THE BICHENO'S FINCH. 193 



BICHENO'S FINCH. 



Stictoptera bichenovii, VlG. ET HORSE. 



THIS is an inhabitant of Australia, and unfortunately is much less 

 frequently imported than it ought to be, considering what a 

 pretty and altogether pleasing cage-bird it is ; on this account it is 

 correspondingly expensive. Gould considered Bicheno's Finch to be 

 an Astrild ; but I have always thought it far more like a Grass-finch ; 

 therefore, as Dr. Sharpe has placed it among the latter, I have been 

 very willing to follow his lead. 



The male bird above is pale brown, with slightly darker traverse 

 bars on the feathers ; upper tail-coverts white, preceded on the croup 

 by a black bar ; greater wing-coverts and flight-feathers blackish, 

 spotted with white ; tail-feathers black ; the forehead is blackish, con- 

 tinued by a line of black, which borders the sides of the crown and 

 passes behind the ear-coverts downwards, and across the lower part of 

 throat ; the cheeks and throat are white ; the remainder of the under 

 surface yellowish-white ; a second black stripe crosses the breast ; the 

 chest slightly greyish, light brown at the sides and faintly barred ; 

 under tail-coverts black ; flight- feathers below dusky, under wing-coverts 

 yellowish. Length 31 inches. Beak and legs bluish-grey ; iris black. 



The female is slightly duller in plumage, and has occasionally 

 narrower bands on the chest ; it is also slimmer, slightly smaller, and 

 paler on the crown. 



Mr. Gould observes : " This beautiful little Finch inhabits the 

 extensive plains of the interior, particularly such portions of them as 

 are thinly intersected with low scrubby trees and bushes. My specimens 

 were obtained in the Liverpool and Brezi Plains. As I have had 

 occasion to remark with respect to other species, it will be impossible 

 to determine the precise extent of its range until Australia has been 

 more fully explored. 



The Bicheno's Finch is very tame in its disposition, and is 

 generally to be obtained on the ground, occupied in procuring the 

 seeds of grasses, and other small plants, which form its principal 

 food. When I visited the interior, in the month of December, it was 



