232 Norton, Domestic Habits of the Spotted-sided Finch. [,,fw n 



I think both of them took part in this business, though I could 

 not be sure, as the small bird that arrived with a feather at once 

 entered the nest and disappeared from view. They seemed to 

 have a penchant for white feathers — though they used black 

 ones too — and it was most amusing to watch a small bird 

 struggUng to reach the nest with a big white fluffy feather (bigger 

 than itself), catching the wind and almost turning it head over 

 heels in the air. Frequently they were blown entirely out of 

 their course, and, after taking a " breather " on an adjacent 

 fence, would try again and again till the feat was accompUshed 

 and the goal attained. They did not build straight ahead every 

 day till the nest was finished ; on the contrary, the female seemed 

 to have fits of energy — orgies of building. Whilst the fit was on 

 things were kept going at top pressure for an hour or two at any 

 time of day, but mostly in the early morning. Then they would 

 seem to desert the nest altogether for a day or two, and once left 

 it so long that I began to fear that perhaps my spying upon them 

 had disgusted them, and that they had abandoned it ; but after 

 nearly a week's neglect, one morning they were back at work, 

 busier than ever. Once, in the midst of a very furious bout of 

 building fever, the boy came round to cut the grass just below 

 them, and frightened them away. Soon after he was gone, one — 

 I am sure it was the female — came back, popped into the nest, 

 and did some energetic jumping about in it ; came out and called 

 several times ; sat and hstened ; popped back into the nest and 

 did some more bouncing round ; came out again and called 

 several times, but her mate did not respond. She waited a bit ; 

 then, evidently saying " Drat that man ! Whatever is he about ? 

 I must go and find him ! " she flew off, and very soon came back 

 accompanied by her mate bearing a long trail of grass, which 

 she took from him and dragged into the nest, whilst he was 

 despatched for more. 



They finally finished the nursery, and she laid four eggs in it, 

 and whilst she was sitting he used to come and feed her early in 

 the morning — ^perhaps oftener — and she would make a noise 

 something hke the " buzz " of a big fly caught in a spider's web. 

 When the young were hatched both parents fed them with equal 

 devotion, and long after the httle ones could fly thej^' still pur- 

 sued their unfortunate httle parents for food with a fretful, crying 

 noise. The four young used to sit in a row on the fence, and 

 when an old bird flew up they all would rush at it and scramble all 

 over the poor httle thing in their greedy desire for the food it 

 had brought, so that the httle parent, in its bright dress of black 

 and grey, white and crimson, would almost disappear beneath 

 a fluttering wave of browny-grey, noisy youngsters, each intent 

 on trying to secure the whole titbit for itself. To one who did 

 not understand what was going on, it would seem that a battle- 

 royal was in progress and the bright little bird was fighting for 

 its life against overwhelming odds. 



Their greedy, unruly behaviour was a great contrast to that 



