4 M iiiniiL'ins. 



llieir liilurc (comin.L;) family. I'irst a silt' is cliosen, and tliey 

 make a serious business of this; what a number of Hkely places 

 arc carefully examined and rejected before the ideal spot 's 

 found! Then there is no delay; brief recreation and feeding 

 only arc allowed to interru])t the building. Their home when 

 finished is not an elegant one; externally it looks more like a 

 ball of hay, ragged and initidy. thrown together anyhow, but 

 examine the interior which is c|uite symmetrical and well finished, 

 cosily lined with fine hay and usually a few feathers. In due 

 course three to five eggs (my broods have never exceeded three, 

 but on two occasions one or two infertile eggs have been left ir. 

 the nest after the young have flown) are deposited therein and 

 incubation begins, which duties both male and female share, 

 but the male's share is small indeed compared with that of his 

 wife. How busy and excited they become as soon as soft 

 voices are heard in the nest, and with w^hat care and valour they 

 guard their home. What a happy day it is wdien they bring out 

 their little family into the aviary-world. How interesting to 

 watch the family party sunning, feeding, and exercising 

 together, ere the parent birds commence the duties of rearing 

 another brood. 



I have found them to be double brooded, though often, 

 when the season is cold and abnormally wet, only one brood is 

 reared. 



I have lingered too long over this species, but it is rather 

 '' favourite of mine. To me it is as beautiful as the somewhat 

 garishly clad Gouldian Finch ! 



This species has been successfully crossed with other 

 Mu)}ias. 



Yellovv-rumped Mannikin. — Quite as beautiful as the 

 preceding species, perhaps more so; it has rather a curious his- 

 tory as to its place in aviculture : introduced to aviculture at 

 one of the large London autumn shows by, I think. Mr. D. Seth- 

 Smith, it created a mild furore — it is as handsome as any of the 

 (rrassfinches — the following year quite a crowd were on the 

 market ; at the present moment few, if ?ny, are alive in this 

 country. 



Tt is a charming aviary bird and stands conspicuously 

 against a background of dark green foliage, and is no more 



