. From the Niger to the Nile. Alexander-Gosling Expedition; Birds. ON THE BIRD-LIFE IN NORTHERN NIGERIA 33 who make constant raids upon the crops, picking and stealing from the ripening millet and doing an incalculable amount of damage. I think the worst ofiender in this respect is the car- dinal weaver {Quelia cardinalis). To drive ofi the marauders the natives erect among the crops a rude platform of poles, on the top of which a boy sits shouting and pulling a rope hung with old tins and pieces of metal. On waste land which once bore crops but now is overgrown, flocks of waxbills (Estrelda)
. From the Niger to the Nile. Alexander-Gosling Expedition; Birds. ON THE BIRD-LIFE IN NORTHERN NIGERIA 33 who make constant raids upon the crops, picking and stealing from the ripening millet and doing an incalculable amount of damage. I think the worst ofiender in this respect is the car- dinal weaver {Quelia cardinalis). To drive ofi the marauders the natives erect among the crops a rude platform of poles, on the top of which a boy sits shouting and pulling a rope hung with old tins and pieces of metal. On waste land which once bore crops but now is overgrown, flocks of waxbills (Estrelda) pick up a living, creeping about amongst the weeds like Uttle mice. Scattered here and there are tall gum-trees from the topmost twigs of which are suspended the nests of the widow weaver {Vidua principalis). In the breeding-season the males are remarkably picturesque in their plumage of black and white, with tails sometimes a foot long. It is amusing to watch one of these birds in flight from one point to another ; he really looks as if he would never get there, so weighed down II c. T.^E BIBD-SCABER. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Alexander, Boyd, 1873-1910; Talbot, Percy Amaury, 1877-1945. London, E. Arnold
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Keywords: ., bookauthoralex, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds
