132 



FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



1881, V. 486), consists of seeds of Lupiiiii.i lumoitusux, 

 liut doubtless it a'so eats insects, and probably other 

 seeds. 



According to Russ, this species does well in captivity, 

 and bears the journey to Europe excellently ; lit has 

 been exhibited at the London Zoological Gardens. 



Ai.At7DiNE Finch (Pliri/yilus alaudiiiii-^). 



Head, back, chin, Uiroat, and sides of botly bluisli- 

 grey ; rump and upper tail-coverts rather paler ; niantlo 

 ;:nd scapulars broadly streaked with blackish; me<lian 

 i'lid greitfr wing-coverts and Mights black edged with 

 silvery-grey, browner on the secondaries; tail-feathers 

 black, except the two central ones, which aie brown; 

 the black feathers with an elongated white patch on the 

 ii.ner webs ; the outer ones aJ.eo with the basal half of 

 the outer webs white; lores black; bre:ist, abdomen, 

 fiont of thighs, and under tail-coverts wlrite; flights 

 i-elow dusky, with ashy inner margins ; beak yellowish- 

 brown ; feel pale chrome-yellow ; irides dark browii. 

 Female above pale earth-brown, greyish on nape, ninip, 

 and uppcii- tail-coverts, streaked throughout with dusky 

 brown; primaries with narrow greyish-white margins to 

 outer webs ; greater and median coverts and secondaries 

 darker brown, broadly bordered with buff and pa.le red- 

 dish-brown ; tail nearly as in the male, but edged and 

 tipped with silver}--gr"ey ; cheeks, side-! of neck, and 

 breast, pale buff, nniTowly streiked with bron-n; lores, 

 chin, and throat buffish-white ; sides of body like the 

 back; abdomen, flanks, thighs, and under tail-coverts 

 white ; axilla.ries and under surface of wing silvery-grey ; 

 beak yellowish-brown; feet yellow; irides brown. 

 Hab., Ande.s of Chili and Peru to Kcnador. ^ 



Bartlett (" Monogr. Weavens, and Finches ' ) quotes 

 Mr. Bridges for the following note on the habits of this 

 species :—" This little bird makes its appearance in the 

 summer months ; inhabits corn-fields ; builds its ne-st on 

 the ground, and lays four to five whitish eggs with brown 

 vpots. The native name is Picliinuina." He tells v,s 

 also that Mr. L. Fraser sent home examples from 

 Caiacali. which is situated at a height of 8,000_ feet 

 above the sea-level, where he remarks it was " not 

 uncommon ; food small seeds and grubs ; lives entirely 

 on the ground amongst the heather; when disturbed, 

 takes an undulating flight for about sixty or eighty 

 yards." H. Whitely, during his travels m West Peru, 

 took the nest near Arcquipa in March, 1868. "made of 

 coarsa grass, lined with finer grass and jiluced on the 

 L'lound in fields of lucerne. The eggs are very like 

 those of our Yellowhammer." This is a veiy vague 

 description when one remembers the many utterly ais- 

 similar variations of the eggs of that species. 



Acoording to Russ this species is easily reconciled to 

 captivity ; it has Ijeen exhibited more than once in the 

 I,ondon"Zool(igicaI Gardens. 



Dtrtw Finch {Dhira diura). 

 " Above grey, sides of head darker ; wings and tail 

 blackish, edpcd'with grey; lateral rectrices tipped with 

 white • below grey ; whole chin and throat and middle 

 of the' belly white ; lower flanks and crissum stained 

 with rufous"; bill plumbeous; feet dark hazel; whole 

 length 6.5 in., wing 3.3 in., tail 2.6 in. Female similar, 

 but tinged with brownish, and colours more obscure." 

 (P. L. Sdnlfr). Habitat. Chili and Western Arg.-ntina. 

 Mr Ambrose A. T^ane, in his "Field Notes on the 

 Birds of Chili" {The Ihi.% 1897, pp. 19, 20) says of this 

 si)ecies : " The sexes are of about the same size, and 

 alike, though as a rule the female is not quite so hand- 

 some as the male. Tliey prefer civilisation, and are 

 invariably found about homesteads or tillage. In the 



cold .season they may often be seen feeding on the 

 ground in large flocks ; they separate on being dis- 

 turbed. They feed on various seeds, especially grass 

 seeds, also berries, etc. About Santiago they nest from 

 the end of September to Chri.'stmas, varying further 

 south according to climate. At Valdivia the season is 

 five or six weeks later than as stated above. As S(K>n 

 as the time of year coinee on they display a great deal 

 of energy, and, like niost Finches. ;iie very active in 

 their nesting operations, and vociferous as well. The 

 nest is sometimes com])leted in three days or les.", 

 according to circumstances, and if the birds are not 

 unsettled or disturbed. 



" The nest is placed from 3 ft. to 8 ft. from the 

 ground, and, as a rule, well concealed in a thick bush or 

 branch. 



"The eggs are laid to the number of three, being 

 usually completed -within two days from the laying of 

 the first fgg. 



" I found some nests with four eggs, but this is 

 unusual, and sometimes I found birds sitting on two or 

 even one egg. 



" Incubation la.sts two and a half weeks or more, both 

 birds assisting. 



" The young are fed in the usual Fringilline manner, 

 on the pulp from the crops of the parent birds. They 

 attain their full size in about a month. 



" The young .are browaier than the old birds on leav- 

 ing the nest, which colour they retain for some time, 

 especially the females. 



" The usual chirrup of the cock is like that of our 

 House Sparrow, but. he outdoes the latter in attaining to 

 a song in the summer. The song consists of a succes- 

 sion of loud clear notes, rather uneven in hannony, and 

 abrupt ; but, though it cannot be classed with the per- 

 formances of other Finches, still it is constantly uttered 

 in a cheerfully boisterous manner, which does a great 

 deal towards enlivening some Chilian localities, where 

 the singing birds are few. This bird is easily kept in 

 cages, and ought to breed regularly in an aviary." 



It will be at once noticed that, in this account, Mr. 

 Lane has omitted the two most imjx>rtant pieces of 

 information — the materials and construction of the nest, 

 and the colouring and general character of the eggs ; 

 both are frequently omitted in his accounts of bird 

 habits, and render his rotes far less valuable than they 

 would otherwise be. Fortunately, Landbeck has 

 described both nest and eggs. He says : " It breeds on 

 trees and bushes several times in the year, makes a large 

 nest of roots, fibres, feathers, hairs, rags, etc., and lays 

 five or SIX eggs of a whitish ground-colour, spotted and 

 scrawled over with grey." 



Tliis species was bred in the London Zoological 

 Gardens in 1887, and in 1900 Miss Alderson bred it in 

 one of her aviaries. Her birds laid as many as five eggs 

 to the clutch, and she describes them {Aricvlturcu 

 Magazinr, scr. 1, Vol. VII., p. 181) as "about the same 

 size as those of the Robin ; pale blue-green in colour, 

 splashed all over with brown, not unlike a Rook's egg 

 on a small scale." 



There is not the least doubt that, as is the case with 

 most Buntings, the eggs vary considerably both in 

 ground-tint and markings. 



PlLEATED Finch {Coryphospingvn pilcatus). 



Above dark slate grey, paler towards the tail, greater 

 and primary coverts and quills black brown, greyish 

 externally; tail black, the top of head black with a 

 broad central band of shining carmine feathers, which 

 can be erected into a crest ; sides of head more or less 



