1 80 Bird-keeping. 



bottle-shaped nest, with a long entrance-tube below, of 

 leaves, grass-stems, cotton, and hair ; both birds assist 

 in building the nest, and sit on the eggs alternately. 

 They have been reared in confinement. 



Other foreign Finches are occasionally imported, 

 which would probably all thrive on canary and millet- 

 seed, with a little admixture of ants' eggs, flies, etc., as 

 all the Finches are the better for~a little insect food 

 now and then ; chickweed and lettuce would generally 

 be appreciated too, and egg food would be necessary 

 if attempts were made to breed. 



Of late years a number of the Australian Finches 

 have been brought to England. The "Queensland" 

 or " Rockhampton Finches " belong to the A madina 

 family. Two species which I have seen have very 

 beautiful soft plumage. 



The CHESTNUT-BREASTED REED FINCH (Donacola 

 or Spennestes castaneothorax) has a chestnut-brown 

 back and wings, the throat and cheeks are brownish- 

 black, and the breast has a broad band of buff, edged 

 with a very narrow stripe of black. The head is beau- 

 tifully mottled with black, brown, and buff; the bill is 

 pale grey ; the legs and feet lead-coloured ; the stomach 

 is of a pure white, spotted on the sides with brown ; 

 the upper tail-coverts are buff, the lower black, the tail 

 itself is dark brown. The male and female are alike 

 in plumage. 



The BANDED FlNCH (Poephila or Spermestes cincta\ 



