GRASSFINCHES. 



165 



well in a flight cage, and that 

 millet in the ear is absolutely 

 necessary to their health ; they 

 always begin to fail if it is with- 

 drawn for a few days. 



The young are fed chiefly upon 

 seed regurgitated from the crops of 

 the parents; I believe that th e 

 latter also get a certain amount of 

 minute insect-life from the bushes ; 

 they never, however, seem to touch 

 either green food or any soft 

 mixture. 



There is a wide gap between the 

 preceding and the other species of 

 Poephila, and I could wish that 

 the latter had been referred to a 

 different genus. The Gouldian 

 Finch has the typical song of a 

 Grassfinch ; the Masked and 

 probably the White-eared Grass- 

 finches have nearly the note of the 

 Zebra-finch, but the Parson-finch 

 and Long-tailed Grassfinch have a 

 musical little song, consisting of 

 eight notes ; the four last have 

 certain colour-characters in com- 

 mon, but not one of them has the 

 slightest resemblance to a Gouldian Finch. 



WHITE-EARED GRASSFINCH (Poephila leucotis). 



Above ruddy cinnamon brown ; crown a little darker ; 

 rump and upper tail-coverts white, black at the sides ; 

 flights blackish, primaries edged with -whitish, remain- 

 ing feathers externally cinnamon brown ; tail black ; 

 head all round black behind the beak ; back of cheeks 

 and ear-coverts -white ; sides of neck, throat and breast 

 rosv huffish ; sides of breast and remainder of body 

 below white, with a large black patch on the flanks ; 

 flights below dusky, with rufescent inner webs ; beak 

 pale yellow ; feet coral red : irides dark brown. Female 

 very similar, but apparently a somewhat slimmer bird. 

 Hab., North Australia. 



According to Campbell, the nest and eggs of this bird 

 are undescribed, and all that Gould tells us about it is 



WHITE-EARED GRASSFINCH. 



MASKED GRASSFINCH. 



that, " like other members of the genus, it inhabits the 

 open spots of country and feeds on grass-seeds." 



Mr. Reginald Phillipps, who had five examples of the 

 species, published a full and interesting account of them, 

 illustrated by a coloured plate, in The Avicultural 

 Magazine, 1st ser., Vol. IV., pp. 169-172 and 185-188. 

 His birds built several nests or " squatting-places," as 

 he calls them -in which there was a lining of feathers ; 

 but with no satisfactory result. It is evident that Mr. 

 Phillipps regards P. leucotis as extremely closely related 

 to P. personata, but nevertheless distinct. Both have 

 the tiny trumpet-note of the common Zebra-finch, to 

 which I believe them to be more nearly related than to 

 P. gouldiae, although placed in the same genus with 

 the latter. I have never had an opportunity of securing 

 specimens of P. leucotis. In my opinion it would be 

 advantageous to adopt Reichen- 

 baoh's name of Chloebia for P. 

 mirabilis. 



MASKED GRASSFINCH (Poephila 

 personata). 



Above rosy-brown, much more 

 cinnamon on the crown ; rump, and 

 upper tail -coverts white ; flights 

 brown, with rosy-brownish outer 

 borders ; tail black ; head all round 

 black close to the beak, as in P. 

 leucotis ; sides of face and under 

 surface rosy-brown ; the abdomen 

 and under tail-coverts white ; a 

 large black patch on the flanks ; 

 flights below dusky, rufescent 

 along inner web ; beak clear 

 ochreous ; feet fleshy red ; irides 

 red. Female slightly smaller and 

 duller, with less cinnamon tinting 

 on the crown. Hab., North and 

 North-west Australia. 



According to Gilbert (" Gould's 

 Handbook to Birds of Australia," 

 Vol. I., p. 423), " it inhabits 

 grassy meadows near streams, feed- 

 ing on grass-seeds, etc. It was 



