THE SPICE FINCH. 231 



several nests, sometimes openly in the bushes, sometimes in a roomy 

 box, or on the top of a wire-cage hanging high up on the wall ; these 

 were externally like a tangled heap of all kinds of rough nesting-stuff, 

 but inside were carefully lined with feathers and cotton-wool. The 

 breeding process is similar to that of the little Silver-pheasant. In 

 the course of years, I have only twice obtained young, but of these 

 only one lived. The young plumage is uniform fawn greyish-brown ; 

 beak, eyes, and feet are black." 



The Doctor considers that bird-lovers ought not to trouble to dis- 

 tinguish the races, inasmuch as they are not only extremely similar 

 in plumage, but also identical in their habits, disposition, mode of 

 nesting, &c. I would not go so far as this ; for I think every aviarist 

 ought to be able to distinguish the races when he sees them, if 

 possible. At the same time, in the case of the two Indian forms this 

 is not always possible ; inasmuch as intergrades occasionally turn up : 

 moreover, Dr. Sharpe says that M. subundulata is intermediate between 

 M. punctulata and M. nisoria. This I can quite believe ; for my birds, 

 which came in one cage from Bombay, were considered by Mr. 

 Abrahams to represent these two races ; though the true M. nisoria is 

 Malayan : thus even the best judge of living birds is liable to mistake 

 well-defined aberrant examples of M. subundulata for the Malayan race. 



It is therefore probable, as already stated, that the Bar-breasted 

 Finch of the trade is M. punctulata and M. subundulata in part ; and 

 that the Nutmeg Finch of the trade is M. nisoria and M. subundulata 

 in part: the grades of M. subundulata being referred to the race which 

 they chance to resemble most closely. 



The Zoological Society calls M. nisoria the Bar-breasted Finch. 



The illustrations are from living specimens in the author's collection ; 

 excepting M. nisoria, which is drawn from a skin in the National 

 collection. 



