from a Canary nest bag, or a few feathers, will suffice for nesting 

 material. The birds are very tame, and are at least as indifferent 

 as Canaries are to observation or interference. 



The voting can be reared perfectly well on seed and green 

 food, but crumbled sponge cake ma}' be supplied, and crushed 

 biscuit. Egg food is undoubtedly dangerous, and I well remem- 

 ber losing a fine nest of four or five young Bengalese from a 

 mysterious disease which I now believe to have been brought 

 about by its use. 



There is no reliable means of distinguishing cocks from 

 hens except by the song of the males. In the absence of a 

 female, a cock Bengalese will often sing to another male, — so if 

 one has a couple and one sings to the other, it is not safe to 

 assume that they are a pair. This bird readily interbreeds with 

 nearly allied forms. I have bred several hybrids between it 

 and the Silverbill, all of which resemble the Silverbill more than 

 the other parent. 



There is usually little success in breeding Bengalese in a 

 large aviary — especially if more than one pair present, in which 

 case they often all crowd into one nest. And the bird does not 

 defend its nest so well as the wild species do. 



Anyone with the necessary time and space could conduct 

 some interesting investigations into the problems of variation 

 and heredity by experimenting in the breeding of this bird, and 

 by crossing it with other forms. 



flDv> favourite Strctcb of 3noian IRivcr. 



By Captain G. A. Pekkeau. 

 It is curious the way the stream is divided off into stretches, 

 especially when birds are plentiful, as in autumn, With so many 

 young birds, half a mile will perhaps give four or five stretches, 

 each holding one or a pair of Whitecaps, and a cock or a pair of 

 of Plumbeous Redstarts. The limits are the scenes of many a 

 conflict, till they become a sort of neutral or rather common 

 ground, which is left alone by the later arrival. These two 

 species have practically the same limits and leave each other 

 alone. From analogv I take it that where there are two White- 



