246 Breeding of Hybrid Foreign Finches. 



saw both silverbills and l)ronze-\vin,i;" all .^oinq' into the same nest 

 and sitting- there, but they soon \^ot tired of playing" at nestin.g 

 and drifted a])art ; eventually a Mai^pie Mannikin fAmanresthcs 

 friiigilloidcs ) and Silverl)ill (A. cantaiis), the other Magpie 

 Mannikin and Bronze-wing, and a Chestnut-breast and Silverbill 

 all going to nest properly. The Magpie Mannikin and Silverbill 

 built a neat well hidden domed nest in a thick growth of hops, 

 just by a pair of Diamond Sparrows, who never interfered with 

 them in any way, though both had young at the same time. The 

 young were reared almost entirely on grass seeds and green- 

 food, as were the four young Chestnut-breast x Silver])ill hy- 

 brids, although plent yof ants' eggs were supplied. They seemed 

 to be very fond of sprouting grass seeds which were thrown on 

 the ground. I very nearly lost the young by frightening them out 

 of the nest before they were ready to leave, and only one actu- 

 ally lived, though two flew out. I was pruning some privet 

 which had grown through the top of the aviary wire, not think- 

 ing the young were nearly ready to fly. I suppose I went too near 

 the nest and the noise frightened them, anyhow two, not fully 

 fledged young birds, went fluttering out right to the far corner 

 of the aviary. There was nothing to be done but "wait and see" 

 if the old birds would find them, which they soon did. and tried 

 hard to induce them to come back nearer the nest, but they 

 remained where they had landed in some bushes and after a very 

 wet niglit I hardly expected to see either of them again, but 

 discovered one the next day, the other had disappeared. The 

 young one had a somewhat precarious existence for some time, 

 as it used to persist in following the four young Chestnut-breast 

 hybrids about, and they resented its presence, making things 

 .very unpleasant for it for a day or two. They were considerably 

 oVler and stronger. The cock Magpie Mannikin fed it for a day 

 or two and then left it. and in the end it used to chase the old 

 cock Chestnut-breast about and called so loudly for food when 

 he was feeding his owm young ones, that I have seen him feed it 

 several times after trying to drive it away at first. At a very 

 early age it used to feed itself on seed and somehow managed to 

 thrive and grow into a strong bird. 



It does not resemble the other hybrids in the least, not 

 being nearly so pretty and much darker in colour. It has now 



