THE ZEBRA FINCH. 189 



The eggs are hatched in about eleven days, and about three weeks 

 later the young leave the nest, but are largely dependent upon their 

 parents for food for about another week : during this time they give 

 the old birds little rest, pursuing them continually, throwing themselves 

 sideways, turning their heads upside down and trumpeting noisily : the 

 attitude of the young Zebra Finch when being fed is most grotesque. 

 About eight weeks after leaving their nest, the young are like their 

 parents, and are then ready to breed. Therefore, provided that all 

 things go well, more especially with the hen birds (which sometimes 

 die from soft eggs in cold weather) a good stock of this pretty little 

 Finch can soon be acquired. 



If permitted to do so, Zebra Finches will breed at any time in 

 the year ; in fact, my first youngster left the nest on Christmas day, 

 in the bird-room, at a temperature of 50 degrees Fahr. It is not, 

 however, advisable to let these birds breed incessantly, for it certainly 

 weakens the old birds, and even the young are wanting in vigour. In 

 1896 I bred twenty- three specimens, but quite half of these died during 

 the winter and succeeding summer. In 1897, also, all the yoting birds, 

 excepting three which were bred, died soon after leaving the nests : in 

 this they were not peculiar, for the same thing happened, to a less 

 extent, with Saffron Finches and Java Sparrows. In February, 1898, 

 four young ones left the nest, and grew up, but I believe all were 

 hens. 



As a proof of its indifference to cold, it is sufficient to mention 

 that in the severe winter of 1890-1, a pair of this species in my outside 

 aviary, were building in a German canary-cage, at a temperature of 15 

 degrees Fahr. They fortunately went no farther, or I might have lost 

 the hen : indeed, she did not lay and hatch out until the following 

 July : but I found them quite as lively and happy with seventeen 

 degrees of frost, as when they had from thirty to forty degrees of heat. 



The Zebra. Finch is perfectly able to rear its young on seed alone, 

 especially if plenty of grass in the ear is given ; and I firmly believe 

 that in a heated room they do better on this than when they are 

 supplied also with soft food. I found the latter tended to make the 

 old birds too excitable, so that they would start a fresh nest, and pluck 

 their newly fledged young to line it, thus killing several healthy little 

 fellows before they were strong enough to defend themselves. In a 

 cool aviary, however, soft food is useful. 



The call-note of the Zebra Finch is a monosyllabic note, like that 

 produced by a penny wooden trumpet, and the song is a repetition of 

 the same sound five times, the first four notes uttered rapidly, and the 



