Freely Imported Species and their Treatment 81 



the bill was black. They now more closely resemble the 

 Avadavat than the Goklen-breaKt, both in general colouring, 

 and in size. The cock, at its present stage of development, 

 is almost indistinguishable from a cock Avadavat out of colour. 

 The back and wings are a dark greenish -brown, the latter 

 with white spots. Tail black, with the two outer feathers 

 edged with white. The upper tail coverts are a rich brownish - 

 red, with several white spots. The breast, abdomen and vent 

 are a dull yellow, and the flanks shew indistinct zebra 

 markings. At present the throat and cheeks show signs of 

 the crimson marking of the Avadavat, but the area round the 

 eye is darker. The beak is red, but the upper mandible 

 still has a dark median line. The female birds are somewhat 

 similar to the cock in general colouration, but the wing spots 

 are absent, and the tail coverts are a much duller red, and 

 also lack the white spots. The breast and abdomen are 

 little more than a dullish -grey. 



The above description can scarcely be said to be satis- 

 factory, as the birds are evidently in a sort of transition stage 

 of their colour change. Considering the parentage of these 

 hybrids it would be interesting to see whether it would be 

 possible to breed from them. 



British Birds at the Crystal Palace Show. 



By G. E. Weston. 



It seemed to be the general opinion that the British Bird 

 section lacked nothing in the matter of interest by comparison with 

 the shows of previous years. And in this opinion as a whole 

 I concur. 



It is a great temptation of the " old stager " to call up 

 visions of the " glorious past " to the detriment — inevitable detri- 

 ment, one might almost say — of present-day institutions. "Even 

 bird shows are not exempt from this "law"; and, needless to say, 

 I am undergoing my temptation right now. The Goldfinches— first 

 favourites with all who love a combination of beauty and daintiness 

 and who can forgive mannerisms by turns charmingly simple and 

 annoyingly inexplicable — mustered in satisfactory numbers (40) but 

 I saw none amongst them which roused in me the hunger, of pos- 

 session. In short, I failed to discover a " champion of champions " 

 that could have laid low the champions I have seen in the past. 



What'B that? Yes; quite right— in the misty past I did 



