CANARIES AND OTHER CAGE-BIRIj FRIEN 



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\ MISPLACLD HA\i,TACK IS THE SOCIABLF \\EA\ERS COMML^AL HOME 



Forty nests under one thatched roof burden the branches of a tree at Maquassi in the Transvaal, 

 South Africa. "Penthouse" colonies have been found containing as manv as 200 pairs of birds. When 

 a nesting site has been selected, all the feathered colonists join forces to build a common roof. 

 Individual nests are constructed close together against the underside of the general covering. Each 

 year, at breeding time, fresh nests are added upon the lower surface of the previous season's "crop." 

 In many cases the mass eventually grows so huge and heavy that the supporting branches break 

 uncler the load. A pair of pygmy falcons often takes up contemporaneous residence in one of the 

 sociable weavers' "sk\' cities." 



grass and bushes. The families are surprisingly 

 large, each nest containing from five to ten 

 white eggs. The species is naturalized about 

 Pearl Harbor on Oahu, in the Hawaiian Islands. 



Bengalee 



The Bengalee is a domesticated variety cred- 

 ited to the Japanese and developed from the 

 crossing of small weavers of the genus Urolon- 

 cha. its history being so obscure that the exact 

 ancestry is not known. 



These are chunky little birds that handle as 

 easily as canaries, since they are accustomed 

 to live only in cages and would be completely 

 at a loss if they found themselves at freedom. 



There are three varieties — a dark-brown one 

 and a light-brown one with extensive white 

 markings, both shown in Color Plate IV, and 



a third, not illustrated, that is pure white 

 throughout, except for the feet and bill. 



Java Sparrow 



The large-billed Java "sparrow" (Padda 

 oryzivora) is the most common of the weav"er- 

 bird family in captivity, as it is sold in all 

 bird stores and is kept without difficulty in 

 ordinary cages. It is in all probability the 

 best known of exotic cage birds (Color Plate 

 I\'l. This heavy-bodied bird, about the size 

 of an English sparrow, soon becomes tame. 

 Its pleasant song is given rather infrequently, 

 usually when everything about it is quiet, and 

 the bird is prized mainly for its soft colors and 

 rather curious appearance, as well as for the 

 ease with which it is kept. 



An albino variety that is pure white, or white 



