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THE NATIONAL GKOGRAPIIIC MAGAZINE 



I'hnloKialiil 

 A NATIV]', lilKD fanciers' CLUB MKICTS TO MATCH PETS 



At Fort de Kock, Sumatra, in the Netherlands Indies, a quorum of tril^es- 

 men squat on their heels around oddly shaped cages of wood and split 

 bamboo. While wives trade chickens, ricecakes, candy, or baskets in the 

 open-air market, the men gossip about their bulbuls and doves — and doubt- 

 less about the people next door ! In Sumatra the dove is an emblem of 

 luck, and therefore common in captivity. 



\\'hilc wh>'dahs are kept sometimes in cages, 

 they arc at their best in aviaries, where the 

 handsomel>' decorated males can be seen to 

 advantage. 



Among the various species the paradise 

 wh)'dah ( Stciiaiiiira paradisaea ) , shown in 

 Plate V, is one of the best known. The tail 

 in the male has (wo pairs of feathers with 

 extraordinary development. The central pair 

 has the base broad and the tips extended as 

 slender filaments, while the second pair is 

 much elongated. In both the feathers are 

 turned until what would normalh' be the lower 

 surfaces of each pair are applied to the adja- 



cent plumes so that the 

 tail is curiously flat- 

 tened from side to side. 

 The longer feathers 

 may be a foot in length. 



These decorations are 

 confined to the males, 

 as females and imma- 

 ture males are streaked, 

 sparrowlike birds with 

 the tail short, as in 

 most species of this 

 group. In a native state 

 the paradise whydah 

 has a wide distribution 

 in Africa. 



The giant wh}'dah 

 (Diatropura progne) 

 of eastern and south- 

 ern Africa is nearly as 

 large in body as a red- 

 winged blackbird, and 

 the streaming tail 

 feathers are eighteen 

 inches in length. It is 

 one of the most showy 

 of aviary birds. Each 

 male has f a \- o r i t e 

 perches where he sings 

 a sibilant song and flut- 

 ters his wings in dis- 

 play, showing his red 

 shoulders in brilliant 

 contrast with his black 

 wings and bod\'. 



Re(l-I>ille»l Weaver 



The red-billed weaver 

 (Qiielea quclea), some- 

 times called the "red- 

 billed dioch." is a prime 

 favorite in small avi- 

 aries and is one of the 

 common species in cap- 

 tivity (Color Plate V). 

 These birds are those 

 in which the habit of 

 \yeaving, fro m which 

 the f a m i 1 >• name is 

 taken, can be observed 

 with the greatest of 

 case. It is necessary only to supply them with 

 suitable material, such as ordinary raftia. where- 

 upon they will work with it long and indus- 

 trioush'. 



Each strand is held in place on twigs or wires 

 with the feet, while the free end is looped and 

 turned and finally knotted, the process being 

 repeated until the straw is completely used. 



The birds often seem highly critical of their 

 work: they pull and twist at it, or even undo it 

 and start over, until finally it suits them. 



At freedom they weave globular nests of 

 grass, but in captivit\- their energy is dewited 

 ordinarih- to ornamenting the wires of their 



