HAWFINCHES. 



139 



set, and another three that were fresh, while on June 5 

 following I found a fourth nest, which, as it contained 

 but one egg, I left alone, sending a man to take it 

 five days later. The two nests taken on May 29 are 

 fairly deep cups, built in two parts. The inner part 

 is a strong fabric of bamboo leaves and coarse grass- 

 blades firmly welded together with mud, and perhaps 

 also with cobwebs ; wrapping up the walls of this inner 

 structure is a casing of tendrils and fine twigs or coarse 

 grass-stems, the base of the inner cup having rested on 

 the branch itself. The lining is of slender roots with 

 a few fine bamboo-leaves, and the edge of the nest is 

 rather well finished and rounded off with the material 

 of both the inner and the outer portions. Measure- 

 ments : inner depth, If and 2 in. ; inner diameter, a 

 little under and a little over 3 in. ; outer depth, about 

 3 in. ; outer diameter (irregular), 5 in. and above. 

 The nest brought on June 14, 1903, resembles the others, 

 but the outer casing of twigs is missing (lost in taking, 

 no doubt), while a certain amount of wool and a 

 little moss enter into its composition. Its inner 

 measurements are : depth, If in. ; diameter, 3 by 3^ in. 

 The fourth .nest, brought to me on June 10, 1904 (said 

 to be the one found by me on the 5th and subsequently 

 deserted), is of a Very different appearance. The 

 materials are much the same as those of the other nests, 

 but the bamboo-leaves composing the inner cup are 

 not welded together and are quite loose, the outer 

 casing of twigs is under as well as round this inner 

 cup, which is shallow. It seems to have been knocked 

 about. 



" The eggs taken on June 14, 1903, and the incu- 

 bated clutch of four taken on May 29, 1904, are of a 

 broad ovate shape and are coloured light olive-green, 

 with roundish and drop-like surface spots and twisted 

 broad lines, and a few hair-lines of very dark brown 

 (the lines beginning or ending in the spots) and shell- 

 spots and lines of very dark dull violet-grey with 

 fainter lines of the same. These markings are dis- 

 tributed pretty well all over the shell. Measurements 

 vary from 0.87 by 0.71 in. to 0.94 by 0.7? in. (average 

 0.9i by 0.73 in.). The three fresh eggs taken on 

 May 29 are of a long ovate shape. The ground-colour 

 is a light greyish-green; the spots and lines are very 

 dark and almost confined to the broad extremity. 

 Measurements 0.97 by 0.68 in., 0.97 by 0.67 in., and 

 0.93 by 0.69 in. The single egg brought to me on 

 June 10 is very large : 1.01 by 0.74 in. It is of a 

 lonig ovate shape, and resembles those last described. 

 The marks are chiefly confined to the broader half of 

 the shell." 



This handsome Hawfinch, according to Russ, is 

 rarely imported, but Bekemanns, o<f Antwerp, receives 

 it occasionally, though always singly ; he, however, 

 remarks that it has been represented several times in 

 the London Zoological Gardens. The species was ex- 

 hibited at the Crystal Palace about 1893, in which 

 year Mr. H. R. Fillmer, of Brighton, secured a pair ; 

 ^these birds went to nest in a, small aviary in 1894, and 

 partly reared one nestling. Mr. Fillmer recommends 

 as food for this species : " Canary seed, millet, and 

 paddy ; but seems to require a little soft food occa- 

 sionally ; the preserved egg does very well for it, but 

 it should not have too much of this or any other soft 

 food. It is verv fond of fruit, and I have never found 

 that any quantity of ripe fruit would hurt a bird. It 

 should also have plenty of green food." I do not know 

 how long Mr. Fillmer's pair lived, but I should cer- 

 tainly give sunflower and hemp-seed wfth beech-mast 

 when obtainable ; I note that Mr. Fillmer says that 

 sunflower-seed was given to the young birds. 



JAPANESE HAWFINCH (Eophona personata). 



Above pale drab OT ash-grey ; rump washed with 

 rufous-brown ; wing-coverts glossy steel-blue, the inner 

 half of greater coverts ash-grey, as also the inner 

 secondaries ; remaining wing-feathers black, the pri- 

 maries crossed by a white belt or patch diminishing 

 on the inner feathers to a small spot on edge of inner 

 web ; outer webs of secondaries broadly glossed with 

 steel-blue ; upper tail-coverts and midd'le tail-feathers 

 steel-blue tipped with black ; remaining tail-feathers 

 black ; crown, lores, base of cheeks and chin glossy 

 purplish-black ; ear-coverts, throat, breast and sides 

 pale drab or ash-grey ; abdomen, thighs and under 

 tail-coverts almost pure white ; wings below brownish- 

 black ; beak yellow, with purplish ba'se, washed with 

 green ; feet reddish flesh-colour ; irides light hazel. 

 Female generally paler and without black on the head ; 

 beak entirely yellow. Hab., Eastern Siberia and 

 Japan, ranging to Northern and Western China. 



Messrs. Blakiston and Pryer state that this Haw- 

 finch is "found commonly on Fujisan in July, has a 

 pleasing whistle, and is capable of being made very 

 tame." 



Bartlett (" Monograph of Finches and Weavers ") 

 says : " Many travellers and collectors have visited 

 the countries inhabited by this bird without obtain- 

 ing any authentic detailed history of its habits or 

 nidification ; it is undoubtedly a peculiar mountainous 

 resident, and is supposed to breed on the highest snow- 

 clad volcanos of Japan and Central China, and must 

 endure extreme cold, from the great altitude at which 

 it has been procured." Russ says that this species 

 unfortunately has only been received by Miss Hagen- 

 beck or Charles Jamrach singly, or at most in pairs ; 

 the males which he himself possessed (he only once 

 had a female, which died directly after it reached 

 him) appeared to resemble their relatives in habits 

 and behaviour. Mr. Wiener lost a male from over- 

 feeding, and thinks that this species should not be 

 allowed the run of the Lird-room continuouslv, but at 

 least occasionally isolated and fed sparely. Russ says 

 that it is a harmless nd peaceable bird, but he con- 

 siders it better suited to zoological gardens than for 

 bird-rooms ; he thinks it ought not to be difficult to 

 breed, inasmuch as a- pair in the Berlin Aquarium 

 began the construction of a nest. I believe examples 

 of this species were also exhibited in 1893. In cap- 

 tivity it should be fed like other Hawfinches. 



BLACK-AND-YELLOW HAWFINCH 

 (Mycerobas melanoxanthus). 



Above slate-black, the margins of the feathers paler ; 

 inner primaries white at base ; inner greater coverts 

 and secondaries tipped with yellowish-white, the tr- 

 minal spot more yellow and larger on inner secondaries ; 

 primary-coverts, bastard-wing, and all the flights with 

 the margins of the feathers ashy-brown ; upper tail- 

 coverts and tail black, under surface from throat back- 

 wards bright vellow ; sides spotted and flanks edged 

 with black : thighs, under wing-coverts and axillariep, 

 black edged with yellow; flights below black, with 

 ashy inner margins, whitish towards base ; beak and 

 feet leaden 'grey : irides brown. Female rather smaller : 

 black above mottled with yellow, the feathers having 

 yellow borders ; median and greater wing-coverts and 

 inner secondaries white towards end of outer webs : 

 .primaries white (at base of outer web, forming a small 

 speculum : upper tail-coverts and tnil -feathers black 

 edfired with yellow; feathers of crown black, with 

 white bases and yellow edges : lores and evebrow-stripe 

 yellow, the latter streaked with black behind ; cheeks 

 yellow, streaked with black ; tipper ear-coverts blackish, 



