A Plea for Cage Buds.



67



happy. The friendliness of the elder bird towards the tiny

stranger, who had its own fussy little parents not many yards

away, was, however, pleasing to behold.


Although, perhaps, not exactly gregarious, these finches

are sociably inclined ; and, if their home be large enough, it is

probable that several together will succeed better than will one

solitary pair.


I have found these birds tame and confiding but not

familiar in the aviary, sometimes unsteady in a cage ; but I read

that they are timid in the wild state. The latter I can readily

believe, for, in my reserved aviary, although they freely come to

the feeding-ground in the front, they stay but a short time and

then fly rapidly back to the hidden recesses of the interior. The

fledgeling was most aggravating in this respect, just coming for¬

ward, taking a peck or two, and then darting off and disappearing.


One might suppose, from its name, that the Painted Finch

is a beautiful species. Certainly a fine male, in a favourable

position, is a brilliant fellow ; but neither in elegance of figure

nor delicacy of colouring is he to be compared with a good male

Violet-eared Waxbill.


(To be continued .)



A PLEA FOR CAGE BIRDS.


By Mrs. Stanley Flower.


I have been asked to write some of my experiences in

bird-keeping, but as I am at present away from both my birds

and notes it is rather difficult to be accurate, so that I feel it

best to confine myself to expressing in print what I have so

often felt on seeing birds in captivity, and that is their want of

occupation.


Of course, I do not refer to birds in large aviaries, where

shrubs, branches, grass and ponds are allowed ; but the average

small cage contains nothing whatever to provide occupation for

its little inhabitant. The perches are fixed and uninteresting,

the food is placed on one side, the water on the other, and there

is no other distraction whatever except an occasional bath or

perhaps a bit of sugar to peck at! When we remember the



