158 TIic fliidurancc of Birds. 



1 lia\e more llian once been deceived into mistaking the 

 wee resplendent male, when perched at the tip of a spray of 

 herbage, for some new flower in the aviary; his gorgeous breast 

 alone stood out. his other portions blending into the surrounding 

 setting of plant life. 



i'lKV.Y Waxiull. — Not gorgeous, but exceedingly beauti- 

 ful. It has not Ijred in my aviaries, or even made an attempt to 

 do so, neither do I think it has been bred in Engish aviaries for 

 many years past. In one or two aviaries it has cross mated with 

 the St. Helena Waxbills, and hybrids have been successfully 

 reared, but it certainly is not a prolific breeder. 



Orange-chkeked Waxuill. — Another charming wee 

 alien, also from Africa; a quietly coloured and vivacious species. 

 I have found it a little less hardy than either of the foregoing, 

 but it is not a fragile species. 



A few aviculturists have bred it in aviaries, and our 

 member. ]\liss Alderson. has had at least one young bird reared 

 by a pair occupying a roomy cage, but the instances of success- 

 ful breeding, or even of attempts at same, are not numerous 



On one occasion young have been reared in my aviaries, and 

 tliis was in a nest built in a tuft of grass, in rather an exposed 

 position, but though the season was a wet one and cool w'ithal, 

 so thick and closely woven were the walls of the nest that the 

 interior, after the young bird had flown, showed no signs of the 

 wet having penetrated — the walls of the nest were fully one inch 

 thick. The nest was so cunningly placed as to be very difficult 

 to discover, and so cleverly camouflaged by being woven round 

 the stems of the growing grass that the dried grass, with which 

 the nest was built, was obscured by the living grass, and T onlv 

 discovered it by accident, by seeing one of the birds dart out 

 as I passed close to it. But the story has already been told in 

 Biuu XoTES, and I will not repeat it at greater length here. 

 Though difficult to state a reason why, the fact remains that they 

 are very shy breeders in captivity; possibly their nervous and 

 highly fidgety temperament may be the cause. 



