great number of them ; and many which have escaped do not leave the 

 house, but are constantly on the outside of the cage which formerly 

 held them." 



It was also " observed by Dr. v. Martens in the Museum of the 

 Military Library at Manilla, and, in all likelihood, an indigenous species." 

 f Arthur, Marquis of TweeddaleJ . 



Capt. "W. V. Legge, in his admirable work on the ' Birds of Ceylon,' 

 tells us " This well-known bird which is largely imported into Ceylon as 

 a cage-pet, has been successfully acclimatized in Ceylon. It is now no 

 uncommon occurrence to meet with a small flock on the compound 

 surrounding the Colombo Lake." 



Mr. Jerdon tells us that it is wild in Madras, Capt. W. V. Legge 

 mentions specimens from Tenasserim, it was procured according to E. 

 Blyth in the Merqui province, Mr. Buxton obtained specimens at Lampong 

 in Sumatra, Mr. A. R. Wallace found it at Lombok, and " It has been 

 introduced into St. Helena, and according to Mr. Melliss, is numerous 

 there." It has been collected by Dr. Kirk, Dr. Bobm and others at 

 Zanzibar, where it was introduced some years ago. 



In the ' Birds of Ceylon,' above mentioned, Capt. W. V. Legge 

 concludes his article on this species with the following passage — 

 " Habits. — This bird appears to afiect trees as much as the nearly allied 

 Munias resort to the ground. It flies swiftly, and is restless and shy. 

 In confinement it is as docile as all birds of its kind, and it is consequently 

 a favourite cage-pet. It feeds on the ground, tripping quickly on the 

 grass, and clings, with the agility of its family, to stalks of grain, to 

 which it is no doubt very destructive during harvest-time." 



Mr. Allan Hume, in his valuable and interesting volume of ' Nests and 

 Eggs of Indian Birds,' gives the following particulars of the nidification. 



" This species, the well-known Java Sparrow, a native of that island 

 but now naturalized in Mauritius, Ceylon and other places, has naturalized 

 itself also in the neighbourhood of Madras, whence I have had many 

 specimens, killed wild, as well as the eggs sent to me by my friend the 

 late Captain Mitchell. He " found a nest near Madras in August 



