142 The Breeding of Grey Finehes, etc. 



food, simply seed, greenfood, and a few insects. Of this brood 

 I can't say definitely how many are still living, certainly 

 one, as I saw to-day (April 30th) two cocks together, one 

 of which must be a young bird; they were exactly 

 alike as to size and plumage-. 



The second nest was placed in the flowering heads of a 

 large dock, four feet alwve the ground, and right in the 

 centre of the aviary. On this occasion the cup -shaped struc- 

 ture was partly roofed in, and I was able to watch the two 

 birds busily engaged in their task; the nest could not be called 

 a sphere, or yet an oval, the cup was finished first, then round 

 alx)ut two-thirds of it a low slight wall wa> built and then a 

 thick top put on. The clutch was again three and again all 

 hatched out an I t'le three young were fully reared, but they 

 only survived their exit from the nest about one month. T 

 found the cold wet of last autumn very fatal to young birds, 

 and losi many. 



The Guttural Fixch (S. guffuraUs). It is rather 

 fortunate I am coupling these two nesting accounts together, 

 for one is almost a replica of the other, and this account need 

 be but brief. The appearance of this species is certainly not 

 brilliant, yet it certainly is pleasing, and the plumage is totally 

 different from that of the preceding species, and I had better 

 describe it before going on with the nesting episode. 



AihfJt Male: Above dull olive-green; wings dusky with olive-green 

 margins : a band of vellowish white at the base of the inner primaries ,• 

 tail dusky brown with olive-green margins ; crown, sides of face, ear-coverts, 

 cheeks, sides of neck, and fore-neck dusky black ; throat black ; breast, 

 abdomen, sides of body, flanks and under tail-coverts pale yellowish white' 

 with a greenish tinge: sides of flanks slightly mottled with black; beak 

 blackish horn : legs and feet brownish grey. Total length 44 inches, tail 1r. 



Adult Female: Above olive-brown : median and gi'eater coverts 

 dusky with olive-brown margins and whitish tips : primaries, flights and 

 tail feathers dusky with olive-brown margins : crown, sides of face and 

 ear coverts olive-brown, the latter slightly streaked with whitish ; lores, eye 

 region, and breast whitish buff : cheeks and under surface of body buffish- 

 ochre ; sides and flanks light olive-brown : thighs and under tail-coverts 

 pale whitish-ochre. Total length 4 inches, tail \L 



Hahitat : "Brazil. Guiana, Venezuela. Colombia, extending into 

 Panama, Ecuador, and Peru." (B,^[.C.) 



There really remains very little to tell of the nesting 

 episode, as it is so similar to the details already given of 



