168 



FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



u level with its handsomer relative ; as the latter is far 

 less inclined to be spiteful, I think the dealers made 

 a mistake in raising the price of I'oeiihihi rinrta : the 

 two birds offered at the same price do not now stand 

 an equal cliaiK-e of going off, since I', aiulirauda has 

 every advantage to recommend it to the purcliaser. 

 Diamond or SroTTKOsiDED Finch (Staganopltura 



t/iitlala.) 

 General colour of upper surface mouse-brown, greyer 

 on the liead ; the rump nnd upper tail coverts fiery 

 carmine red, the tail intense black ; the under parts arc 

 pure white, vvith a broad heit of jet black across the 

 client ; sides black, eacli feather l>eing marked externally 

 with a snowy-white semicircular spot; tlie beak is 

 crimson, that of the hen being rose-pink at the base of 

 the upper mandible ; liehind the upper mandible is a 

 patch of black which extends to the eye; feet grey. 

 In order to distinguish the sexes of this lovely species 

 it is necessary to compare the heads side Ijy "side, the 

 different colouring at the base of the beak is then easily 

 seen, and the cock will be found to have a slightly 

 broader head. Hab., South Australia to New South 

 Wales, and northward to the Wide H.ay District. 



In its wild state this bird is widely distributed, and 

 builds its nest of wiry grasses, and of the usual form, in 

 glim or njjple trees, or in the sticks forming the founda- 

 tions of a small eagle's nest. In confinement, however, 

 it appears to prefer a travelling Canary cage to all other 

 receptacles, but owing to the absurd jealousy of the 

 hen it is not easy to breed, as she resists every effort 

 of the cock bird to enter the nest by day, vet insists 

 ujxm his entering it to pass the night. 



.\bout 1889 the male of a pair which I had persisted 

 in entering the nest in the day-time, and eventually 

 his wife killed him. Subsequently she went about 

 moping and calling him until she fell ill and died also. 

 It was years before I had a second pair, for the im- 

 portation of the species suddenly fell off, .^o that it 

 must have been about 1895 that I eventually succeeded ; 

 they did not, however, live many months in my 

 possession. 



I bourrht my third pair either in 1904 or 1905; the 

 female did not live many months, and the male died 

 at the end of October, 1906. It was a very interesting 

 example, in which some of the breast feathers were 

 tiiiped with rose-red, an instance of reversion to an 

 ancestral tvpe (in which the breast was doubtlpFS largely 

 crimson, as in the hybrid between the Diamond and 

 Zebra Finches: cf. T/if A rlnilfiiifil .Vm/ozinr. n.s., 

 V^ol I\'., pp. 345-354, with coloured plate).' 



The call-note of tliLs species, like that of the Parson 

 Finch, IS plaintive and iinpleasing. and the smg is con- 

 temptible, but the love dance is exceedingly ludicrous: 

 I got my artist to draw it from life and rep"roduce it on 

 tlie plate of this species in my "Foreign Finches in 

 Captivity." 



Like nearly all the .Australian ornamental Finches 

 the Diamond or Spotted-sided Finch is indifferent to 

 cold, and perfectly capable (,f passing itvs existence in 

 an open-air aviary. 



P.MNTKD FiNcit {Emhlrma phla). 

 General colour above pale brown; flights d.irker • 

 rump and upper tiil-coverts bright scarlet? t.iil-fcatliers 

 blackish, tinged with scarlet on the margins ; lores, a 

 narrov eyebrow, feathers of orbital region and front of 

 cheeks scarlet; throat and body l)eh>w black; a few 

 feathers on chin and front of throat tipped with .scarlet • 

 < entie of ne< k and chest scarlet ; sides and flanks con- 

 spicuously sfiotted with white, the ground-colour of the 

 flanks being brown ; under wing-coverts vcllowish • 



under tail-coverts black ; upper mandible black, tipped 

 with scarlet, lower mandible scarlet, with a blue patch 

 at the base; feet probably flesh brown ; irides straw- 

 whitish. Female without scarlet on the cheeks, orbital 

 region and throat, and only a tinge on the breast ; 

 under surface of body browner and more plentifully 

 B|X)tt^d with white. Hab., West, North-West, and 

 South Australia, and New South W.ales. A. J. Camp- 

 bell (" Nests and Eggs of .Australian Birds," p. 482) 

 quoted the following notes on the wild life by Mr. G. A. 

 Keartland : " These beautiful Finches were first found 

 in the rocky gorges of .McMimi's Range, and subse- 

 quently at Stoke.s' Pass, Glen of Palms, and Hagot's 

 Spring. They are very timid, and somewhat difficult 

 to approach. Although there is no sexual difference in 

 plumage, they vary with age. The scarlet patch, so 

 conspicuous on the breasts of adults, is almost or entirely 

 absent on the young ones, and the rich black on the 

 under parts of the mature birds is also replaced by a 

 smoky black on the young. Several of their nests were 

 seen, which closely resembled those of Tn^ninprfqia 

 castanntix, but "were a trifle Larger in size. They were 

 placed on low bushes, built of grass, and oval-shaped. 

 Unfortunately, they all contained young birds. The 

 eyes of the adults being white, give the live birds a re- 

 markable appearance."* 



Mr. Campbell describes the nest and eggs as fol- 

 lows : — " Nent. — Bottle-shaped or covered in, with a 

 spouted side entrance ; constructed of grasses chiefly, 

 with the addition of portions of other plants; lined 

 inside somewhat sparingly with fine grasses and fur or 

 feathers. Usually situated in a thicklyfoliaged tree or 

 bush. Dimensions aliout 12 inches in length bv 18 

 inches in circumference round tliickest part of the body. 

 f!(j'js. — Clutch, five to seven, occasionally eight; long 

 oval or lengthened in form; texture of shell fine; sur- 

 face witliout gloss ; colour pure white. l)im'?nsions in 

 inches of a full clutch : (1) .75 bv .53, (2) .75 by .52, 

 (3) .73 bv .51, (4) .72 by .51. (5) ".71 bv .52, (6) ."69 by 

 .52. (7) .69 bv .49." The late Mr. Wie'ner snceeded in 

 securing specimens of this rare Grass finch in 1869 and 

 1877, and he .saw- the dead bodies of some recently im- 

 ported specimens in 1877; Dr. Puss also mentions that 

 Mr. Preyer, of Trieste, possessed a specimen in 1875, 

 and Miss Hagenbeck sent him one in 1877. 



From that date the species appears to have practicall.v 

 disappeared from the Kuropean market until Messrs. 

 Payne and Wallace obtained a pair in 1905, which were 

 secured in Italy by the Hev. Hubert D. .\stley. In 

 1907 the same collectors had a second pair in their 

 collection at Batli, hut naturally wlien so few examples 

 are imported the price of thc'e lovely birds is too high 

 to tempt any but the wealthy. In 1908 a fair number 

 came to hand, but the price was excessive. Dr. Russ 

 first pointed out the relationship of this species to the 

 Spotted sided Finib, though he unaccountably retained 

 it .among the Waxbills, and thereby led me astray for 

 a time. 



RuFOUS-T.\iLKD GR.A.sSFiNrH {liatliilrla rufirauda). 

 Above dull olive-green, a little paler mi vump ; upper 

 tail-coverts vinous, with a transverse ill-defiiied dusky 

 subterniinal bar and pink tips ; flights dusky on inne"r 

 webs; central tail-feathers dull vinous-red ;" remaining 

 feathers smoky blackish, with vinmis-red outer we.hs; 

 forehead, lores, orbital region, cheeks and chin scarlet; 

 ear-coverts scarlet, dotted with white; tlnoat, sides of 

 neck, breast, sides and flanks olive, rather paler than 



" A writer to tlic Kmu (or 19(ll speaks of the nest as small, largely 

 built of sticks, anil with a number of pellets of clay in the founda- 

 tion. This is quite unlike Campbell's description. 



