6 4


breed this species I should advise }a)U to purchase at least two

pairs.


The great point is to obtain really strong, healthy liens r

for it is absolute waste of time to attempt to breed with a hen

which is in the least “puffy,” or “ sleepy,” or out of condition.

If possible, buy aviary-bred birds, firstly, because they are more

hardy and, therefore, less likely to cause disappointment, and,

secondly, because it is right to encourage the sale of aviary-bred

birds. If the birds are aviary-bred it will be well to keep the

sexes apart for two or three months to make sure that they are

suificently matured before allowing them to nest. If they are

newly-imported birds, this separation will be equally necessarj r

in order to give the birds time to recover from the effects of the

change of climate and the hardships they have undergone. Of

course, if you can get aviary-bred birds which you know to be

several months old, or imported birds which have been over

some time, you may begin operations at once, if the time ot

the year be suitable.


And this brings me to another point. Ribbon Finches

and their relations will nest at any time of the year, but if they

have a preference, it is for the time when our English winter is

either near at hand or in full blast. If you let them follow their

own sweet will, and set up housekeeping with the temperature

below 6o p , you may possibly rear some j’oung birds ; but the

chances are ten to one that the hen will be egg-bound, and then

} r ou will get nothing but disappointment for yourself, and misery

and death for your birds. You can, of course, keep up an artificial

temperature of over 6o° even in the severest frost, but it is

difficult to do it and at the same time supply plent\ r of fresh air T

without which you are not likely to have much success. If you

take my advice, you won’t attempt breeding until the spring,

(say the end of April or the beginning of May) and even then

you ought to have means of producing artificial heat in case

there should be a spell of cold weather.


I never had any success with breeding Ribbon Finches (or

indeed any birds besides Canaries) in cages. No doubt it is pos¬

sible to breed them in cages, but I think it is much more difficult

than in aviaries, unless the cages be very large. Wire netting is

now r so cheap that a small bird-room aviary can be made at much

less expense than the cost of a large cage ; I therefore strongly

advise everyone to try aviary-breeding in preference. The

aviary need not be large, but it should go right up to the ceiling

of the room, and the nest boxes should be fixed high up on the

wall, near the ceiling. Almost any kind of nest box will do.



