THE CHERRY FINCH. 199 



externally of hay and fibrous roots, mixed with flowering grasses, and 

 had a small entrance hole in front ; the birds sat together in this nest 

 at night ; but at twilight, when anyone entered the passage between 

 this and my other cool aviaries, they would hurriedly leave their 

 retreat, to return, however, as soon as they had recovered from their 

 scare. Early in the new year, the hen became egg-bound, and had 

 to be doctored, when she passed an unshelled egg, and recovered ; 

 but, when a hen bird once begins to lay uushelled eggs, she is apt to 

 repeat the experiment with fatal results, and this was the case with 

 my hen Cherry Finch.* 



Mr. Gould says of this species : " I found the plain- coloured 

 Finch tolerably abundant on the Liverpool plains, and on the banks 

 of the Naomi, and Gilbert mentions his having observed it on the low 

 ranges to the northward of Moreton Bay. In its actions, habits, and 

 economy, no remarkable differences were observed from those of the 

 other species of the genus. 



"It is usually seen in pairs, or associated in small companies, 

 feeding either on or near the ground, the seeds of grasses and other 

 annuals forming its chief supply of food." 



" A nest found by Gilbert was of a domed form, composed of 

 grasses, and contained five or six white eggs, about half an inch long 

 by three-eighths broad." 



Mr. North says : " This Finch is an inhabitant of Queensland 

 and the northern portions of New South Wales. Living well in con- 

 finement, numbers of them are trapped annually, and sent to Sydney 

 and other markets for sale. The nest of this bird is a large dome- 

 shaped structure, composed of dried grasses, thickly lined with feathers, 

 and is usually placed in a low shrub or among long grass ; the eggs 

 are five in number for a sitting, pure white." 



Wiener considered this species very delicate ; Dr. Russ, however, 

 says that he did not find it so : he observes, on the contrary : " To 

 judge by their build and their placid disposition, they (the Australian 

 Ornamental Finches) doubtless should rank among the most vigorous 

 cage-birds ; and, nevertheless, they promptly die in extraordinary 

 numbers though certainly, as a rule, immediately after importation. 

 The causes of this lamentable state of things invariably originate in 



* In 1894, Mr. Abrahams generously replaced this bird ; but, so far, I have not succeeded in 

 breeding with it. lu March, 1895, I purchased a second pair, and in May they built, the first 

 egg being deposited on the yth May. The hen was very nervous, and left the nest at the least 

 alarm, tumbling about on the earth as if wounded, and gradually retreating from her home 

 until about two yards away, when she hopped up into a bush and sat quite still. The eggs are 

 very large for the size of the bird. Only two eggs were deposited. The hen mysteriously 

 disappeared on February I9th, 1897, and the cock died during the following night. A.G.B. 



