120 FOREIGN FINCHES IN CAPTIVITY. 



brisk, graceful and ornamental, throughout the whole day in perpetual 

 motion. Their soft sibilant call-note, and louder flute-like cries sound 

 pleasing and melodious." 



"At the nesting-season the males quarrel fiercely; not more than 

 one pair should be kept in a room. Preparation for nesting : A Hartz 

 cage, hanging high, with paper pasted outside, with an entrance-hole 

 the size of a thaler (half-a-crown would do equally well), and a basket- 

 nest with linen stitched over it. Nest of slender asparagus sprays, 

 grasses, bast-fibres, and threads; spherical, with a narrow entrance, 

 and lined with soft feathers. Laying four to five eggs, shining, 

 roundish and very small. Nestling-down dark bluish, with blue-whitish 

 wax-skin. Young plumage faint bluish ash-grey ; croup and tail blackish 

 red ; beak only red at the tip, at the base dull flesh-coloured, the 

 wax-skin large, beautiful bluish-white ; feet reddish horn-grey, joints 

 yellowish ; eye black. Duration of the entire brood up to the flight of 

 the young barely four weeks. First reared in my bird-room, and 

 subsequently in a considerable number of others ; this is, however, 

 difficult, even when flying freely, and in a small cage indeed scarcely 

 attainable. Mules have been reared with the small Red Astrild." 



" More tender, more shy, and yet more confiding than the Grey 

 Astrild (common African Waxbill), and, for example, not difficult to 

 accustom to take a meal-worm from the hand, the Red-tail in all 

 other peculiarities, the further breeding proceedings, nourishment, &c., 

 corresponds with its allies. In the aviary, or kept in pairs, it is 

 one of the most delightful of all cage-birds, and the males which 

 take pleasure in plucking one another, are not quarrelsome with any 

 other companions." 



In his Fremdlandischen Stubenvogel, Dr. Russ tells us that at the 

 commencement of his essays at breeding he was very unfortunate 

 with this bird, he says : " After I had procured five pairs at one 

 time, and thereby, in the manner already frequently explained, obtained 

 true pairs for breeding, I almost immediately found the assertion of 

 the dealers confirmed, that this Ornamental Finch is generally delicate 

 and weakly." 



The difference in the sexes, indicated by Mr. Abrahams, renders 

 it quite unnecessary for any beginner, now-a-days, to purchase five 

 pairs in order to be sure of obtaining sexes ; indeed, on several occasions 

 this naturalist has, unhesitatingly, picked out and sold me undoubted 

 pairs of Lavender Finches, which would unquestionably have bred in 

 a well heated bird- room. 



I found the Lavender Finch inclined to quarrel with the Cordon 



