522 



The Living Animals of the World 



by the Bishop-birds, the handsomest of which is the red species. Sociable in habits, this 

 bird throughout the j'ear 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 

 Toddy-birds, 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 liirds 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 mu.shroom. 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, carr\-ing 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 as the Taxagers, 

 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 

 States in summer. The most 

 beautiful are the Scarlet, 

 Crimson-headed, and White-capped 

 Tanauers. The last-named is 

 generally allowed to be the love- 

 liest of the group. The entire 

 plumage of both sexes is a beauti- 

 ful cornflower-blue, surmounted by 

 a cap of silvery-white feathers, a 

 crimson spot on the forehead look- 

 ing 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 

 We.stern 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. 



Well-known British members of this section 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 hy 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 com^wsed of twigs inter- 

 mixed with lichens, inside of dry grasses lined with fine roots and hair. The site chosen 



Photo b^ W. F. PirjffotQ 



{Lcifjlitoii Buzzard. 



HAWFINCH. 



A resident in the eastern and midland counties of England. 



