2IO 



pairs of Bearded Tits which the shop-keeper told me 

 formed part of an imported consignment of ten 

 pairs, one of which he had sold two days previously 

 to the dealer who had offered to furnish me with a 

 certificate of birth with my pair! 



It will be gathered from the purport of this article 

 that I scarcely recommend the keeping of Tits in 

 separate cages. An opportunity of exercising their 

 incessant activity seems to be a necessity of their 

 w^ell-being, and nothing short of an aviary will really 

 afford this. If, however, the attempt be decided upon, 

 the cage should be a roomy one, and should be made 

 in such a way that a living branch from a shrub or 

 bush may be provided for the birds, instead of, or in 

 addition to, the usual perches. Such a branch will 

 afford exercise for the birds, and a relief for their feet, 

 and can be thrown away and replaced by a fresh 

 one when soiled. 



Breeding Bicbeuo'e ]fincbc5. 



By J. J. F0UI.IS. 



IT has often been said that unless housed in a good 

 sized aviary with natural surroundings the rarer 

 foreign finches will not breed successfully. The 

 following record of my experience will show 

 that such is not always the case, and may, I trust, 

 encourage those of our members who have to content 

 themselves with cages for their pets. 



In June last I purchased a male Bicheno's Finch, 

 bred in this country, which I kept by himself until, 

 in the middle of July, my efforts to procure a genuine 

 female were rewarded and I found myself the possessor 

 of a rather dilapidated specimen. (I had purchased four 

 birds as females, all of which were males.) I kept the 

 birds in separate cages for nearly four weeks, and at 



