25 



couple or so of Greenfinch and Bullfinch hens, which 

 are kept on the off-chance of their turning out to be 

 breeders. So far I am bound to say that I have had no 

 results from these native ladies, the nearest approach 

 to success having been reached by a Greenfinch paired 

 to a Goldfinch cock. She laid three clutches of eggs 

 in one season which all proved to be infertile, though 

 she herself was a particularly close sitter. Perhaps I 

 am wrong in so doing, but I always liberate those that 

 do nothing and start again the next spring with fresh 

 ones. 



I find that it is quite safe to put fresh caught 

 native and newly imported Russian birds into the 

 aviary in the autumn, and once I turned out a caged 

 British Goldfinch just after he had finished his second 

 house-moult. He lived and flourished like the rest of 

 the birds. This was perhaps a somewhat rash experi- 

 ment, and I should not like to take the responsibility 

 of advising my readers to copy my example, though 

 it is quite possible that in the majority of instances no 

 harm would accrue. I have on several occasions 

 bought a white-legged Goldfinch in the summer and 

 turned it out there and then amongst the others, but 

 that is quite another matter and is a perfectly safe 

 proceeding. A curious thing in connection with these 

 birds, and one which points with no uncertain finger 

 to the different effects of different kinds of captivity, 

 is that after they have been out of doors some time 

 their white feet always revert to the original dark 

 colour, and if they have moulted out pale in the blaze 

 this gradually darkens till it finally becomes exceed- 

 ingly rich and deep. Redpolls, which indoors entirely 

 lose their colour at the first moult, if kept out of doors 

 will moult up their red caps, and sometimes their rosy 

 breasts will reappear, though very faintly and only for 

 the once. Occasionally the cap will survive through 

 a second moult under these conditions. 



