92 



rOKEIUN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



bird, less excitable, but also less inclined to be friendly 

 to it's mate. After more than two years' intirnate asso- 

 ciation, I had to modify Ihis opinion, the two birds being 

 apparently on the best of termsi with each other. 



In the first year of captivity the song of the male 

 bird was inferior to ours, but in the second year vastly 

 superior, being more prolonged and varied. The call 

 note consists of a sharp c/tick like that of our species, 

 i)Ut rapidly rejieated four or five times. 



My birds made but slight attempts at breeding, but 

 if kept in a large outdfior aviary during the summer 

 months they would doubtless do so. Unfortunately I 

 possessed no suitable aviary until some time after my 

 pair had passsed away ; the cock died on December 

 12th, 1898, and the hen on January 15th, 1899. 



Canarun Chaffinch (Fringilla canariensis). 



A subspecies of the Madeiran bird, but with dark 

 slate-blue upper back ; the lower back and rump 

 yellowish green ; crown glossy blue black without de- 

 fined frontal band; markings on face and under surface 

 of body pale salmon reddish ; breast paler at sides ; in 

 the winter the back is washed with olive-yellow. Female 

 less ashy than F. maderensis, more fulvous below. 

 Habiitat, Canary Lslands. 



The wild life doubtless resembles that of our European 

 bird. 



According to Russ. this species has occasionally been 

 imported singly by Jamrach ; it has been exhibited at 

 the London Zoological Gardens. 



Algerian Chaffinch {Fringilla spodiogeni/s). 



" Forehead and lores black; remaiinder of head, nape, 

 scapulars, and upper tail-coverts slate blue; back and 

 rump green ; middle pair of rectrices dark grey fringed 

 with whitish ; three outer pairs white, black on the 

 terminal portion of the outer web and on the basal 

 portion of the dnner web ; ueoct adjoining pair black, 

 with a white patch on the inner web ; primary quills 

 black, fringed externally with greenish white ; secon- 

 daries similar, but more broa<Ily fidnged ; wing-coverts 

 as in F. ctelehs ; throat and rest of underparts a pale 

 roseate vinous, beconuing whitish on the abdomen, 

 crissum, and under tail-coverts. Iris hazel ; bill lead- 

 colour; feet brown." 



" The female of F. spodiogeni/s may be easily distin- 

 guished from that of F. rrelebi' by the far greater 

 amount of white on the wings, particularly on the bases 

 of the secondaries. The general colour of the upper 

 parts is also greyer and less brown than in F. co'lehx. 

 In size there is also a difference, F. rirlebs being rather 

 smaller than F. spodiogetiys." (Whitaker.) Habitat, 

 North-eastern Africa, from Tunis t-o Morocco (Sharpe). 



" In many parts of Northern Tunisia, particularly 

 where there are orchards and olive-groves, this Chaffinch 

 is remarkably n'entdful, and by no means shuns the 

 neighbourhood of buildings, although it also frequents 

 the open ooimtry far from any human dwellings. 



" In its habits generally 7^. apodingenys resembles our 

 European Chaffinch, and I cannot .say that I have 

 noticed much difference in its .song, although its notes 

 may perhaps be harsher and not so clear as those of 

 F. Calebs. 



"This Chaffinch thrives well in confinement, and 

 examp'es of it may often be seen in cages in Tunis and 

 other towns of the Regency. Seeds of various kinds 

 seem to be the principal food of the species, but insects 

 also enter largely into its diet. The nesting season of 

 F. spodingcni/s in Southern and Central Tunis/ia com- 

 mences soon after the middle of March, and is continued 

 well into May. In the north of the Regency it is some- 

 what later. In the olive-groves o£ the Gafsa Oasis I 



have found many nests daring the first fortnight of 

 April, some with fresh eggs, others with fledglings in 

 them. The nests are placed, as a rule, in the fork of 

 a bough, at a height of from eight to sixteen feet from 

 the groimd, and resemble those of our European Chaf- 

 finch in being cup-shaped and neatly and compactl.v 

 built, but they are somewhat larger, and composed 

 externally of dry bents and grasses of a greyish colour, 

 which no doubt harmonises better with the grey boughs 

 and foliage of the olive-tree. 



" Interwoven into the nest are pieces of wool and cotton 

 threa/ds, and occasionally also a bit of blue cotton-stuff, 

 probably picked up near some Arab tent ; the interior is 

 neatly lined with hair and feathers. The egM, usually 

 rather larger than those of the conunon Chaffinch, and 

 generally four in number, are of a dull pale bluish or 

 greenish colour, sparsely clouded and spotted with 

 vinous and russet markings. They vary a good deal in 

 size and shape, but their average measurements are 

 21.50 liv 15.50 mm."— J. I. S. WhiUker, "Birds of 

 Tunisia'," Vol. I., pp. 214-217. 



This chastely pretty Chaffinch has also been exhibited 

 at the London Zoological Gardens as early as 1864. 



The best seeds for Goldfinches and Siskins are canary, 

 German rape, hemp, thistle, teasel, dandelion, and maw- 

 seed ; the flowering and seeding heads of all the thistle- 

 tribe, of groundsel and dande'ion are much appreciated 

 by them, as also green-fly (aphides). 



Eastern Goldfinch {Carduelit canireps). 



Nearly resembles the European bird, but may at once 

 be distinguished by the absence of black from the head, 

 white fiom the nape, the smaller crimson blaze and more 

 acute beak ; the mner secondaries have broad white 

 outer borders in place of the terminal spots in the 

 European bird. Habitat, "From Lake Baikal to Kras- 

 noyarsk in Siberia. Probably South Persia, and thence 

 eastwards to Turkestan and North-western Himalayas " 

 (Sharpe). 



All that Jerdon tells us about this Goldfinch is that 

 " caged specimens are occasionally brought to Calcutta 

 for sale, and its song is said by Adams to be exactlv 

 similar to that of its European congener." (" Birds of 

 India," Vol. II., p. 408.) Neither can I discover any- 

 thing about its wild life in Hume's " Nc-t-s and Eggs 

 of Indi.i,n Birds," but in Thf Ihi-i for 1898. p. 28, Mr. 

 J. Davidson says : — " This lovely little bird was fairly 

 common on the hills round Srinugger in .\pri!, and on 

 the 29th there we found on the Tukht-i-Suliman a nest 

 half built on the horizontal branch of a Piviia rjrc/.'a at 

 about ten feet from the ground. This nest we ha<i taken 

 on the 8th May ; it was a lovely, very solid cnp of moss, 

 with a few roots interwoven on the outside, and con- 

 tained when taken three pale blue eggs, slightly spotted 

 on the larger end with dull red and lilac." 



Dr. Russ says ; — " In the course of years I have twice 

 received the species from Gudera of Leipzic," and he 

 adds that they were in bad plumage, so that he could 

 not make an exact description of them ; .«o that evidently 

 the.v did not live long. He expresses a hope that they 

 may be more freely imoorted. C. canireps has been 

 exhibited at the London Gardens more than once. In 

 1897 Mr. Frank Finn sent half a dozen, of which three 

 arrived in safety. I have an idea also that it has been 

 exhibited at the Crystal Palace, but I may be mistaken 

 in this. 



Ameripan Siskin {Ch-yMmitri^ trislif). 



Lemon yellow ; mantle and upper back somewhat 

 .wyrdid ; upper tail-coverts white ; median wing-coverts 

 black at liase ; greater coverts black with white tips ; 

 other wing-feathers black edged with white towards 

 and at extremities ; tail black, the central feathers 



