceasing bustle and confusion. These birds are occasionally, but very rarely, 

 brought to Europe. 



The BAYAS (Ndicurvius). The members of this remarkable group inhabit the whole of 

 Southern Asia, including the neighbouring islands, and are characterised by the formation of the beak, 

 which is somewhat prolonged, with the ridge vaulted, and joining on to the forehead almost in a 

 straight line. The wings, of which the fourth quill is the longest, are of moderate length, the tail is 

 short, the feathers being of equal size and sharply pointed, the tarsus strong, and of medium height ; 

 the coloration of the plumage is by no means bright, 



THE BAYA, 

 The Baya (Nelicurvius Bayd), the most celebrated of the race, is of a dark brown upon the 

 upper portion of its body, and all the feathers, particularly those of the wing and tail covers, are 

 bordered with yellowish white ; the breast is marked with light brown, the shafts of the feathers being 

 of a deeper shade. The face and front of the throat are black, the top of the head bright yellow, and 

 the primary quills edged with a narrow yellow line. The female is without the black and yellow 

 upon the head, the eyebrows are pale, the breast and chin of a whitish shade. The winter coat of 

 the adult male is like that of the female ; in the young male the breast is pale red. The beak is horn 

 colour, the iris brown, the feet flesh coloured, the eye dark blue. The length of this bird is six 

 inches, and its breadth nine and a half inches ; the wing measures two inches and four-fifths, and 

 the tail two inches. This species is found extensively throughout India, Assam, Burmah, and the 

 Malayan peninsula, frequenting woodlands in large numbers ; it is much more rarely met with in 

 the highlands of the Deccan. Corn, rice, and various kinds of grass-seeds constitute its principal 

 food, but we have never been able to ascertain from our own observation that it will eat fruit. The 

 Bayas breed during the rainy season, which occurs between April and September, according to the 

 locality, and associate freely with other species. Their very curious nests, which in shape resemble a 

 retort, are models of neat and compact architecture : these structures are generally hung from the 

 branches of palms, or other trees, and in India we have never seen them elsewhere ; in Burmah, on 

 the contrary, it is not uncommon to find them suspended from the eaves of houses, or from the huts 

 cf the natives, some twenty or thirty in a row. On one occasion we observed not fewer than a 



