WHITE JAVA SPAHRDWS. 107 



WHITE JAVA SPARROWS. 



THESE are among the most striking birds when kept in a large collection. The 

 beautiful, clear white, silky plumage, set off to good advantage by the clear rose- 

 tinted beak, gives the White Java Sparrow an appearance which at once arrests the 

 attention of any observer. 



The clear white color is another evidence of the superiority of the scientific 

 breeding of the bird-fanciers in China and Japan. How the change of color from 

 the gray to the white was obtained will probably never be known. Some writers 

 assert, that the birds were originally bred in rooms where nothing but white color 

 was seen ; and, in breeding down from generation to generation, the white variety 

 was gradually obtained. Jacob, a son of Isaac, changed the color of cattle by this 

 method. That is a convenient way to account for the Sparrow's transformation. 

 Other writers assert, that the gray variety was fed on chalk, which changed the 

 plumage. One story is probably as truthful as the other ; and, as nobody knows for 

 a certainty, it is better to let the matter remain a mystery. It is, however, certain, 

 that the White Java Sparrows are not of the Albino race ; as they lack the pink 

 eyes always seen in the various specimens of that race. They may also be bred in 

 confinement, and produce progeny of the same color, which is an impossibility with 

 any Albino birds. 



The Japanese make a business of breeding the White Java Sparrows ; and each 

 pair has a small cage, in which is placed a perch and nest. By careful and stimu- 

 lating feeding, they are made to lay freely ; and, as soon as a brood is hatched, 

 the old birds are placed in another cage, where they continue hatching and breeding. 

 The young are brought up by hand, being fed on a scalded vegetable decoction 

 mixed with millet-seed. 



It is an easy matter to breed White Java Sparrows in this country, and, besides 

 being easily done, much more remunerative than Canary-raising. Put a pair in a 

 common breeding-cage with a straw-basket nest, and furnish materials, which may 

 consist of pieces of straw, hay, hair, or fowls' feathers ; and they will commence to 

 build as readily as a pair of Canaries. The period of incubation lasts about the 

 same length of time as required for Canaries. When the young are hatched, feed 

 on egg-paste mixed with millet-seeds or crushed hemp. When full grown, the 

 birds are as hardy as the gray variety, and require the same care. 



The White Java Sparrows are usually seen in aviary collections, where they 

 always keep by themselves, and never molest the other inmates. 



It requires an expert to tell the difference in the sexes of the birds of either 

 variety, they resemble each other so closely ; and when ordering a pair from a 



