150 Song Birds. 



5. CORDON BLUES are pretty pale blue birds, and 

 there are Saffron Finches, or South African Canaries, 

 and Fire Finches, of most brilliant colour, as their 

 name implies. A collection of one pair of each of 

 these several kinds would be fairly dazzling. 



6. The CUT-THROAT SPARROWS are of rather a 

 larger size. The cock bird has a wide crimson band 

 just round the throat ; they are very slender, beauti- 

 fully marked with grey and brown, the. exquisite 

 feathers being like separate spangles ; they make, 

 however, a rather harsh sort of twittering, much like 

 other sparrows. 



The hen bird has not the bright red stripe, but she 

 is very pretty. These birds are just the size of Gold- 

 finches ; their price, eight shillings a pair. 



Indigo birds and Diamond Sparrows are each about 

 eight to ten, and twelve to twenty shillings the pair. 



7. The JAVA SPARROWS, too, are nice birds, having 

 a sweet and liquid song, which, though it is short, is 

 very frequent, and sometimes almost continuously 

 repeated. 



These birds are pretty, of a darkish grey plumage, 

 as neat as it can be, black head and white cheeks, 

 pink bills, red eyelids, and pinkish white feet. They 

 are always pluming themselves, and caressing each 

 other in a very loving manner. The pair I have cost 

 ten shillings ; they were from Mr. Hawkins's, and are 

 remarkably fine. These birds greatly delight in 



