i6 S())]ic Fiiiclics I have kept. 



liedg"es of hazel, hawthorn, privet and elder — the flight was 

 built over them, which accounted for its height — the tops ol 

 which grew through the roof of flight, yet the Olives did not 

 use them, but chose a group of docks, growing right in the 

 open and close by the side of the path, yet so cunningly was the 

 nest concealed amid the seed-heads of the docks that incubation 

 had commenced before the nest was discovered — the photo, 

 reproduced herewith, was taken after the three young birds had 

 flown. This was their fourth attempt and initial success. 



The young" were three Aveeks old wlien they left the nest, 

 and for a time looked queer, bob-tailed little birds, and were 

 ol a nondescript dull olive-green colour, but it was not long- 

 before their orange throat and facial markings began to show. 

 While in the nest the parent bird took soft-food, seed, and 

 insects to their offspring indiscriminately, and there w^as no 

 check in their development — the weather was fine and warm 

 from the date of hatching to their exit from the nest, which 

 was followed by a couple of showery warm days, succeeded by 

 another fine spell. 



They were stalked many times with a reflex camera, but 

 refused to be wooed, spending most of their time after leaving 

 t!ie nest amid the thickest growth in the aviary, and were only 

 occasionally seen at the food hoppers, retiring to thick cover at 

 once, when they w'ere conscious of being observed. However. 

 they became less retiring after the moult, and were then often 

 seen disporting about the aviary. 



This pair reared me two more broods the following year. 

 In both these later cases the nests were natural ones, one in a 

 thick privet bush, among' the twigy top branches, and the other 

 in the fork of a large elder tree, well screened by short, stubby 

 leafy twigs. The details were much the same as with their 

 first brood, and need not be repeated. 



1 found them c|uite amial)le amid a series of some 150 

 birds, from a Waxbill to a Thrush, though they would not 

 permit anv other bird to remain in the vicinity of their nest. 

 ^t has been stated that they are antagonistic to their near 

 relative the Cuban Finch (P. eauora), but I did not find this 

 TO be the case, at the same time there was no friendship between 

 the two species. They did not visit the .seed dishes together, 



