THE MAHALI WEAVER. 203 



jecting grass-stems would rather assist than deter it from taking 

 the eggs, as one hand could steady the nest by holding the 

 spikes, while the other was thrust into the aperture. Other 

 nests, moreover, though exposed to the same enemies, and even 

 when placed upon the same trees, do not possess this remarkable 

 armature ; and it is hardly to be supposed that if this abattis- 

 like exterior were absolutely needful in the defence of the in- 

 mates, it would not be given to all the birds which build under 

 similar conditions. The same may be said of the nests of the 

 Pyrgitse. There are many structures among animal habitations, 

 the use of which seems to be problematical ; and until the case 

 in poiat be decided by observation, it must remain an open 

 question. 



Dr. Smith remarks that the nests of certain Pyrgitse — i.e. 

 little birds which are popularly called sparrows in South Africa 

 — are armed in a similar manner, but with sticks and twigs, 

 instead of grass. 



The Mahah is a very sociable bird, being seldom seen alone, 

 and usually assembling in flocks, which sometimes congregate 

 on the ground, and at others assemble in the branches. It is 

 ecLually sociable in the disposition of its nests, twenty or thirty 

 of these curious structures being often found gathered closely 

 together on the branches of a single tree. Although its colours 

 are not brilliant, it is a pretty bird, the back being of that 

 peculiar brown which is called " liver " by dog-fanciers, and the 

 under parts white, a long patch of snowy white also passing over 

 each cheek. It is about as large as our common starMng, the 

 total length being rather more than six inches. 



Perhaps the most singular-looking nest made by these birds 

 is that of a rather small, yellow-coloured species {Ploeeus ocu- 

 larius), a figure of which may be seen in the left-hand lower 

 corner of the illustration. This nest looks very like a chemist's 

 retort, with the bulb upwards — or, to speak more familiarly, like 

 a very large horse-pistol suspended by the butt. The substance 

 of which it is made is a very narrow, stiff and elastic grass, 

 scarcely larger than the ordinary twine used for tying up small 

 parcels, and interwoven with a skiU that seems far beyond the 

 capabilities of a mere bird. 



The following account of Weaver Birds engaged in nest- 



