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neck, mantle, etc., of the male are of a deep, rich, almost

velvety, chestnut, which passes into the creamy buff of the

scapulars; but, in the male, the latter region is of various

shades, and edged with yellowish. Lesser wing-coverts, green,

the remainder dark chestnut-brown. Forehead, not white, but

pale yellow, passing into pale green, the two colours, much

mixed where they join, occupying the whole front of the crown.

Eyebrow green. A streak of green-blue runs from below the

base of the lower mandible, under the black band which covers

the eye, and terminates in a suspicion of a white spot—for only

occasionally can a trace of the white hinder cheeks be detected

in the male, and not at all in the female. Lower back buff,

freely interspersed with green feathers. Length of male’s bill

(culmen) one and three-eights inch, female’s a little less. The

yellow forehead of the female contains a few chestnut feathers ;

the chestnut crown, etc., is not of so deep and rich a colour, and

contains a few green feathers; and the somewhat varied creamy

buff of the scapulars, etc., is rather more uniform in the female.

The yellow throat is more brilliant and extensive in the male,

while his black throat-band is less distinct and defined. The black

lore-stripe is narrower in the female, and narrower than it was

before the moult. The general plumage above of the female is

lighter in colour than in the male, but less pure. The eyes of

both birds are very dark brown ; several times lately, and again

this day, I have carried each bird to the window, but fail to

detect a trace of the lemon-yellow of the adult.


In their behaviour, up till quite recently, the two have

been very different. The male receives me with outspread wing

and garrulous tongue, while the female had been quite un¬

demonstrative. Although the singing has been nearly quenched

and the courting greatly suppressed by the excessive cold, the

latter has been only suppressed , and on a warm afternoon breaks

out with a little warbling and much aggressive pursuing, during

which unfortunately many feathers of wings and tails have been

broken. The female was quite unresponsive until about the

beginning of May, when a wave of migration-wildness and

“ looking into space ” came over her, which lasted several days,

and during which she scarcely fed. She has passed through this

phase fairly well, however; and now the two, sitting nearly face

to face, will “Q” at one another in a pleasing responsive manner:

she seems to have passed from girlhood into the adult woman

almost at a bound. Nevertheless I could hardly expect them to

lay in a cage, and to loose them in my exposed aviary would



