I>46 CANARIES AND CAGE-BIRDS. 



days. The nestlings should be fed the same as other young Finches, referred to 

 above. 



The Avadavat, or Strawberry Finch, is imported in large numbers from India, 

 and perhaps is more generally known than any other of the small Finches. His 

 plumage is dark brown, with a carmine-red tint, and covered all over with small 

 pearl-white spots. When the breeding season arrives, the red tints become more 

 brilliant ; and the little bird, with its coral-red beak and shining purple hue, is then 

 a sight of rare beauty. Several pairs will live very peaceably together ; and towards 

 dusk they will all sit on the same perch, very close together. At that time one, 

 and then another, will suddenly raise itself, and sing a melodious stanza, settling- 

 down to sleep when it is done. The female will sing nearly as well as the male. 



The male Strawberry Finch's song is very pleasing, and sounds as though it 

 were produced by a miniature pipe-organ. He is, perhaps, the most delightful 

 singer of all the small Finches. 



All of the above Finches thrive on millet and canary seed mixed, two-thirds millet 

 and one-third canary : usually the French, or white, millet and the domestic millet 

 are both mixed with the canary seed. In addition they should have apple or let- 

 tuce twice a week, an abundance of flinty gravel, fresh daily, and an opportunity 

 to bathe in shallow, tepid water. 



All of the Finches and Nuns will usually be found amiable and charming inmates 

 of the aviary ; and, in raising a variety of these beautiful songsters, one forms 

 strong attachments for them, and is surprised to find how many delightful hours 

 can be enjoyed in their company. 



Those bird-owners who have one or two or half a dozen birds, each in a separate 

 cage, cannot realize how much more pleasure there is in keeping birds in an aviary- 

 cage. 



With the small Finches and Nuns, in aviaries, the following birds may be kept : 

 The Goldfinch, Linnet, Bullfinch, Siskin, White and Gray Java Sparrows, Austra- 

 lian Paroquets, African Love-birds, Nonpareils, Indigo-birds, Yellow-birds, or 

 American Goldfinches, and Canary-birds. These are all peaceable, most of them 

 are singers, and all of them have handsome, showy plumage. 



