124 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 
by the BisHop-BIRDSs, the handsomest of which is the red species. Sociable in habits, this 
bird throughout the year consorts in immense flocks, which in the summer consist chiefly 
of males. 
Of the more remarkable nest-builders, the most conspicuous are the BAYA SPARROWS, or 
Toppy-Birbs, of India and Ceylon, and the SOCIABLE WEAVERS. The former suspend their nests 
by a solidly wrought rope of fibre from the under side of a branch, the rope expanding into a 
globular chamber, and then again contracting into a long, narrow, vertical tube, through which 
the birds make their exit and entrance. The latter—the SOCIABLE WEAVER-BIRD of Africa— 
builds a still more wonderful structure. As a thing apart it has no existence, a number of 
birds, varying from 100 to 300, joining their nests together, so as to form a closely interwoven 
structure, resembling, when finished, a gigantic mushroom, The structure is built among the 
branches of large trees, so that the tree looks as though it had grown up through a native 
hut, carrying the roof with it. Cartloads of grass are required to rear this structure, which 
is nearly solid. Seen from below, it presents a flat surface riddled with holes ; these are the 
entrances to the nests. 
Closely resembling the typical 
Finches in general appearance, 
and often gorgeous in coloration, is 
the group known asthe TANAGERS, 
of which more than 400 distinct 
species are known to science. Ex- 
clusively American, the majority 
of the species are found in Central 
and South America, though a few 
move northwards into the United 
Statesin summer. The most 
beautiful are the SCARLET, 
CRIMSON-HEADED, and WHITE- 
CAPPED TANAGERS. The last- 
named is generally allowed to be 
the loveliest of the group. The 
entire plumage of both sexes is a 
npn tea ine iie Saeed beautiful cornflower-blue, — sur- 
HAWFINCH mounted by a cap of silvery-white 
A resident in the eastern and midland counties of England feathers, a crimson spot on the 
forehead looking like a drop of 
blood. The identical coloration of the sexes is worth noting, as among the tanagers generally 
the female is dull-coloured. 
Among the Finches there is a considerable variety of coloration, though but little in 
bodily form; they are all attractive birds, and have the additional advantage that many are 
British. Distributed over both the northern and temperate regions of the Eastern and 
Western Hemispheres, they are unknown in Australia. The group, which comprises a very 
large number of species, may be divided into three sections—GROSBEAKS, TRUE FINCHES, and 
BUNTINGS. 
The GROSBEAKS, as their name implies, are characterised by the great stoutness of the 
beak, and some, as the EVENING-GROSBEAKS of America, are remarkable for their beauty. 
Among the well-known British members are the HAWFINCHES and GREENFINCHES. 
Common in many parts of England, though rare in Scotland and Ireland, the HAWFINCH contrives 
to make itself much disliked by the gardener, owing to its fondness for peas, though it 
fully compensates for the damage done in this direction by the numbers of noxious insects 
it destroys. The nest is a very beautiful structure; outside it is composed of twigs inter- 
mixed with lichens, inside of dry grasses lined with fine roots and hair. The site chosen 
