The I'icd Wagtail. ii 



birds hatched in confinement are often very wild, and it is not 

 to be expected that they can " sense " clear glass. It is better 

 to have all windows and giass partitions in an aviary painted 

 or whitewashed on the inner side.* 



The Pied Wagtail is not aggressive towards other birds 

 in the aviary, but will fight savagely with any other of its own 

 species. Even in the breeding season the sexes are not on the 

 best of terms. The \\ci\ will s-:arcely allow the cock to go near 

 the nest, and I have seen him wait quite a long time with a 

 beakful of insects until the coast has been clear for him to feed 

 the young ones with safety. 



The cock died early in the winter of 1921, and before the 

 following spring I introduced no less than three other cocks 

 separately, all of which the hen killed. 



The hen is still going strong, and has another mate. 

 I caught her up, and let the cock have the aviary to himself 

 for a fortnight, after which I released her, and they soon settled 

 down peacefully. 







Some Finches I have kept. 



By Wesley T. Page. F.Z.S., M.B.O.U, 

 In this series I shall not keep strictly to finches as 

 commonly understood, but wander at will among the Families 

 PLOCEID^ and FRINGILLID^. 



I think I cannot do better than commence with the 

 plebeain Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia castanotis), for certainly.no 

 series of " Finches I have kept " can be complete, with this 

 interesting and perky species omitted, and I do not know of 

 any more fitting species to make a start with. 



By the way. what have we aviculturists been doing to this 

 pretty, if common and well-known, species? In the past one 

 had only to turn a pair into a garden aviary to have a crowd 

 there by the end of the season — now such is by no means the 



* This precaution is a very necessary and important one ; for, young birds 

 bred in captivity are born with their wild instincts un^mpalred, and are 

 mostly very wild when they make their exit from the nest. Moreover, 

 I know of many valuable adult birds who have similarly perished from 

 flying against unprotected glass. — ^W.T.P. 



