196 Three Tyfeliae. 



" the earth for a second, does not run much here and there 

 "upor. it. It has an extremely ijentle disposition, is in no 

 "respect timid, moreover its monotonous song is only occasion - 

 "aily heard, at the commencement of the rainy f^eason, sound- 

 " ing from the bare parts of the thorn bushes. T have been 

 "able to learn nothing respecting its nesting habits." 



In response to my enquiry as to the pair of this species 

 under his care while aviary attendant to Mr. Willford, Mr. 

 J. Yealland sends me the following notes: — 



"The pair of Melba Finches Mr. Willford had, arrived 

 "in the spring and were acclimatised Itirds. They wore turned 

 " into a small aviary and they soon settled down to nest, 

 "nesting in a rush nest, four white eggs were laid, but all 

 "were 'infei'tile, we threw them out and another four were laid 

 "that season, these also were infertile. No more were laid 

 "that season and the birds were sold to Mr. Howe, of Wel- 

 " linglwrough, but he lost the hen." 



" As regards their behaviour, they were the only pair 

 " in the aviary, so I cannot say how they would treat other 

 "birds. In my outdoor aviary here at Binstead, they are 

 " inclined to be a bit quarrelsome. There are about 70 birds 

 "in the aviary including, Tanagers, Serins, Grassfinches and 

 "'Mannikins. The Melbas boss the lot at the seed tray; but 

 " I have not seen them actually chase the other birds about 

 "the aviary. They sit on the branches and sing a sort of 

 "warble. During 'the past twelve months I have had 28 

 " Melba Finches, but unfortunately very few hens come over. 

 " I find them easy to establish, eating a lot of Indian millet 

 "at first, and I have found it necessary to keep a large pot 

 "of this in their cage, tliey also eat canary and white millet, 

 "and are fond of chewing a mealworm. Are there two species 

 "of these? I have one quite different from the others, much 

 "darker in colour, and spangled differently: it is the only one 

 ' I have had like it." [Apparently a Red-faced Finoh (P. 

 wfra) — Ed]. 



I have observed this species many times in the aviary 

 and have found them somewhat lethargic, not anything like 

 so vivacious as the Aurora Finch for instance; still, they 

 arenot really dull birds and their great beauty, coupled with the 

 difficulty of getting them, cause them to be much sought after, 



