^°';J^"-] Ff'om Magazines, &c. 5 1 



defined Red-headed rnother, being a typical P. viirabilis, and the 

 female, though of the P. gouldice type, having red blood in her 

 veins, would certainly tend to throw Red rather than Black- 

 headed young." 



In the February number of The Avicultural Alagaziiie Dr. A. 

 G. Butler describes the nestling plumage of PocpJiila inirabilis as 

 follows : — " Upper surface ash-grey washed with olive-green, the 

 forehead darker grey ; inner webs of flights and inner portion of 

 outer webs of primaries dark smoke-grey ; central tail feathers 

 blackish towards tips, outer feathers grey, the remainder with 

 grey inner webs ; sides of face whity- brown with a faint oliv- 

 aceous tinge, cheeks slightly browner, chin whitish with barely 

 perceptable tinge of olive at the sides ; breast pale dove-brown ; 

 abdomen white, slightly washed with golden-buff at the sides ; 

 under tail coverts white ; under wing coverts white faintly 

 tinged with yellow at the base ; flights below leaden-greyish ; 

 beak darker than in adult bird ; feet flesh-coloured, the digits 



dusky below." 



* * * 



Chestnut-breasted Finch and Yellow-rumped Finch. 

 — Some interesting notes on the breeding of the Chestnut- 

 breasted Finch {Mnnia castaneitJiorax) and Yellow-rumped 

 Y\x\z\\{^]\I. flaviprymna) are contributed to the February number 

 of TJie Avicultiwal Magazine by Mr. VV. E. Teschemaker. 

 Discussing the question of the latter bird's claims to rank as a 

 distinct species — for it has been regarded as merely a variant 

 form of M. castaneitJiorax — Mr. Teschemaker sums up as 

 follows; — "I think we shall not be far from the truth if we 

 assume that these are distinct species, compelled to associate by 

 a chance circumstance ; and that the dark-throated birds are 

 wild hybrids, showing their mixed parentage after the first 

 moult." The nesting of the Yellow-rumped species in Mr. 

 Teschemaker's aviary must have been very interesting to follow. 

 " On a wet and cold day," writes their owner, " the youngsters 

 were sitting, huddled up and quite incapable of flying more than 

 a very short distance, in a low bush not more than 2 feet from 

 the ground, whereas the nest box was quite G feet from the 

 ground. . . . Just at twilight both the old birds flew up to 

 the nest and began to call loudly. Instantly the young 

 commenced to scramble up to the top of the shrub. The 

 strongest one then jumped oft" on to the wire-netting and began 

 to crawl up like a little mouse, using its feet chiefly. But, alas ' 

 long before it reached the nest its strength gave out and it fell 

 to the ground. Again the parents called it, and again it fell. 

 . . . After trying other tactics unsuccessfully the old birds 

 began to push the young, which would hardly make any effort, 

 from branch to branch. ... At last they got one into the 



