CAKUINALS. 



137 



be selected for them, but an outdoor aviary is the 

 prol>er place for them. One of my earlier purchases 

 oi iliis species lived lor many mi>ntliis in an aviary of 

 this kind. 



'1 he great objection to an outdoor aviary in winter is 

 the necessity to visit it at this inclement season in 

 order to look after the needs o[ its inmates. I found 

 the best seeds for this Cardinal to be maize, hemp, 

 oats, sunflower, Xiipe, canary, and millet ; but fruit, 

 green-food such as chickweed, and insects are requisite 

 to keep it in goud health. 



Venezujx.vn or Purple C.\rdinai, 

 (Cardirtalis phaniceus). 



Above dark vermilion, becoming dearer towards 

 rump and upper tail-coverts ; lesser and median wing- 

 coverts brigiitor vermilion but with dusky bases ; re- 

 mainder of wing-feathers dusky, washed with rosy ver- 

 milion externally ; tail-feathers dark vermilion, dusky 

 towards tips and poller on inner margins ; crown and 

 sides of he«id brig'ht scarlet, the crest tipped with 

 dusky; a narrow Irontal line, the lores, a small spot 

 at base of cheeks, and the chin black ; under-surfaco 

 of body scarlet : flank-feathers barred with white : 

 axiUaries and under wiug-covexts bright rose-red, white 

 at base; fliijhts below du.sky, with the inner webs 

 rose-reddish ; beak (which somewhat approaches that 

 of I'l/ir/iiiloxia in fornil leaden greyish: feet, bluish 

 leaden-gi'ey ; iride^ clear brown. Female butf brownish 

 above, more ocJireous and paler on lower back and 

 Tump ; lesser wing-coverts like the back; remainder of 

 vving feathers dusky, with the outer edges dull ochreous 

 tinged with vermilion; tail dull vermilion, dusky at 

 tip. with dull ochreous edges to the feathers; crown 

 and nape dull grey; crest dark vermilion, centred 

 and tipped with blackish; lores, e.velid, feathers below 

 eye, and front of cheeks white ; ear-coverts dull igrey ; 

 a spot on cheeks tuid chin blackish ; under surface of 

 hodv butf, wreyish on throat and paler on abdomen ; 

 axillaries pale rosy washed with huffish ; under wing- 

 coverts pale buff; flights l>clow dusky, the inner webs 

 pale rosv. Hah.. Venezuela Trinidad, and Colombin 



Mr. A. Goering states (cf. P.Z.S. 1868, p. 170) that 

 in Venezuela this species is " found only on the coast, 

 .ind not met with a few leagues in the interior," and 

 (P.Z.S. 1869, p. 251) he points out that although com- 

 mon at Carupano, it is very rare at San E.stehan and 

 he adds: — " I have never seen this bird on the hills, 

 but only on the plains near the coast, which are 

 covered wiith a simple vegetation of mimosa, cactns, 

 etc." 



Mr. E. C. Taylor, in The Ihis for 1864, also says 

 much the same thing. 



Mr. P. R. Lowe IThr Ibis. 1907, p. 549) gives an 

 amusing account of the pleasures of a collector of this 

 and other birds at Margarita Island. Venezuela ; he 

 sa.vs : — "The soil suoports a flourishing and hnnelers 

 tangle of cactus-scrub (C'ereus and Oirnntia). Every- 

 thing, in fact, that grows in this zone is armed with 

 terribly long thorns and prickles. The growth of up- 

 right cacti is so thick in places that constant and 

 worrying detours are continually needed to make anv 

 progress. We did nit forget nur experiences of it 

 for many a day. After each excursion ashore nuite a 

 long time had to be spent in extracting the jxiisonous 

 thorns from various parts of our bodies, and some of 

 us suffered from painful abscesses which were long in 

 healing. To retrieve birds in this sort of scrub is 

 often a long and tedious process, and much time is 

 ■vasted in this way. while the explorer is converted 

 into an animated pin-cushion." The Mnngarita form 

 of C. phcrnicms has been separated by Mr. Richmond 



under the name of C. rohinsoni, but Mr. Lowe says 

 that the characters by which it is distinguished are 

 inconstant, the length of the crest being esi)ecially 

 variable, and the wings vary also. 



I have discovered no notes on the nidification of this 

 species. 



Hitherto C. phitniceus has rarely been imported 

 as a cage-bird. But in 1877 Miss Hagenbeck exhibited 

 one example at a, bird-show at Hamburg, and another 

 a.t the Uerliii Exhibition known as " -^jgintlia." 



Mr. Astley purchased two specimens in Italy, but 

 they did not live long. 



TtuCKiiiLLKD CARDINAL {1'i/rrliulo.tia sinua^a). 

 Above greyish-brown, greyer on head and neck ; 

 wing-feathers dull reddish at base; front edge of wing, 

 priraarv coverts and primaries mostly dull red ; tail 

 dull deep crimson, dusky towards tips of feathers; 

 central feathers broadly duskv towards base and with 

 greyish edges ; crest deej) crimson with blackish cen- 

 tres to the feathers ; sides of head tinged here and 

 there with crimson ; lores and orbiUil ring dull red ; 

 forehead, chin, throat and centre of body below, thighs, 

 under wing-coverts, and axillaries bright crimson ; 

 sides of l)od,v brownish ashy, huffish behind ; flights 

 below dusky, with rosy wash on inner web ; beak in 

 summer yellow, in winter horn-coloured, with paler 

 lower nuindible ; feet brownish ; iridts Drown, female 

 more huffish generally and less crimson, the crimson 

 of face and hodv below either wanting or ill-defined, 

 the general colouring of the under \arts t)eing huffish. 

 Hab., " Southern border of United States, from the 

 valley of the Rio Grande westward, and southward 

 into Alexico." (Sharpe). 



J. G. Copper (" Ornith, Calif.," Vol. I., p. 237) 

 says: — "This beautiful 'bird is said to have much of 

 the habits of the common Cardinal of the Eastern 

 States, and the nest and eggs are scarcely distin- 

 guishable." Furtheir on. however, he observes : — 

 "Captain J. P. McCown (in " Cassin's Illustrations") 

 mentions it as a gay, sprightly bird, frequenting damip, 

 bushv woods, generally in small flocks ; its voice 

 resembling that of the Virginian Cardinal, which utters 

 a loud, clear whistled note, repeated several times, 

 and varied on different occasions. Our Canada Jay 

 has at times a similar whistle. It is said to be usually 

 very shy, as are the males of all these brilliant song- 

 sters. The nest and eggs are yet undescribed." 



Russ says that this species has not yet been brought 

 home alive ; but most show-frequenters will call to 

 mind a fine specimen which was exhibited at the 

 Crvstal Palace, and I think elsewhere, about the year 

 19()5. 



Chinese Greenfinch [Chloris sinica). 

 Above chocolate, washed with greenish yellow, rump 

 of the latter colour ; outer lesser wing-coverts bright 

 yellow ; greater coverts duskv tipped with greyish, 

 the outer ones yellow on inner webs ; other wing- 

 feathers black, with l)oth webs golden vellow at base, 

 the flights tipped with ashy whitish ; upper tail coverts 

 ashy; central tail-feathers blackish, edged and tipped 

 with ashy ; other feathers with the Ktsal half bright 

 yellow, and the terminal half black with ishy edges; 

 crown ashy with a greenish tinge, darker at base of 

 forehead; lores and eyelid dusk.v ; cheeks and throat 

 greenish vellow tinged with grey ; centre of aljdomen 

 bright yellow, becoming whitish nt vent ; breast, sides 

 and flanks chocolate, with an ashy suffusion; thighs 

 ashv, washed with vellow ; under tail-coverts, wing- 

 coverts, and axillaries bright yellow; flights below 

 dusky, with yellow on inner webs ; irides dark brown. 

 Female altogether duller, browner above, the head 



