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birds that have not been "seeded off." To tempt them to nest 

 I .shall give them fairly large boxes with small entrances, empty, 

 and with chips in them, and one at least nearly filled with tightly 

 packed hay. 



They drink little, but water should be placed handy for 

 them. I have seen them bathe occasionally in a half-hearted 

 way, but they prefer to sit on the edge and get splashed by other 

 birds. 



Once acclimatised they seem to do well and stand cold 

 well. My aviary (Indian) consists of a shelter, verandah and 

 flight ; the Finches also get some shelter along one side of 

 the flight under the eaves of our house. This bit of shelter is all 

 that my Blue-crowned have ever used. They occasionally go 

 into the verandah for seed (their own food is close to them) but I 

 have never seen them in the shelter and they always roost in their 

 own corner under the eaves, high up, generally but not invariably 

 hanging head downwards. Hot damp, as might be expected, 

 suits them well. They are particularly fit in the "rains" when 

 many birds are mopey. Cold damp seems to do them no harm 

 and I would not mind leaving acclimatised birds outdoors during 

 an English winter, but the shelter would have to be good and the 

 birds would have to use it. Our winter in the Punjab hills is 

 cold, frost and snow, but we do get a liberal share of sun. As 

 with some other bright birds the final moult of the cock into 

 adult plumage is attended with danger. I have only had one hen 

 that wished to nest so perhaps I am rather rash to give my 

 experiences from a single specimen, but here they are for what 

 they ma) 7 be worth. 



I have had the chance of getting the Red-headed Ceylon 

 species, but did not take it, as I had the Blue-crowned, in my 

 opinion far the prettiest of the three species I have seen alive. I 

 fancy all the species are much the same in habits. 



