78 



tail- and tinder wing-coverts pale isabelline-yellow , 

 under surface of wings ash-grey. Bill as in the male ; 

 eyes grey. 



In size this bird practically equals the Common 

 Firefinch, which it also closely resembles in general 

 demeanour. 



Herr Schmidt from his experience with the species 

 considers it the frailest of all the Astrilds, and writes 

 of it as follows : — "The love-song of the cock is ver\^ 

 "pleasing, a shrill, loud, fairly long strain, which he 

 " utters, while dancing round his mate, opening his 

 " beak with lively movements towards her, spreading 

 '* out his tail and wagging it to and fro at her feet, as 

 '* the Zebra Waxbill does." 



Here again is a beautiful bird which is not yet 

 obtainable at the dealers, but which is indeed worth 

 an3^one's while making great efforts to obtain. Herr 

 Fockelmann, the Hamburg dealer, tells me that in 

 1876 he had about twent}^ head of this species at the 

 Kiel Exhibition, which were nearly all cocks and all 

 recently imported. They have also been at times in 

 the collection of Fraulein Hagenbeck, who has kept 

 one of them for over six months, though it was par- 

 tially bald, and was not specially looked after, being 

 kept with and treated like the Common Firefinches. 



I sincerely trust that any fancier, whose bird room 

 only possesses a single bird, will attempt to breed from 

 it by pairing it with its near ally, the Common Fire- 

 finch. 



As regards the names which have been given to 

 this bird, the designations '' Red-breasted Astrild or 

 Amaranth {Rothbrusta7nara7it, Br.)" are inappropriate, 

 as the bird has a much less noticeably red breast than 



