46 FEATHERED FRIENDS. 



foes alive and sell them into captivity, instead of 

 shooting them and leaving their small bodies to wither 

 on the ground. 



In addition to millet these beautiful little birds also 

 consume a number of minute insects, and, as I strongly 

 suspect, feed their young mainly, if not entirely, upon 

 them, which may be the reason why the St. Helena 

 Waxbill does not often breed successfully in confinement. 



I say "successfully", for nothing is more common 

 than for these Waxbills to nest, whether in cage or 

 aviary, any small box or covered basket serving them 

 for a foundation for their inartistic domicile, which, 

 failing such adventitious aid, is not infrequently placed 

 in a bush, or even among a few sticks arranged closely 

 together in a corner of the enclosure. 



Hay and fibre are the materials employed for building 

 purposes, but the inside of the nest is snugly lined 

 with cotton-wool or small feathers. The eggs are white, 

 six or seven in number, as a rule, and about the same 

 size as those of the European Wren. Incubation lasts 

 twelve or thirteen days, and on the second, third, or fourth 

 after the hatching the young are usually thrown out 

 of the nest, when the old birds at once begin to build 

 again. Such, at least, is the ordinary procedure in con- 

 finement, for when at liberty in their native haunts, they 

 act, of course, in conformity with the natural instinct 

 implanted in all created beings and attend to their 

 young until these are able to provide for themselves. 



