SEED-EATERS. 



107 



Finches. Therefore, whilst I will not be so bold as to 

 say that males of the ,pale type may not occur, I should 

 be dnclined to regard them as probably the early plumage 

 of the species ; and dark liens, if they exist, might 

 represent the senile plumage. I can hardly think it 

 possible that two species so closely related could co-exist 

 in the same regions, for they would infallibly interbreed, 

 as they certainly do in captivity, and probably produce 

 fertile offspring. 



WHITE-THROATED SEED-EATER (Serinus albigularis] . 



Greyish wood-brown, with slightly darker centres to 

 the feathers; rump and iu.pper tail-coverts olivaceous 

 yellow; wing .and tail feathers dark brown with pale 

 margins ; eyebrow-stripe and cheeks white ; below mouse- 

 brown; throat, centre of abdomen, and under tail-coverts 

 white ; under wing-coverts .partly tipped with white ; 

 beak horn-brown, paler at base of lower mandible ; feet 

 flesh-brownish ; irides brown. Female rather smaller 

 and duller. Habitat, Cape Colony. 



In Stark and Sclater's " Birds of South Africa,," Vol. I., 

 pp. 175, 176, are the following notas on. the habits of 

 the species: "This large and soberly coloured Seed- 

 eater is very- common to the north of Cape Town, 

 especially towards Saldanha Bay, a locality in which 

 Layaird noticed its albundance in his time. Here it 

 inhabits the bush-overgrown sand-dunes close to the 

 beach, and feeds on the seeds of several of the more 

 common weeds. In spring the cocks sing loudly and 

 melodiously from the tops of the bushes, their song 

 being, to my ear. superior to that of the Caps Canary. 

 About the beginning of September they proceed to build 

 their nests, open cup-shaped structures, in the bushes, 

 frequently in a " milk-bush " about four feet above the 

 ground. These are rather loosely constructed of thin, 

 pliable twigs and dry grass-stems, and are invariably 

 lined with the white downy blossoms of a common weed. 

 Towards the end of the month the females lay three 

 or _four eggis of a very faint 'bluish white, sometimes 

 plain, more often sparingly marked at the large end with 

 one or two spots or bur-like streaks of deep purplish- 

 black. They average 0.80 by 0.60. 



"Both the male and female sit very closely on their 

 eggs, and defend their nest valiantly against aggressors. 

 On almost every occasion on which I have inspected a 

 nest of this bird I have had my fingers pecked for my 

 pains, and with their powerful bills they can inflict a 

 severe bite. On one occasion I saw a pair of these 

 finches attack a large snake with great courage and 

 success, 



" The young are fed on insects and macerated seeds 

 from the crops of the old birds. They remain in the 

 nest for a little more than a month." 



About 1895 my old colleague Dr. Sharps gave me an 

 example of this species which he had owned for some 

 little time, but which I believe on one occasion had 

 scaped from its cage and injured its skull by flyin<r 

 against the window; it never sang a note and I mar- 

 velled that Dr. Russ should speak of it as a lovely 

 singer but after its death on April 24th, 1896 I dis 

 covered that it was a hen. I think it probable that it is, 

 Stark says, a very melodious songster, but it d^ 

 ertainly no beauty ; it has the beak and general colour- 

 ing of a London hen Sparrow with just a touch of the 

 jennnch on its rump and upper tail-coverts. 



GREY SINGING-FINCH (Serinus leucopygius). 



Above ashy-brown with darker brown centres to tihe 



others the head greyer than the back; feathers of 



irer back blackish-brown with greyish tips; rump 



White; lesser wing-coverts pale brownish-ash; remainder 



nng and tail-feathers dark brawn with pale margins 



throat ashy whitish; breast pale brownish-ash sligihtly 

 mottled with dusky ; breast and abdomen white slightly 

 stained with buflish, washed at the sides with ashy and 

 streaked with dusky ; 'beak pale- fleshy horn-colour ; feet, 

 flesh-coloured; irides brown. Habitat, North-Eastern 

 and Equatorial Africa. 



The female of this species has not been differentiated 

 in scientific works ; it is a trifle smaller than the male,, 

 and generally (if not always) rather more distinctly 

 streaked with dusky on the sides and flanks. 



In Capt. Shelley's "Birds 1 of Africa," Vol. III., pp. 

 216, 217, we read : " Heuglin met with the species in 

 the Bongo country, which is watered by the Gazelle 

 river. At the Blue Nile he found a nest which was 

 cup-shaped and deep inside, it was constructed of a 

 kind of hemp mixed with hairs and seed-down and 

 lined with feathers, hair and down. It was placed 

 about five feet from the ground, and contained three 

 eggs, which were pale greenish grey spotted at the- 

 thick end with brownish red and dusky brown ; they 

 measured 0.6 by 0.46. In this district, near Senaar, it 

 frequents the native villages and the surrounding, 

 pasture-land, and may be seen in flocks feeding on the 

 ground, or perched on bushes or rocks near water." 



I am afraid Von Heuglin. was a bit careless in ascer- 

 taining the ownership of the nests which he discovered- 

 The eggs of the Grey Singing-finch are familiar to many 

 aviculturists, to me among others ; for, although I have 

 never succeeded in 'breeding the species, I have on several 

 occasions got as far as nests and eggs ; the latter are 

 creamy or pearly white, sometimes with a feiw small 

 black spots at the larger end. 



The strength of voice in this sweet singer and its 

 energy have often astonished me ; though no larger than- 

 a Zebra Finch it will sit upon a branch and sing away 

 almost incessantly hour after hour, pouring forth a 

 melody not unlike that of the St. Helena Seed-eater, 

 but, at the same time, more varied and better sustained. 

 It is a gentle, nervous little bird, and, though it looks 

 delicate, is tolerably hardy ; it will readily build a neat 

 and compact little open, nest on the floor of a German 

 Canary cage in an indoor aviaiy, and lay four or five 

 little pure white eggs ; provided that the hen does not 

 succumb to egg-binding, to which I have found it liable, 

 the Grey Singing-finch will rear its young on the same 

 diet as a Canary. 



The flight is extremely graceful and pretty, remind- 

 ing one somewhat of that of a white butterfly. To see 

 it to perfection two or three cock birds should be kept 

 together in a 'large aviary, for, although they will 

 fight and sing alternately from morning to night, all 

 the fighting takes place on the wing, and, beyond the 

 loss of a few small feathers, very little harm is done. 

 There is no malice in it, for directly after a combat the 

 birds may be seen feeding side by side at the same 

 hopper. Before and after a fight the birds will often 

 sit on different branches singing against one another. 

 The music is exceedingly rapid and melodious, without 

 one unpleasant note ; indeed there is no other Finch, 

 whether British or foreign, which I have heaixl, that 

 can compete with this tiny songster ; Mr. Teschemafcer 

 however says that the allied Yellow-rumped Serin sur- 

 passes it. 



YELLOW-RUMPED OR ANGOLA SERIN 

 (Serinus angolensis). 



Closely resembles the preceding species excepting that 

 it has the rump yellow instead of white, the forehead 

 brownish white, a slightly browner tint above and faint 

 washes of yellow on the primaries and axillaries. The 

 female has not been differentiated in scientific works. 



