Breeding of Ruficaudas, Painted Finches, etc. 197 



on making their nest in the side of a huge structure (fully 

 two feet in length) which the Mannikins had built: conse- 

 quently the latter took up another position in the aviary, where 

 they made an equally large nest, in the side of which the St. 

 Helena Waxbills have established themselves, while the Manni- 

 kins go in and out of the top section of their nest. These 

 two pairs of birds agree perfectly, while the Painted Finches 

 insisted in driving the Mannikins away. Perhaps they objected 

 to their sombre plumage! The Painted Finches were the 

 best of parents, and brooded the young birds most assid- 

 uously. I noticed that the old birds were particularly keen 

 after mealworms, ant " eggs," and blow-fly pupee, l)ut the 

 gentles (larvae) they did not seem to care for. They were 

 also very keen after Green Fly, of which there is a most 

 bountiful supply this summer, and no doubt the rapid growth 

 of their young was due to the constant feeding induced, I sup- 

 pose, by the live insect food, which was renewed twice daily. 

 Next in order come the Olive Finches, and as I under- 

 stand they have only once before been bred in this country, 

 by that ardent aviculturist, Mr. K. Phillips, I will endeavour to 

 give as full an account as lies in my power. To start with 

 it will be of interest perhaps to mention how these birds 

 came into my possession. I was on the look out for a Hen 

 Cuban Finch to replace one which had died during tiie early 

 Spring from e,gg binding, and seeing an advertisment of two 

 hens and a cock Cuban for sale, I had them sent me on 

 approval, but only to find on their arrival that they were birds 

 unknown to me. A reference to that kindly helper of the 

 aviculturist (Mr. Page) disclosed that the birds Avere Olive 

 Finches, and I decided to purchase them. I parted with the 

 odd hen. The pair I kept for myself were turned out of 

 their cage on the 14th of May, and actually started to build the 

 very next day. These birds selected a large Box tree in 

 the flight for their nest, and when the nest was nearing com- 

 pletion, I put up a shelter over the tree. To my astonishment 

 within a day or so the birds started a fresh nest, in another 

 tree at the far end of the flight, and I shook hands with my- 

 self, as it was evident no harm had been done. The birds 

 continued to go in and out of the new nest, and since either 

 the hen or cock was not to be seen by day, I naturally 



