THE BIRDS OF LIBERIA 733 
tacked these nests and used the material in their own. On visiting the place 
some weeks later he found that the whole colony had left. Possibly in compe- 
tition of this sort, the more aggressive Hooded Weavers actually crowd out 
the species of similar breeding habits, which in part would account for their 
fewer numbers. 
In his list of Liberian birds Chubb includes Ploceus nigricollis, but this 
is a more eastern species and was perhaps intended for the present or the next 
species. Biittikofer does not include it in his final list. 
Melanopteryx albinucha (Bocage). White-naped Weaver 
Sycobius albinucha Bocage, Jorn. Sci. Math. Phys. e Nat., Lisboa, vol. 5, p. 247, 1876: Angola. 
Length 5.5 inches; entire plumage black, mixed on the nape with white. Sexes alike. Sierra 
Leone to Niger. 
The only previous record for Liberia was that of Biittikofer who found a 
small colony at Schieffelinsville. Dr. Linder secured a specimen at Banga 
on October 24, which is passing from immature plumage to that of the adult. 
It has a certain amount of brown on the wings, crown, and throat, while the 
belly is brownish gray, and the under tail-coverts buffy. Kemp’s recent record 
(1905) of a breeding colony in the Mission grounds at Bo, Sierra Leone, ex- 
tends its known range beyond Liberia. 
Melanopteryx castaneo-fuscus (Lesson) 
Ploceus castaneo-fuscus Lesson, Rev. de Zool., 1840, p. 99: Senegambia, Casamanse. 
Length 6 inches; head, neck, breast, wings, and tail black; entire back, abdomen, and under 
tail-coverts chestnut. Female duller, the feathers more or less edged with olive. Senegal to Congo. 
Although Biuttikofer found this a common species at Robertport, at Bavia 
on the St. Paul’s River, and on the Mesurado and Junk rivers, the only one 
we saw was an adult male shot by Whitman at Monrovia. Possibly it is local 
in its occurrence, for unlike the Hooded and some other weavers, its preference 
for nesting is in jungles of very high grass, though at times colonies build in 
trees as well. Biittikofer tells of a flock that in December, 1881, was seen 
building nests busily all day in a tree. The birds left that night but returning 
the next day, they abandoned the tree nests and started a number of new nests 
in a jungle of reeds near by. Lowe collected the species on the south coast 
at Nana Kru. In the neighboring parts of Sierra Leone, Thompson (1925) 
and Kemp (1905) both mention their breeding in colonies in the tall elephant- 
grass, but note that the exact position of the colony may change from year 
to year. The eggs are laid in early October, and there are apparently two 
broods in a year. Since this is a bird of more open country, it is probably al- 
together absent from the Liberian forests but more common toward the north- 
ern borders where the country becomes more open. 
