253 



them to my greenhouse bird-room, which is 1113' only indoor 

 accommodation. Tliis has its door open the greater part of da)-- 

 light, even in severe weather. This species was first imported 

 and presented to the Zoo. fully two years ago b}' our esteemed 

 member, Mr. E.W. Harper, and this Summer helms introduced 

 them to private aviculture. 



NESTING OF BULLFINCHES AND PEKIN ROBINS : A 



friend, privileged to look over the aviaries of a Bedfordshire 

 lad}', supplies me with the following notes. She has this 

 season reared Bullfinches, and the young " are perfect." 



[In tlie past, when I kept onlj' British birds, I reared Bull- 

 finches without difficulty, the chief agent in my success appear- 

 ing to be lanlimited greenfood, supplied fresh three times a 

 da}'. No live food was given. Ed.] 



In an aviary containing a thick green edge, a pair of Pekin 

 Robins have hatched out two j-oung, but did not rear them. 

 Hope to give further details in next issue. If left out of doors 

 throughout the winter, there is a strong probability that the}' 

 would successfully rear young next season. 



THE INDIAN ZOSTEROPS : Captain Perreau in a most in- 

 teresting letter, giving a chatty account of some of his field 

 experiences, writes : 



" Our Zosterops ought to stand the English winter well, as in winter 

 "I've seen them at a good altitude and they don't seem to mind snow a 

 "bit. These live a great deal more on fruit and berries than is credited 

 "to them. They are ripping little birds and soon become tame and con- 

 "fiding." 



Our esteemed member, the Hon. M. C. Hawke, has kept 

 these birds out of doors all the year round, and I have heard of 

 others doing so, but cannot call to mind the particulars at the 

 moment. Jerdon in Vol. II. "Birds of India," gives a most 

 interesting account of Zosterops palpebrosus, the White-Eyed 

 Tit, from which I extract the following: 



"The bird is spread throughout the whole of India, from the Hima- 

 "layas to the extreme South, and extends to Assam, Arakan, Tenasserim 



"and Ceylon It is very abundant on the Neilgherries, both in the 



"woods and gardens; and there it may be seen clinging to the flower 

 "stalks, extracting the minute insects that infest the flowers, by the 



" pollen of which its forehead is ofteu powdered It breeds on the 



"Neilgherris, and makes an exceedingly deep cup-shaped nest of moss. 



