27 



but apparently allied to the vveavia<( fiiiclies, is a small 

 olive-green bird with yellow face and markings. Ivike 

 its better known relative, the common Cuba Finch, it is 

 rarely imported, and hence is but little known as a cage- 

 l)ird ; a role which it seems eminently fitted to play, 

 being easih- satisfied as to food, hard}- and fairly 

 indifferent to cold, and at the same time willing to go to 

 nest. From the common Cuba-finch, the Olive is dis- 

 tinguished by its yellow chin, which is black right up to 

 the beak in the former. It is found in most of the West 

 Indian Islands, while the former is confined to Cuba. It 

 seems to keep as a rule in small flocks, feeding on 

 various seeds and no doubt also eats a certain number of 

 insects as well, though in captivity the Cuba-finches 

 seem to care little for any addition to their seed. 



The most interesting of the Parrots exhibited was a 

 female Goi^den-SHOUI.derEdParrakeet, which belongs 

 to the same genus as the Many-coloured Parrakeet, but 

 as it inhabits only the northern portions of Australia it is 

 one of the least frequenth^ imported of all the Grass- 

 parrakeets. Like its better known relatives this bird, 

 when wild, lives chiefly on the seeds of various grasses 

 and bush plants, especially those of the flowering reeds. 

 In captivity the whole genus is often delicate at first, and 

 difficult to accustom to the canary and other seeds which 

 in captivity must take the place of its natural food. 



Theo Austrai.iax Sacred Kingfisher is rather a 

 larger and longer-legged bird than ours, with which, 

 however, it cannot be compared in beaut}-, as it seems, 

 even when in perfect condition, to lack the absolutely 

 indescribable lustre and brilliance of the Buropean bird. 

 The general arrangement however of the colour is much 

 the same, the upper part being bluish-green and the 

 under surface brown. As it belongs to the more 

 omnivorous division of the Kingfishers it is less unsuited 

 to captivity than is our bird ; but the specimen exhibited 

 is the first I have ever seen in a cage, though in the 

 Western Aviary at the Zoo there are (or have been 

 lecently) several examples which seem to have thrived 



