THE SOCIABLE WEAVER BIRD. 417 



This species is allied to the Weaver Birds, some of which 

 have already been described, and makes a nest which is no whit 

 inferior to those which have already been mentioned. The 

 Sociable Weaver Bird is a native of Southern Africa, and in 

 some places is very plentiful, its presence depending much upon 

 the trees which clothe the country. It is not a large bird, 

 measuring about five inches in length, and is very inconspicuous, 

 its colour being pale buff, mottled on the back with deep brown. 



The chief interest about the species is concentrated in its 

 nest, which is a wonderful specimen of bird architecture, and 

 attracts the attention of the most unobservant traveller. Few 

 persons expect to see in a tree a nest which is large enough to 

 shelter five or six men ; and yet that is often the case with the 

 nest of the Sociable Weaver Bird. Of course so enormous 

 a structure is not the work of a single pair, but, like the dam 

 of the beaver, is made by the united efforts .of the community. 

 How it is built will now be described. 



Large as is the domicile, and capable at last of containing a 

 vast number of parents and young, it is originally the work of a 

 single pair, and attains its enormous dimensions by the labours 

 of those birds which choose to associate in common. The first 

 task of this Weaver Bird is to procure a large quantity of the 

 herb which reaUy seems as if made expressly for the purpose. 

 This is a grass with a very large, very tough, and very wiry 

 blade, which is known to the colonists as Booschmannie grass, 

 probably because it grows plentifully in that part of Southern 

 Africa where the Bushmen, or Bosjesmans live. 



They carry this grass to some suitable tree, which is usually a 

 species of acacia, called by the Dutch colonists Kameel-dorn 

 (Acacia giraffa), because the giraffe, which the Dutch persist in 

 calling a kameel or camel, is fond of grazing on the leaves. 

 This is a most appropriate tree for the purpose, as the wood is 

 extremely hard and tough, and the branches are therefore able 

 to bear the great weight of the nests. This tree is used 

 in Southern Africa for many purposes wherein hardness and 

 endurance are required, such as the axle-trees of the wooden 

 waggons, which have to withstand such rough usage, the upright 

 timbers of houses, and the handles of tools, especially those 

 which are intended for agricultural purposes. 



The birds then hang the Booschmannie grass over a suitable 



£ £ 



