tgo1-1902.] Some Foreign Birds I have kept. 345 
than about 4000 or 5000 feet above the level of the sea. 
Hence the bird is not nearly so delicate as other Indian birds ; 
hardy as regards climatic influences, and content with almost 
any food. In the aviary he will be found feeding with the 
American robins and other soft-food birds, and again paying 
attention to the seed dishes, swallowing canary and millet seed 
entire. I have kept him with tanagers, and just now I have 
him in a cage with a pair of blackcaps. A piece of ripe fruit 
and a meal-worm are equally welcome to him. Currants 
mixed with his food he is very fond of. Even a little boiled 
rice will not come amiss. In the cage the bird cannot have 
too much variety of food. Even a few grains of hemp may 
be given, which the birds will, if the seeds be large, carry to 
a perch, hold daintily with their feet, and try to break by 
hammering with their coral-red soft beaks. These birds are 
extremely fond of bathing—in fact, will take a dip several 
times a-day ; and almost incessantly will they be busy preen- 
ing and arranging their pretty feathers, until these are the 
very perfection of neatness and good order. Not the least of 
this bird’s merits is that he never molests any other birds, 
large or small, and is a model of good behaviour in the aviary, 
whether kept singly or in pairs. Even several pairs do not 
apparently molest each other. Dr Russ first bred the Liothrix 
in captivity in 1874, and since then several successful broods 
have been recorded annually. The nest is rather inartistic, 
either in a bush or a ledge or in a nest-box or German cage. 
It consists of hay, fibres, and grasses, with a few small feathers. 
About four bluish or greenish eggs, with brown or reddish 
spots, will be laid. The young appear less difficult to rear 
than those of other insectivorous birds, and resemble the old 
birds, except that the colours are faint and somewhat dull. 
These pretty birds can be bought for a few shillings a pair, 
and as they have very lively manners they make amusing 
cage pets. 
The next bird I show is the Avadavat or Amavude finch. 
This finch and the other two which I show belong to the 
Dwarf or Fancy Finches. These finches may be considered 
the foreign cage-birds par excellence, but it should be stated 
at once that very little is known of the life and habits of most 
of these little birds in their wild state, whilst a great mass of 
