IF. Shore Baily — The Nesting of the Orchard Finch 125


Aprosmictus Parrakeet, which 1 shall try to pair with a Red-shining;

one male Racquet-tailed Parrot, the Pesquet, one Black Lory, one

White-Rumped Lory ; three Lories (sp. incert.) allied to the Black-

Capped ; three Blue-Crowned Hanging Parrakeets, and one Ceylon

ditto ; one male Layard’s Parrakeet, and a fine male Great-Billed

Parrakeet, now at liberty at Warblington with a female previously

imported. The Lories and Hanging Parrakeets, though kept very

warm and carefully fed, died like flies on arrival from chills, inflam¬

matory and digestive troubles ; and the hen Racquet-tail succumbed

the other day when nearly through the moult. The Layard did his

best to follow the others to a better land, but was pulled round by the

care and skill of the aviary attendant. Later in the summer I may have

some more news' to give.



THE NESTING OF THE ORCHARD FINCH

(PIIR YGIL US FR UTICE TI)


By W. Shore Bj? ly


This interesting Finch, which is nearly the size of our Redwing,

was first bred by Dr. M. Amsler in 1915, an account of which appeared in

Bird Notes the same year. Dr. Amsler after his first success allowed the

birds freedom once they had gone to nest, thus securing for the

nestlings a larger supply of insects than the parents would have been

able to procure within the limits of the aviary walls. Some fine

youngsters were reared in this way, a pair of which I secured. These

wintered out of doors very well, but to my disappointment they did

not go to nest in the spring, and I am inclined to think that they were

two hens. However, one died, and I sold the survivor, so I was unable

to prove this. Last autumn Dr. Amsler offered me his original pair

and I was very glad to have them. About the middle of April this year

the hen built a neat nest of roots and twigs and lined it with hair ;

two large eggs, pale bluish-green and thickly marked with brown,

were laid. These 1 took for my collection. The hen went to uest again

at the beginning of May, this time in a black spruce. Incubation com¬

menced on May 4, the number of eggs again being two. On March 17

both had hatched, making the incubation period thirteen days. All



