130 Editorial. 



therefore it seems (juite i)ossil)le that if [liul,L;erii(ars were 

 ori.niiiall}' blue, the yehow (a protecti\e colour) came in and 

 l)rodnce(l the g'reens. accorcHn;^' to tlie rule of the survival of 

 the fittest. 



^»^ 



Editorial. 



W'nnK-ciiKKKKD [•"inch- I.AKK. fvrc. — Diu' member. Mr. 

 .Shore Uaily has a yottni^' h'ird of this s])ecies on the win,!^'. also a 

 younj^- ( ireen lM-tiit-ri!.^eon has left the nest. A detailed account 

 Mill appear in a later issue. We heartily con.^ratulate our mem- 

 ber on these sticcesses. 



Nkstixc; .Xo'iks. — ( )ur memljer. Mr. 11. Brii^ht, informs 

 tis that 1 Mamond h^inches, and Lon,L;-tailed ( Irassfinches have 

 noisy broods of young' in the nest. l'oi)e Cardinals have two 

 fully f^ed.ged yount^- ones. Cuban ImucIics and Malabar Starling's 

 also, apparently have youn,i4' in the nest, but the}" are \-ery secre- 

 ti\e and their mo\enients very difficult to follow. Mr. Bright 

 remarks that many of the first nests were not serious attempts, 

 and that many species with him were checked during the wet 

 weather that followed tlie first warm spell, but that now most 

 of them have fresh nests constructed, some already have clutches 

 of eggs. 



In Mr. W . r. Page's aviary, not nntch is doing at present, 

 but a pair of (irey-winged ( )uzels have two or three young in the 

 nest, which they are bringing up on such live food as the aviary 

 provides. Unfortunately there are very few pairs so tliat there 

 cannot be man}' results this season, (ioukhan ]'"inches are 

 showing signs of going to nest, and Zebra Finches are nesting. 

 Bank Mynahs and Indian (ireen-wing Doves as yet show no 

 signs of going to nest. .\ pair of .\11 ( ireen Contuses ha\e occu- 

 pied a nest barrel for two months: one or other of the pair 

 l)eing alwa}s in the barrel, but no result up to the ])resent. A 

 cock I'tu'ple Sunbird has been a i)leasing feature of the series: 

 he has been most assiduous in his attentions to the flowering 

 shrubs — cup or bell-shaped Howers he is most attentive to and 

 extracts the hone}' but does not destroy the fiowers — other 

 types of flowers he ai)parently ignores — from the i")endant flow- 

 ers of a Forsythia he took the nectar hovering, Ijut from the 

 erect flowering W'iegelia he leisurely sipped the nectar while 



