84 Some Colony Birds. 



indeed, the ancestor of the now world-wide favourite cage- 

 bird. Above, its feathers are olive-brown, edged with lighter 

 colour and not unlike those of the English Sparrow; its 

 throat, breast, and vent are a sli^ghtly-greenish yellow, as also 

 above and below the eye, merging into a greener tint on the 

 cheeks. The hen is the same but not so bright. It readily 

 becomes tarn,© in a cagic (which is another argument in favour 

 of the above theory) and breeds freely. A cock bird 1 have 

 in my aviary made love to a hien Tua-tua, and I have no 

 doubt they would have gone to nest had 1 put ihem in a 

 cage by themselves. But I dislike hybrids of every kind. 

 Its wooing" was delightful. It would fly from side to side of 

 the aviary and remain before its beloved object on suspended 

 wing like a heavy humming" bird, and all this time would utter 

 loud notes of self-admiration as if to say, " Look at titis, 

 look at tkis\ See what I can do\'' Then it would alight 

 and pour forth its song. The song, though lively enough, 

 is stereotyped. It might easily be reproduced in a mechanical 

 toy. It is wanting in variety and its gamut is short. Begin- 

 ning with a few staccato no/tes it gradually increases the pace, 

 rising by semitones ; then it trills, still increasing the pace ; 

 then ends abruptly as if out of breath. But it begins again 

 immediately for it is an incessant singer when it once takes 

 up its song. In a cfage with other birds it is interfering and 

 inclinec to be masterful. It should therefore be kept alone. 



The White-Throated Finch or Ring-Neck. 

 The White-throated Finch or Grass-bird {Spermop/dla 

 I'uieata), commonly called the Ring-Neck, is the largest of 

 three Black-and-White Finches, often mistaken for one an- 

 other. Rightly are these small Finches called Grass-birds 

 {S pernio p kit a, seed-lover j for they feed exclusively on the 

 seed of the larger kinds of grasses, plucking the seed as it 

 grows on the stem and often performing many amusing acro- 

 batic antics in the process. Unlike most other Finches they 

 even feed their young on the same diet, having however, partly 

 digested it in their own crop. Most other Finches, as well 

 known, feed their nestlings on insects, and thus our common 

 I louse- Sparrow got itself transported to happier climes by 

 tliose who iiad that amount of nature knowledge which proved 

 a dangerous things, in the hope tliat it would clear the land 



