164 



Short motes, anb Xetters to tbe EMtor. 



ST. HELENA vSEED-EATERS, GREEN-SINGING 



FINCHES AND BENGALESE. 



Sir, — Having managed to procure a hen for my cock St. 

 Helena Seed-eater, I am anxious to see if I can possibl}' breed 

 them, so I am writing to ask if you will })e good enough to 

 give me some information in that direction, as I have never 

 gone in for Ijreeding before. 



Would they be likely to breed in a breeding cage 18 inches 

 "b}' 18 inches, b}' 20 inches high ? 



What nesting material should I give them ? 



At what time of year are they most likely to pair ? 



1 also have some Green-singing Finches and Masked 

 Weavers which are in a cage 48 inches by 24 inches b}- 48 inches 

 high. Are the former at all likely to breed ? The Weavers 

 are busy building, and it is most interesting to watch them. 



I have also a pair of Bengalese in a small cage. What 

 kind of nesting material and apparatus ought I to give them, 

 and also at what time of the year ought they to breed ? 



J. McD. 



I do not think the vSt. Helena Seed-eaters are at all likely 

 to breed in a cage. The}' appear to have never yet been 

 successfully reared in this couutr}', even in an aviar\'. They 

 are South African birds, and their natural breeding time is our 

 winter— the time of year when they would be likely to breed 

 in this country would depend upon a variety of circumstances, 

 but most S. African species adapt themselves to our seasons 

 readih', and breed in the summer. My own pair of St. Helena 

 Seed-eaters, which were sent to me from Cape Town last 

 Marcli, have been in my outdoor aviary since the beginning 

 of May, but have shown no inclination to build. Mr. O'Reilly's 

 pair, which were part of the same importation, have nested and 

 hatched, but not reared. The Green-singing Finch has been 

 bred in a small cage, but it is not very ready to nest in 

 •captivity, and you would only succeed in breeding it in a 

 cage by a lucky accident. Both these species are nearly 

 allied to the Canary, and of course ])uild an open nest. They 

 would build in an ordinary Canary's nest box, and hay and a 

 common " uest-bag" would suffice for material. 



