Ploceus. Cuv. As above.
Euplectes. Nob. Bill of Ploceus. Toes and claws very slender. The greater quills scarcely longer than the lesser; spurious quill very minute. Type, Loxia Orix. L.
Specific Character.
Orange yellow, varied above with black: head, chin, and front of the throat black: nape with a chestnut band.
Oriolus textor. Auct.
Ploceus textor. Cuvier. Reg. Anim.
Le cap-more. Buff. Son. 19, p. 165. Pl. Enl. 375 (very bad).
The Weaving Birds, confined to the hotter regions of the old world, are chiefly found in Africa, where they represent the Hangnests (Icterinæ) of America: an analogy long since remarked by Buffon. Both these tribes astonish us by the consummate skill with which they fabricate their nests: but the intelligence displayed by the African Weavers is still more wonderful. The curious reader will see a most interesting account of these birds in Paterson's African Travels, or in Wood's Zoography.