CAPE, OR YELLOW -RUMPED WEAVER. 181 
The bird before us is particularly stalking in its 
plumage, and is one of the most typical of these in- 
genious architects, at least in its form ; for in its bill 
it is almost an exact counterpart of the genus Coc- 
coborus of the American continent. The "Weavers, 
however, are entirely restricted to the old world ; 
they are known by their very small spurious quill, 
and by their large and long toes and claws; the 
former, indeed, is generally so minute, that it can 
seldom be detected without very close examination, 
while the great length of the toes and claws (besides 
typifying the great footed rasorial types), probably 
enables them to be employed by the bird in building. 
In the adult bird the feathers of the head and 
neck are so closely set, and so intensely black, as 
to resemble the richest velvet ; the same rich black 
uniformly spreads over all those parts which are not 
yellow, but in young birds the upper plumage is 
light brown, with a black stripe down each feather ; 
we suspect that the full plumage is not acquired 
even after the first moult ; for although the bird is 
coiilmon to Senegal and other parts of Africa, the 
specimens usually seen are in immature plumage. 
The wings reach only to half the length of the tail, 
which is slightly rounded, and has the feathers 
broad and truncate ; the tertials are lengthened 
as long as the primaries, the four or five first of 
which are nearly of equal length; these and the 
scapulars are edged with brown. The hinder toe, 
with its claw, is considerably longer than the lateral 
ones ; and the middle is equal to the tarsus, although 
