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something to do with this, but of these it is impossible to speak

now.


First among treacherous birds I should place the Rock

Sparrows ( Petronia ) which, though fascinating when caged (JP.

fiavicollis is a charming singer) are simply murderous ruffians

among other small birds. Then there is the Australian Fire-

finch. I have had six pairs, but never one in which the cock

did not attempt wife-murder. My present pair have to be

caged separately. The cock’s power to do evil does not equal

his will, otherwise he would have slaughtered a Crimson-crowned

Weaver, who fled for his life before him! Mr. Abrahams says

that the above has been his invariable experience with these

birds ; and he has had many hundreds of pairs. Fastly, there

are, I regret to say, Parson Finches. I have had comparatively

few of these birds, as they never seem to ail anything; but I

have caught them stealing eggs, pulling nestlings on to the

floor, and hanging Waxbills up by the leg. Therefore, they are

imprisoned for life. All the undermentioned birds, however,

fly loose.


To begin with Grosbeaks. I have, at present, pairs of the

Blue Grosbeak (Guiraca cyaned) and of the smaller and brighter

Gtiiraca parellina. What the bird thus named in the Zoological

Gardens is, I will not venture to say positively : but it certainly

is not a Grosbeak. These birds, as well as other species I have

had formerly, look very strong, but their undue zeal for meal¬

worms is often fatal to them. Another of their weaknesses is a

pomegranate, which they clean out almost as quickly as a

Tanager would.


Of the Spermophihz, I have the White-throated, Bluish,

Plumbeous, Reddish, Guttural and Fined Finches. Has it ever

been pointed out in how many respects the last named differs

from his relations ? He shows considerable affedtion for his hen,

he lets his nails grow like a Mannikin, and worst of all, he is

distinctly delicate, dying generally from some form of paralysis.

The Spermopliilce hens, in general, build their nests alone,

preferably of cotton wool. This is the only drawback to success

in breeding, as the nest is so flimsy that hen and eggs sooner

or later make an ignominious descent to the floor. All my hens

lay, and I have never known one egg-bound.


Of Jacarini Finches, I have two cocks (one of the Central

American variety, without the white quill lining, which is such a

distinctive feature of this bird) and one hen. The hen I have

never seen elsewhere, but she is a most uninteresting looking



