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T H E ORANGE WEAVER.
P\'ro)iiela)iii /ninciscaiia, ISERT.
fJ^^HIS is a well-known, largeU" imported and very beautiful little bird wliicli,
^^'llen once acclimatized, will live for mauj- \-ears without showing a sign of
ill-health. It is an inhabitant of Western Africa from Senegambia to the Gold
Coast and the Niger, and of North-eastern Africa from S. Nubia to Shoa, Somali-
Land aud Un3'oro.
The male in breeding-plumage is principally ^-eh'et)- black; but the neck,
chin, and fore-chest are golden orange shaded with orange-vermilion, and this orange
colouring becomes redder and more brilliant with increased age; the scapularies
and centre of back vinous brown : the lower back and long plume-like tail-coverts
both above and below, golden orange, the posterior flank-plumes fiery orange;
thighs bnff; beak and legs dull greyish flesh-coloured ; iris dusky. Total length
4|- inches.
The female, and the male when out of colour, nearly resemble P. oryx, only
they are smaller, more unevenly streaked and spotted above, and whiter on the
abdomen. Length of female 4 inches.
Von Heuglin says:—"The Fire-Finch is without doubt a true bird of passage
in our region of observation. It does not however travel in vast compact flocks,
and it puts in an appearance, from the interior, in June and Jxilj'. It is particularly
abundant in the low-lying region of Ab)'ssinia, ranging to a height of about
7,000 feet in Takar, Senaar, Kordofan and Nubia. Its northern boundary on the
Nile extends to 22 degrees N. latitude. The assumption of colour in the male
takes place without a true moult in August and September; then very many
pairs assemble in the tangled maize fields, in order to carry on the business of
breeding. The nest consists of a rather slight, thin and net-like web of green
stalks, which is suspended at a height of from two to four feet, between several
Diira/z-stems standing near together after the manner of the Reed-Warbler's nest.
Thej- are proportionall}- small and not deep, and usually contain three thin-
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