THE PTJBPLE FINCH. 301 



GERMAN PASTE. 



" Bruise in a large mortar, or on an even table, with a rolling 

 pin, a pint or quart, as may be required, of rape seed, in such a 

 manner that you may blow the chaff away ; to this add a good- 

 sized piece of bread, reducing the whole to powder, and well 

 mixing together ; put them in a box of oak, which should be kept 

 from the sun. A tea-spoonful of this powder with the addition 

 of a little hard yolk of egg, and a few drops of water, will make 

 an excellent food for young birds ; to the old ones it may be given 

 dry. The powder must not be kept longer than twenty days, as 

 the rape seed is apt to turn sour, so that when the water is put 

 to it, it smells like mustard. It is best to make a small quantity 

 of this paste every day ; under such treatment the young birds 

 grow more rapidly. Stale sponge-cake, rubbed to powder, with 

 the addition of hard white of egg, is the best food for young 

 birds during the first three or four days after they are taken 

 from the care of their parents." 



FOREIGN FINCHES. 



118. THE GLOSSY FINCH. 



Fnngtlla Nitens, LIN. Moineau de Bresil, BUF. DerglanzendeFink, BECH. 



Description. This bird is four inches and a half long, and 

 somewhat smaller than a House Sparrow. The beak and feet 

 are flesh-coloured ; the iris white ; the whole plumage a blue 

 black, or coal black, with the gloss of polished steel. The 

 female is blackish on the upper part of the body, bordered with 

 yellowish brown ; behind the eyes is a blackish stripe ; the 

 rump is grey; the belly dark yellowish brown; the tail black, 

 with a grey border ; the feet red. In some males, both beak 

 and feet are black. 



Observations. This bird is met with in the woods about 

 Oarthagena and in Cayenne. It has a yery agreeable voice, and 

 exerts itself in singing so much as to ruffle the feathers of its 

 head and neck. It feeds on all kinds of seeds and fruits, is 

 easy to tame, and when caged becomes fond of bread. The 

 best food for it, however, is millet, rape, and poppy seed. 



119. THE PUUPLE FINCH. 



Fringilla Purpurea, LIN. Bouvreuil Violet de Caroline, BUF. Der 

 Purpur Fink, BECH. 



This bird is as large as the common Chaffinch, and five 



