160 



FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



seemtd likely to live. Hitherto I have not bred the 

 species; but on the Continent experiments in breeding 

 it have been carried on for aipwards of a centiuy. 

 Charming a.s it is, the Cordon Bleu is always cheap, and 

 (on that account perhaps) Englishmen seem not to txke 

 pains to breed it. 



BLrE-DRE.vsTED VVaxdill {U TcTijinflius angolensh). 

 Male very similar to the preceding, but perhaps -with 

 the blue colourinp; brighter and with no crimson ear- 

 patch ; beak purplish ; feet fleshy brownish ; irides red. 

 Female with the blue on the nnder-parts much more re- 

 stricted. Habitat, Angola and Nyas&aland to Natal, 

 absent from Namaqualand and Cape Colony, according 

 to Shelley. 



The following notes on the -wild life are from Stark 

 and Sclater's "Birds of South Africa," Vol. I., pp. 

 103-104 : "These beautiful little Waxbills are usually 

 met -with in snui.ll parties, but occasionally in autumn, 

 after the youBg have flown, in very large flocks. They 

 prefer localities -which are partly open, partly overgrown 

 with scrub or low trees, and are specially fond of scat- 

 tered mimosa bushes, in -which thev take refuge if dis- 

 turbed -when feeding on the ground on their favourite 

 gra6S-seeds. When frightened they rise with a shrill 

 t-wittering to take shelter in the "nearest bushes. In 

 spring both male and female sing not unpleasantly. 

 Although the adults appear to subsist entirely on grass- 

 seeds, the young before they leave the nest are fed on 

 small grubs and insects. The nest is invariably built 

 in a bush, often in a low mimosa, and is generally 

 placed in a fork at a height of from three to eight or 

 nine feet. At first sight it looks like a ball of dried 

 grass carelessly thrown into a bush ; on investigation 

 a small side entrance, nearly concealed by the projecting 

 ends of grass-stalks, may be found, leading to the in- 

 terior, which is smoothly arj\ warmly lined with finer 

 dried grass and feathers. Three or four eggs are laid. 

 These are pure -white, and rather round in shape. They 

 average 0.70 by 0.55. Mr. Andersson found this 

 Waxbill nesting in Ondongo. A nest taken by 

 him on February 2nd, 1867, was constructed of gra.ss, 

 and had no internal lining. It was built in a palm 

 bush, six feet from the ground ; the eggs were five in 

 number." 



Mr. Reginald Phillipps gave an account of this 

 species as observed by him in captivity in The 

 Ar-icultural Magazine, N.S., Vol. I., pp. 120-124: a good 

 coloured plate, representing both sexes, accompanied his 

 article. 



The London Zoological Societv received five specimens 

 in .January, 1890, and since that time various private 

 liird-lovers have po,s«cs.<ied it. I thought I had secured 

 some myself a few yeirs ago, as I had undoubted cock 

 l)irds -without crimson on the side of the head, but at 

 the next moult the patch appeared. 



Violet-eared WAXBrLL {Uraginthus granalimis). 



Tlie male above is chestnut, becoming greyer on the 

 lower back ; wing-coverts and flights greyish brown, 

 ■with redder margins; upper tail-covert.? and base of 

 forehead bright blue, the ktt*r continuous -with a 

 superciliary line; tail black, -with bluish edges to the 

 feathers ; lores dusky, eyebrow, ear coverts, and sides 

 of face bright lilac; base of cheeks and front of tliroat 

 Tilack; under surface chestnut with the lower abdomen 

 and vent blackish; under tail-ooverts shining blue; 

 beak purplish, •^vith the tip red ; legs purplish grey; 

 iris red, eye-ring red or greyish-drab. 



The female is greyer above and yello-wer below, the 



throat whitish; the lilac on the face paler, no blue on 

 the under tail-coverts. 



Stark (" Birds of S. Africa," Vol. I., pp. 104-105) 

 writes: I'hese beautiful Waxbills appear never to con- 

 gregate in large flocks, hut are either met -with in small 

 parties of five or six, or more usually in pairs. They 

 keep much to localities covered -with low bushes, and 

 especially -with scattered mimcas, and generally feed 

 on the ground between the bushes, often on bare spots, 

 on grass and other small seeds. 



"A nest taken in June, in the Northern Transvaal, 

 was built about 4ft. off the ground in a thorny bai.sh. 

 It is round in shape, with a side entrance, and is loosely 

 constructed of dry grass lined -wiith a few feathers. The 

 eggs, three in number, are pure white and measure 

 0.72 by 0.50. It is somewhat curious that this delicate- 

 looking little bird should breed in mid-winter, when the 

 nights are decidedly cold, but I have frequently noticed 

 the seeming indifference of the South African small 

 birds — including some of the Sunbirds — to tempera- 

 ture. Many breed in mid-winter, even on the bleak 

 mountains of Western Cape Colony. Not infrequently 

 the same species -will nest again in the height of 

 summer." 



Although this species appears to have been first im- 

 ported into Europe in 1754, it has never become common 

 in the bird market, and to thisHay always commands a 

 high price. I remember that the first examples I 

 .saw exhibited at a bird show were sold by the late 

 Mr. Abrahams for £10 a pair, and even now. since 

 both Mr. Hamlyn and Captain Hopsbrugh hive brought 

 over consignments, the usual price is about £4 for a 

 pair. 



Five specimens were presented to the London Zoolo- 

 gical Society in 1890. In 1906 Mr. Phillipps published 

 an interesting account of his experiences with four or 

 five specimens of the species : he praises the song, but 

 evidently considers the Viclet-ftar a dangerous associate 

 for other small birds, one of his having, with a single 

 peck, killed a Cuba Finch which had approached too 

 near to it. His opinion agrees with mv own that, ho-vv- 

 ever hardy it may appear to be in South Africa, it 

 cannot stand the damp, chill atmo.'phere of our cold 

 months. His article is accompanied by a coloured plate 

 of both sexes. 



In 1904 Mrs. Vivian -wrote to me saying that her 

 Violet-ears had gone to nest, in Portugal, at the begin- 

 ning of January, building in a small covered box ; two 

 eggs were laid in the box and others prol>ably on the 

 ground. After sitting for three days the hen deserted 

 the nest; she. however, built agaiin and laid two eggs, 

 but if these were hatched no notice of the fact was 

 published. 



In 1906, through the kindness of Miss Joan Glad- 

 stone, I became the owner of a beautiful pair of the 

 species, which reached me on May 19th. The -weather 

 l>eing encouraging, I turned them into my smaller 

 outdoor a-viary, and hoped I should Iiave good luck with 

 them. It was a vain hope, for on the 21st the hen 

 dropped dead w-bile flying froai the open to the covered 

 part of the aviary, ami although her lo.ss did not appear 

 to affect the rock bird, he evidentl.v must have fought 

 with another bird — either Mania pectoralis or M. 

 Hariprymnn, and had the -worst of the encounter. I 

 found hbn on the 26th looking sick and .sorry, wiith a 

 nasty bare p.at< h pecked on his forehead, and on the 

 following day he also died. 



In 1907 {The Arirtiltural Magazine, N.S., Vol. V., 

 pp. 325-339) Mr. Phillipps gave a further account of his 

 Violet-ears and their attempts to breed in his garden 

 avianies. Unfortunately, owing to the damp and rain 

 they were not perfectly successful. 



