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in these islands, and from the fact that, when it condescends to

visit onr shores, it is nearly always in the autumn or winter that

it puts in an appearance. A Crested Tit which is hardly likely

ever to have been wild in these islands was interesting, as was

also a Blue-headed Wagtail, a species which, by the way, is less

rare in this country than is usually supposed.


The Foreign Section commenced with the Whydahs and

Weavers. There were two Red-collared Whvdahs a species which

one sees far more often at Shows now-a-days than formerly. A

rare and pretty bird was the Red-headed Weaver sent by Mrs.

C. Cooper, which was awarded second prize. The first prize was

taken by two Weavers which looked uncommon]}' like two hens

of distinct species, but the present writer is not well enough up

in this family to say to what species the}' belonged.


There were two classes for Waxbills, one for the Common

and the other the rarer kinds ; in the former the first prize was

awarded to a pair of Cordon Bleus. Though very common and

cheap there are few species more beautiful than this; and,

although it is usually considered a delicate species, it is, when

once acclimatised, one of the hardiest of the African Waxbills, and

will stand a considerable amount of cold.


In the class for the rarer Waxbills, a beautiful pair of

Wiener’s Waxbills (Pytclia a/raj obtained the first prize, these

being shown by Mr. L. W. Hawkins, who also sent a grand pair

of Rufoustails and a Red-faced finch.


In the class for Gouldians, Parrot Finches and Pintail

Nonpareils, the most interesting birds were the Tricoloured and

Hybrid Parrot Finches. There were also common Parrot

Finches, a beautiful Pintail Nonpareil and some Gouldian

Finches.


The class for Grass Finches and Mannikins, not

included elsewhere, was an interesting one, as it contained

several rare birds. Probably the rarest exhibit was Mr. Hawkins’

pair of Black-rumped Finches (Stictoptcra annulosa), which

were awarded third prize. The same exhibitor sent a charming

pair of Cuba Finches and an equally good pair of White-eared

Grass Finches, which obtained first and second respectively.

The White-eared Grass Finch (Poephila Icucotis) is to the writer’s

mind one of the nicest of the Grass Finches, and it is to be

regretted that it is so seldom offered for sale now-a-days. Several

pairs of the closely-allied Masked Finch (P. pcrsonata) were also

shown by Mr. Hawkins, who has lately succeeded in breeding

the species for the first time in this country. There were two



