42 
NATURE’S CRAFTSMEN 
and fine grasses. So close are the nests hung 
under the roof that they are only separated from 
one another by their walls, and notwithstanding 
that to all appearance they are as near alike as 
peas in a pod, no little social weaver madam ever 
makes the mistake of entering her neighbor’s 
nest. Straight and true she flies to her own door 
on the brief occasions when she must be absent 
after the brooding begins. 
“ Weaver birds have a variety of colors: some 
of them are green; others are brown or gray, va¬ 
riously marked with white or yellow; still others 
are more gayly clad in crimson or in golden yel¬ 
low. No species is larger than our canaries, and 
all are cheery and good-humored, keeping up the 
liveliest kind of 4 conversation,’ even when the 
wearying business of brooding is in hand. If 
you ever have the opportunity of visiting a large 
museum, you must be sure to ask to see the nests 
of the weaver birds. No nest is ever used but 
one season, and it is a common practice to sus¬ 
pend the new nest from the old one. A certain 
Madagascar species, it is said, often makes as 
many as five nests in succession, one hanging to 
another. Not infrequently, so great is the weight 
attached as the years go on, that the roof gives 
way, and then, and usually not until then, do the 
little happy-go-luckies build a new umbrella. 
The thorny acacia is one of the favorite homes of 
