SILVERBILLS. 



173 



on the earth feedinf!; on grass-seeds, it is easily 

 captured. Nevertheless, it is never seen in large 

 flocks, and often only in pairs, so that it is comijara- 

 tively a rare species. It builds jf nest of gr-iss either 

 in a bush or in long grass, and lays live white eggs. 



In captivity it is ijuite willing- to breed, and but for 

 its delicacy might soon lie multiplied. I bought a 

 pair ill 1894, but they only lived a month or two, and 

 as they were then very expensive I hesitated to replace 

 them. In 1899 Mr. Abraiiams sent me a cock bird 

 in order that 1 might try to breed the Hybrid previously 

 described and figured. I put up the supposed cxick with 

 a hen Zebra Finch, but without result, though I kept 

 the pair in a fii"ht-c\ige. I therefore WTote and told 

 Mr. Abr.ihams that I thought he must have sent nie 

 a hen bird, as the two simply i;fnored one another. Ho 

 then sent me juiother, which he said he was confident 

 •was a cock ; .^o I turned the first bird into a good-sized 

 aviary in which there were Zehiu Finches of both sexes. 

 In neither case were any hybrids bred, but the bird in 

 the aviary lived for three or four years. 



In 1905 a large consignment of Australian Finches was 

 brought to Ix)ndon by Mr. I'ayne, and I purchased a 

 pair of Bicheno's Finches, among other things, but 

 they did not live manv months. I consider these birds 

 to be among the most beautiful of all the ornamental 

 Finches, which makes their frailty all the more dis- 

 tressing to bird lovers. 



Bicheno's Finches require a certain amount of insect 

 food, living ants' cocoons being the best thing for them ; 

 but freshly killed flies or small spiders would suit them 

 well. 



I never heard my birds s'ng. A Mr. Bargheer likens 

 the song to the cackle of a little hen, and Dr. Huss 

 says it is a slight whisiwring, with single, clear- 

 sounding cries. The call-note I have often heard ; it 

 is a toy-trumpet sound like that of a Zebra Finch to 

 which, undoubtedly, this species must be allied. This 

 species was bred by Mr. Glai-scue (.-Iric. May., 1st Ser., 

 Vol. VI., p. 35), and subsequently by Messrs. Hawkins, 

 Phillrpps, Seth-Smith and others. 



Ringed Finch (Stictoptera annulosa). 



Differs from the preceding species in having the rump 

 black insteatl of white ; beak and feet leaden grey ; 

 irides red-brown; the female has the black breast band 

 narrower than in the male. Habitat, Northern and 

 North-Western Australia. 



According to Mr. North, this is the western repre- 

 sentative of the eastern S. hicheruwii. Resj>e«ting its 

 nidification Mr. Keartland says : " This pretty Finch 

 was only seen near the Fitzroy River, where it was 

 breeding during February and March. By a close obser- 

 vation of the material used it is possible to determine 

 to which species of Finch the nest belongs. The Ringed 

 Finch usually chooses a site in some drooping branch 

 about ten feet from the ground. In the case of those 

 examined, the outer covering was invariably very coarse 

 — dead grass loosely woven together — but the lining 

 was of the fi,nest silver grass, and a marvel of neatness. 

 Six eggs form the usual clutch. Although some were 

 perfectly white, one clutch from which I caught the 

 bird ha<l a faint bluish tinge, similar to those of the 

 Chestnut-eared Finch." This " faint bluish tinge " is, 

 I am satisfied, simply due to the eggs being thin-shelled 

 or insufficiently coated with lime. In the case of Chest- 

 nut-eared (Zebra) Finches bred in captivity, where 

 plenty of cuttle fish is always at hand it is quite the 

 exception for the eggs to have any tinge of bluish in 

 them. 



Mrs. Howard Williams was the first to breed this 



pretty litt!e bird in captivity [Arte. Mat/. 1st Ser., Vol. 

 VIII., p. 239; a full account also pp. 264-266). She 

 observes : " It is interesting to notice the difference 

 lietwoen them and the ordinary Hic'neno's Finch, which 

 has bred with us several times. We think they leave 

 the nest about the same time, at three weeks old, but 

 whereas the Ringetl Finch eniergc.-s ringless, his relative 

 has both rings quite as clearly marked on leaving the 

 nest as the Ringed Finches have now at nine weeks old." 

 I purchaped a pair of l^his species on February 22, 

 1906. The male died on September 4, but the female 

 on May 29, 1907. No attempt was made at breeding. 



Chkrkt Finch (Aidemosytie mode Ma). 



The male is brown above, the rump barred with 

 white; upjier tail coverts darker, white sj^tted ; tail 

 blackish, outer fe:'thers with termuial white spot; win^s 

 brown, flights dusky with pale outer edges, inner 

 .secondaries with white terminal spots; crown dark 

 brown, dull crimson in front ; feathers above amd 

 behind eye as well as sides of face white ; ear c-overts 

 white with brown bars ; a small black gorget ; under 

 surface white ; neck and flanks barred with brown ; 

 beak black ; feet flesh-coloured ; iris, chestnut. Female 

 niuoh less crimson on the foreheiid, with no black gorget, 

 and more uniformly grey below. Habitat. Wide Bay 

 district to New South Wales, Victoria, and South Aus- 

 tralia. 



In its wild state this bird builds its nest in a low 

 bush or long grass — it is a domed structure composed 

 of dry grass and thickly lined with feathers ; five white 

 eggs are deposited. In captivity it prefers a bush 

 in which to build ; the nest is rapidly formed and 

 the eggs laid are very large for the size, of the l>ird ; i 

 the female, however, is extremely nervous, and leave^ 

 her eggs on the slightest alarm, so that' I was not 

 successful in even hatching young, but in 1895 Mr. J. 

 Cronkshaw reared one bird. 



In February, IBg?, I lost my last pair of Cherry 

 Finches, the hen having utterly" vanished on the 19th, 

 whilst the cock died the following day ; whether they 

 were scared to death by mice, and the female died in 

 a corner where it was never discovered, I cannot say; 

 its disappearance puzzled me a good deal. 



As the Cherry Finch (also known as Plum-headed 

 Finch and Modest Grass Finch) is one of the least deli- 

 cate of Australian birds. I have not the least doubt 

 that it could be successfully kept and bred in an open- 

 air aviary if planted with shrubs and sheltered fi-om 

 northern and easterly winds. 



Indian Silver-Bill (Aidemosyne matabarica). 



The male is light rufous-brown, the head slightly 

 darker and mottled ; the rump and upper tail-coverts 

 white, the former baned with brown at the back, the 

 latter with the edges of the feathers externally black ; 

 tail black, outer webs of featheis partly ferruginous, 

 inner secondaries brown, with narrow white terminal 

 fringes ; remaining flights black ; sides of face and under 

 surface white, the latter slightly tinted with buff and 

 with darker bars on the flanks ; beak grey, feet greyish 

 flesh-coloured ; iris dark brown. 



The female is smaller and less huffish in tint than 

 the male. 



Habitat, Ceylon and Indian Peninsula, Ivhelat, and 

 Afghanistan. 



Being one of the best known and most familiar of 

 the Indian Finches, its wild habits have been frequentiv 

 observed and described. It is usually seen in small 

 communities, both In wild and cultivated country. 

 When breeding, which is nearly al! through the year, it 



