123 



erected and extended, vigorously pouring out his song (by 



courtesy) the whole time. At this time he is a handsome bird 



indeed, and I am not without hopes of breeding them. The 



female is rather smaller, slightly less rosy in hue, and the 



feathers of the head not quite so long as those of the male. 



As regards song this is decidedly below par, even for 



Starling melody. 



* # * 



Pink-browed Rose Finch (Propasser rhodochrous). The 

 male is a beautiful bird indeed, though it is doubtful if he will 

 retain his beautiful rosy hue for any length}' period in captivity. 

 The female is a study in brown, very prettily marked but without 

 any of the rich hues of the male. The adult male is brown on 

 the upper surface, with an intense rosy wash over the whole ; the 

 under surface is bright rose-colour, striated with brown ; the eye- 

 brow streak is very distinct and rich in colour. I have this pair 

 in my largest aviary, where they have become very fit and almost 

 ridiculously tame, especially the female, so much so that one 

 cannot open the aviary door with provender of any kind in the 

 hand, without her alighting on same, even coming out of the 

 aviary to do so, but never attempting to fly away, entering the 

 aviary again with you, contentedly feeding on the contents of 

 your hand ; once you are inside the male joins her. I have great 

 hopes of them breeding as the)' are often seen carrying straws 

 about, but there has been no serious attempt at nesting yet. If 

 the confiding demeanour of my pair may be taken as typical of 

 the species, they certainly are delightful birds, which should 

 become at home in our aviaries, and soon settle down and re- 

 produce their kind. The reproduced photo of the female is very 

 characteristic, and will give a general idea of the markings of 

 both sexes, but as already stated the female is brown, the male 



more or less rosy- red. 



% x- # 



The Grey - winged Ouzel (Merula boulboul). I have 

 possessed the male of this species before, which I described fully 

 in Vol. V. Bird Notes, and have nothing to add thereto, save to 

 say that I was very glad that Capt. Perreau was able to procure 

 me a true pair, which I shall hope to breed next season. It has 



