The Waxbill Family. 97 



white, five or six in number, and about the size of a 

 pea; the young are hatched in eleven or twelve days, 

 and are readily enough reared on ants' eggs and 

 aphides, both of which should be freely supplied to 

 the parents. On emerging from the nest, the young 

 ones are all grey, and have black bills. 



THE ST. HELENA WAXBILL, Estrelda rubriventris 

 (see Fig 33), is sometimes absurdly called the Pheasant 

 Finch. It is a larger bird than the preceding, to 

 which, however, it bears a general resemblance, and, 



FIG. 33. THE ST. HELENA WAXBILL. 



like it, though a native of the eastern parts of Africa, 

 has become established at St. Helena in such numbers 

 that it does serious damage to the millet crop's, and 

 is caught in thousands, which are exported to Europe 

 and America, where it is in much request as a hand- 

 some, hardy, and lively inmate of the parlour aviary. 

 The wavy lines on the back and sides of this 

 species are much more pronounced than in the case 

 of the Grey Waxbill ; the under-parts, especially the 



H 



