THE GOLD-CAPPED WEAVER BIRD. 
T 23 
larius). This nest looks very like a chemist’s retort, with the 
bulb upwards — or, to speak more familiarly, like a very large 
horse-pistol suspended by the butt. The substance of which it 
is made is a very narrow, stiff and elastic grass, scarcely larger 
than the ordinary twine used for tying up small parcels, and 
interwoven with a skill that seems far beyond the capabilities 
of a mere bird. 
If the hand be carefully introduced up the neck of one of 
these nests, its admirable fitness for the nurture of the young 
birds is at once perceived. When merely viewed from the out- 
side, the nest looks as if it would be a very unsafe cradle, and 
would permit the young birds to fall through the neck into the 
water. A section of the nest, however, shows that no habitation 
can be safer, and even the hand can detect the wonderfully 
ingenious manner in which the interior is constructed. Just 
where the neck is united to the bulb, a kind of wall or partition 
is made, about two inches in height, which runs completely 
across the bulb, and effectually prevents the young birds from 
falling into the neck. 
Another of this group is the Gold-capped Weaver Bird, 
Ploceus icterocephalus . The nest of this bird is notable for the 
extreme neatness and compactness of its structure, for it can 
endure a vast amount of careless handling, and still retain its 
beautiful contour. A specimen in my collection was taken 
from the banks of a river near Natal, and was suspended from 
two reeds, so as to hang over the water, and at no great distance 
from the surface. 
The whole structure is apparently composed of the same plant, 
namely, a kind of small reed, but the materials are taken from a 
different portion of the plant, according to the part of the nest 
for which they are required. The whole exterior, as well as the 
walls, are made of the reed-stems, woven very closely together, 
and being of no trifling thickness. There is a considerable 
amount of elasticity in the structure, and the whole nest is so 
strong that it might be kicked down stairs, or be thrown from 
the top of the Monument, without much apparent deterioration. 
The interior, however, is constructed after a very different 
