THE ZEBRA WAXBILL. 109 



Young plumage bright yellowish grey, to be distinguished by the weak, 

 but clearly perceptible reddish yellow colouring of the croup ; little 

 beak shining black ; eyes dark brown ; feet black brown. The clinn^c 

 of colour begins after three weeks ; in five weeks the feathering below 

 is clear yellowish, upper surface darker brown ; after eight weeks the 

 yellow becomes deep and shining, the little beak red, and the super- 

 ciliary stripe, which began to appear about the sixth week, is perfected. 

 Then the bird is fit to propagate its kind. The lively orange red of 

 the male is first shown in the second year ; by the fifth year it has 

 sometimes extended itself uniformly over the throat, breast, and front 

 of abdomen ; males so coloured are, however, rare. 



"One should not allow oneself to be deterred from buying on 

 account of the black colouring, provided the birds are otherwise healthy 

 and strong." " In the aviary, mild and peaceable. During the nesting- 

 time, and especially at its commencement, they dispute together, and 

 indeed, with others ; but they can never do any mischief. In a cage 

 the}' are uncommonly charming ; in it they never let one hear the 

 Sparrow's song. Breeding up to the time when the young are com- 

 pletely fledged, is difficult to compass, because the young almost always 

 die ; they have, however, already been frequently reared with satisfactory 

 results, first in my bird-room and then in others." 



Mr. Ayres writes of 5. subflavus as follows : " I found a flight of 

 these tiny Finches feeding in some cultivated grounds near Maritzburg 

 in July : they were the first I have seen of this species." 



Messrs. Butler, Feilden and Reid observe : " We met with a 

 small flock near Newcastle, in September, very shy indeed, and obtained 

 several specimens, both male and female." 



" We were somewhat surprised at meeting with a large flock also, 

 frequenting a reed-grown stream at Richmond Road, near Pietermaritz- 

 burg, in December. They stuck pertinaciously to the thick coverts, 

 perching, however, on the reeds and not on the ground." 



The above meagre notes are all that I have found respecting the 

 habits of this abundant species in a wild state. 



Dr. Russ says : " This Ornamental Finch, generally known under 

 the name of Little Gold-breast is one of the smallest, but also most 

 beautiful, and moreover, most beloved of all * * * and indeed this 

 little bird deserves well to be a pet of all the world." I quite agree 

 with him, though it sometimes gives trouble by escaping out of its 

 cage through marvellously small chinks. 



The illustration from living specimens and skins in the author's 

 possession. 



