GOLD-CAPPED WEAVER BIED. 205 



ingenious manner in which the interior is constructed. Just 

 where the neck is united to the bulb, a kind of wall or partition 

 is made, about two inches in height, which runs completely 

 across the bulb, and effectually prevents the young birds from 

 falling into the neck. 



Although the nests are seen in considerable numbers, the 

 feathered architect does not seem to be a particularly sociable bird, 

 seldom being seen in flocks, and, as a general fact, the male and 

 female associate together and keep all other birds at a distance. 

 The eggs are generally three in number, very pale blue with a 

 few brownish spots, the spots being chiefly gathered towards the 

 larger end. The parent birds are very assiduous in their house- 

 hold cares, and each sits alternately until the eggs are hatched. 

 So absorbed are they in their task that they can be captured 

 alive, merely by grasping the lower end of the neck with 

 one hand, and then cautiously introducing the other hand into 

 the nest. Perhaps this want of caution may arise from the 

 nature of the nest, and the birds being free from all ordinary 

 danger ; and if the nest had been open, like that of most birds, 

 the inhabitants would probably be as timid as is usually the 

 case with birds when disturbed in their nests. 



Below the first-mentioned nest, and nearly in the lower 

 centre of the illustration, may be seen the beautiful nest of the 

 Gold-capped Weaver Bird, Flocevs iderocephalus, the figure 

 being drawn from a specimen in my own collection. The nest of 

 this bird is notable for the extreme neatness and compactness 

 of its structure, for it can endure a vast amount of careless 

 handling, and stUl retain its beautiful contour. The nest was 

 taken from the banks of a river near Natal, and was suspended 

 from two reeds, so as to hang over the water, and at no great 

 distance from the surface. 



The whole structure is apparently composed of the same plant, 

 namely, a kind of small reed, but the materials are taken from a 

 different portion of the plant, according to the part of the nest 

 for which they are required. The whole exterior, as well as the 

 walls, are made of the reed-stems, woven very closely together, 

 and being of no trifling thickness. There is a considerable 

 amount of elasticity in the structure, and the whole nest is so 

 strong that it might be kicked down stairs, or be thrown from 



