A Java Sparroiv Episode. 203 



A Java Sparrow, {Munia oryzivora) Episode. 



Bv Wksley T. Page, F.Z.S., AI.B.U.U. 



I have always had a hkini;- for this, sol-called, clumsy and 

 heavily built species. It has a very handsome and striking- 

 appearance in a large wilderness aviary among a mixed series 

 ot birds, moreover, it is nearly always in the picture. This 

 liking began in the early days of my avicultural experience, and 

 i<- has lasted through the trail of years right up to the present 

 time, though the freshness of early acquaintance has passed. 



I have bred a goodly number of them one time and 

 another — I am writing only of the wild Grey Java Sparrow — 

 though it is a shy breeding species in captivity, unless it is 

 crossed with the White variety, when the reverse becomes the 

 case. But it is to record a special episode that 1 am penning 

 these notes. In 1916, among a consignment of Indian birds, I 

 received quite a few Grey Java Sparrows, and yielding to the 

 aforementioned liking for the species I put what I believed to be 

 three pairs into my large wilderness aviary, and, so far as I 

 know, not a sngle youngster has been reared till the present 

 season — in fact, I do not think any of the pairs ever made any 

 attempt to go to nest, which is quite in accord with the tradi- 

 tion of the species. 



On Septemlier 2nd. going into the aviary to have a 

 look at my birds, on my return from a fortnight in lovely 

 Devon, I was surprised to see two young Java Sparrow's on the 

 wing, and a short search revealed the nest in a Hartz travelling- 

 cage in the covered part of the flight; there may be more, but 

 I have not seen others as yet. The point of these notes is 

 that one of these youngsters has an entirely black head and 

 neck, while the other is quite normal ; hereby hangs a tale ! 



In the course of years I have successfully reared over a 

 hundred of this species, and )icvcr before have I had a black- 

 headed youngster. The normal juvenal is similar to that of 

 the adults, but much Hghter and with the different colour areas 

 not sharply contrasted as in the adults. In colour, the juvenal 

 beaks vary considerably, some being quite blackish witn pinkish 

 patches gleaming through, others almost white, streaked with 

 blnck and pinkish tints showing here and there. 



