RUFOUS-NECKED WEAVER BIRD . — Hyphantornis textor. 
The Weaver Birds are natives of Africa and India, and are remarkable for 
building very singular nests, even more curious than those of the Orchard and 
Baltimore Orioles. There are many of these birds, all building their nests in 
different positions. The Sociable Weaver Bird, for instance, makes a nest like a 
great honey- comb, many hundred birds inhabiting the same cluster of nests, all 
of which are made under the shelter of one roof. The Mahali Weaver makes a 
nest like a grass bottle, all the ends of the stalks sticking out on every side. 
The Rufous-necked Weaver is also an inhabitant of Africa, being found in 
Senegal, Congo, and other hot portions of that continent. 
By many persons this species is known by the name of the Capmore Weaver, 
a term which is evidently nothing but a corruption of Buffon’s name for the 
same bird, namely; “ Le Cap-noir,” or Blackcap Weaver. It is a brisk and 
lively bird, and possesses a cheerful though not very melodious song. It has 
often been brought to Europe, and is able to withstand the effects of confinement 
with some hardihood, living for several years in a cage. Some of these caged 
birds carried into captivity the habits of freedom ; and, as soon as the spring 
made its welcome appearance, they gathered together every stem of grass or 
blade of hay, and, by interweaving these materials among the wires of their cage, 
did their utmost to construct a nest. The food of this bird consists mostly of 
the beetles and other hard-shelled insects ; and, in order to enable it to crush 
their defensive armour, which is extremely strong in many of the African beetles* 
its beak is powerful, and its edges somewhat curved. Seeds of various kinds 
also form part of its diet ; and the undulating edge of the bill is quite as useful 
in shelling the seeds as in crushing the insects. 
