THE ST. HELENA WAXBILL. 49 



with or without white clover among it, is the best 

 kind of green food for them, but they require plenty 

 of coarse sand and a free supply of water for drinking 

 and bathing. 



Peaceful as a rule, the males will sometimes fight 

 bitterly among themselves, but they are so light that 

 not much damage to the combatants results from these 

 encounters, which are usually the result of jealousy. 



They readily contract an alliance with other species ; 

 thus, I have had males that mated, one with a Silver- 

 bill, and another with a small hen German Canary 1 

 But in both cases the result was barren eggs only. 

 Other amateurs, I understand, have been more fortunate 

 and have succeeded in obtaining a cross between the 

 St. Helena and the common Grey Waxbill. 



All these little red-billed birds are very charming, 

 but the subject of the present notice, often absurdly 

 called the Pheasant Finch, is perhaps the most engaging 

 of them all, and no collection of small foreign birds should 

 be considered complete without a pair or two of them. 



The scientific name is Estrelda rubrivcntris. 



