THE WHITE JAVA SPARROW. 67 



of these parts, however, soon gives place to the roseate 

 shade of the old birds, and then it is impossible to 

 distinguish between them, so that there is always the 

 danger to be guarded against of sending the latter away 

 instead of the former, and in order to guard against 

 the possibility of such a mischance, the better plan is 

 to separate the young birds from the parents before 

 they lose the distinguishing colour of their legs, feet 

 and bill. 



The nest is merely an immense quantity of all kinds 

 of rubbish crammed into an absurdly large box, in the 

 centre of which the birds form a cup-like depression 

 which is snugly lined with feathers, among which the 

 eggs are deposited. 



None of these birds that I have possessed at any 

 time even attempted to breed in a small box that one 

 might have thought would have been just the thing 

 for them, but no, they always chose one that was big 

 enough to accommodate a pair of Jackdaws or of 

 Starlings at the very least, and when such a thing was 

 not at their disposal they evinced their displeasure by 

 refusing to nest at all. Evidently they require plenty 

 of room, and will not make the best of circumstances 

 as many other birds will do. 



In a cage the White Javas are decidedly dull and 

 uninteresting, but when they are enjoying comparative 

 freedom in a large garden-aviary, they are very active 

 and lively, continually on the move and chattering 



