The White-Checked Finch Lark.



Ill



in Germany. However, I read some years ago in the ‘ Gefiederte

Welt ’ an article by the well-known aviculturist, Herr Hugo Dicker,

of Halle, where he reports that the Melba Finches he possessed in

his bird-room gave him nothing else but clear eggs; he mentions

in the same article that he reared many Red-faced Waxbills and

Aurora Finch hybrids, which always died befoi’e they could feed

themselves. He noticed what a good father the Pytelia afra was,

and I have observed the same qualities in his near relative— P. melba

(‘ Gef. Welt,’ 1910).


This second brood gave me four more hybrids as fine and

hardy as their elder brothers.


In October a third brood was unfortunately destroyed by

mice, which penetrated into the nest-box, and threw away the little

ones when five or six days old.


These hybrids sing very often, and beautifully ; their song

resembles that of the Melba Finch, though perhaps it is a little less

melodious. They are magnificent, when adult, at about the age of

thi'ee months. The following is the description of the adult:


Wings and hack olivaceous yellow, not so bright as the

father’s; tail-feathers red-brown broadly edged with blood-red, the

two centre feathers blood-red throughout; upper tail-coverts and

rump blood-red ; head, nape, sides of neck dull slate-grey; forehead,

cheeks and face scarlet: throat and breast of the same colour

shaded with purple, with more or less violet reflections according to

the incidence of light; a dull blue-grey line separates the breast from

the abdomen, which is light-huffish ; under tail-coverts light-buffish ;

flanks dull blue-grey marked with white spots; iris brown; eye-lid

fleshy-pink: hill coral-red, paler at base. The bird has the elegant

shape of the Crimson-eared Waxbill, hut resembles its father in size.



THE WHITE-CHEEKED FINCH LARK

(PYRRHULAUDA LEUCOTIS).


By W. Shore Baily.


This pretty South African bird is sometimes offered by the

dealers at a very reasonable price. It does not, however, appear to



