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The cage was further altered by cutting extra holes for

seed-tins. The diet was canary seed, Indian millet, Italian

millet, maw seed, and, as a stimulant, preserved yolk of egg

mixed with one-third Jamaica sugar, this prevents egg binding.

Sponge cake, crumbled, was also given every morning.


The only available room that faced S.W. was the children’s

day-nursery; the cage was hung against the window-shutters. To

give as much light as possible to the little prisoners, the wooden

end of the cage nearest the window was cut out, and a pane of

glass inserted. The blind was never drawn down, so that they

had the benefit of the whole of the daylight. A bath was kept

hanging at the open door. Five eggs were laid, and the offspring

successfully reared. Whether the first hatched was a precocious

youngster I know not, anyway, it began to sing before it was

seven weeks old.


The Green Singing Finch has been crossed with the

Canary both in Germany and in England.


VIII.—THE EESSER REDPOEE.


Acanthis rufescens, Vieill.


By G. C. Swail.es.


This charming little bird, the smallest of our native

Finches, is decidedly rare as a breeding species in the southern

part of our Island, though it has been reported once as breeding

so far south as the Isle of Wight, and has probably nested in

most of the southern counties: but it breeds commonly in all the

counties of England north of Norfolk and Leicester and in most

of the Scottish counties. Seebolim says there is but one record

of its breeding out of Britain ; but according to Howard

Saunders nests have since been found by other naturalists in

Switzerland, and he says “ it appears probable that this species

inhabits the greater part of the mountain ranges of Central

Europe.”


It is strange, indeed, that a bird so common here should

have been observed on only two or three occasions on that

wonderful island Heligoland; on one of these instances,

however, the birds remained and bred in Mr. Gatke’s garden.


A detailed description of the colour of this well-known

bird is unnecessary, being chiefly brown, with, in the adult male,

a crimson crown, breast, and rump: the female having the

crimson crown alone. The jantng acquire the colouring on the

head at the first moult (the breast at this time is slightly^

marked with red) and the full-coloured breast at the second



