THE PILEATED FINCH. 63 



a mealworm the first thing in the morning: their call-note is a sharp 

 decided tsip* 



In the Gefiederte Welt for the ayth August, 1891, Dr. Russ tells 

 us that Mr. Richard Stichler, of Kotzschenbroda, in Saxony, kindly 

 forwarded to him, on the iyth day of the month, a nest of C. pileatus, 

 which previously had been unknown. 



The nest was built on a dry pine branch and was somewhat 

 roughly constructed of threads of sacking, thin straws, fine shavings, 

 fibres of Manilla hemp and little tufts of lint, but neatly lined inside 

 with fibres of Manilla hemp. 



The nest belonged to a brood, one of which had flown, and the 

 parents had again gone to nest. The young bird flew on the i3th 

 June. 



I found my sole remaining hen very timid whilst caged, as will 

 be evident from the following fact: One of the three Green Avadavats 

 which were associated with a Cordon Bleu and a Zebra Waxbill in one 

 of my large breeding- cages escaped from its cage one day, through the 

 opening left by the sand-tray which was then being cleansed. After 

 some little trouble it was captured, and I then discovered that its 

 companions of the same species had amused themselves by plucking it 

 bare from the shoulders to the breastbone, with the exception of its 

 wings and tail. No wonder it had striven to escape on the first 

 opportunity ! I turned this little bird into my Ornamental-Finch aviary, 

 and in the morning found it in the midst of four of its own species, 

 who were chasing it from pillar to post playing the rough game, 

 called "No child of mine," with it, in short. 



Being at a loss to know what to do with the miserable looking 

 little scare-crow, which had now lost the feathers from the back of its 

 neck, I turned it in with Coryphospingus pileatus and hoped that the 

 latter would be kind to it. Poor Pileated Finch! In five minutes the 

 impudent little vagrant was chasing its hostess all over the cage, never 

 being able to catch her, but evidently enjoying the fun of seeing the 

 bird twice its own size dashing away from its impetuous rushes. At 

 intervals day after day this would be repeated, but whether from spite 

 or for mere sport, it would be hard to say. Anyhow the Pileated Finch 

 always seemed startled and fled precipitately from the Waxbill. 



In an aviary this same bird lost all its timidity and even sometimes 

 ventured to dispute with birds larger than the Green Avadavat ; it also 

 took kindly to soft food put in for Canaries. As I write (late in 1897) 



* I wrote this down with the bird uttering the note at my side, so that I know it to be 

 true; to call it "a harsh chirp" is, I think, too bad, but it is "penetrating." 



