I03


the back of the shell. I unhooked and turned the shell upside

down into my hand, when out fell a young bird about half grown

and quite lively. I carried both away, pressed some cow-hair

into the back of the cavity, replaced the youngster and hung the

shell up again : in five minutes both parents were back feeding

their baby, which is now an adult bird. That is about as strong

a case as I have met with as regards the Zebra-finch, but I have

•often done the same thing with Java Sparrows.


Many of our members may perhaps think to back out of

their responsibilities, on the ground that they have no aviaries

but only a few small birds in cages. Now I will tell them what

they can do, if they only have a pair of the common Avadavat

in a cage.


It is well known that this commonest of all Indian Wax-

bills is incessantly changing its plumage throughout the year,

but nobody has ever made a careful study of these changes ;

nobody knows whether they are produced by complete or partial

moults, by growth of colour in the feathers themselves, or how

long each phase of colour is permanent. It is certain that at

some time or other there must be a complete moult, perhaps

once, perhaps twice in the year : it is certain that the bird which

at one time is in full breeding-plumage, resembles a hen at

another time ; resembles all kinds of comical mixtures between

male and female plumage sometimes, and at other times does not

remind one of either sex. /V carefully-dated diary describing

the metamorphoses of this common bird would be a boon to

science, and if undertaken by several independent workers

would do much to clear up the mystery which enshrouds this

.little Waxbill.



THE ROLLER AND ITS FOOD.


By Reginai^d Phii^lipps.


I am much pleased to observe that our members have

struggled free from the thraldom of seed-eaters and got so far as

the Warblers, and that Mr. Fulljames has made a still bolder

move to the front by venturing to refer to such an unfashionable

bird as the European Roller. It seems to me to be probable that

other aviculturists besides myself may have a liking for some of

these less known but often highly interesting and attractive

species; and that, possibly, our Magazine would be more widely

read and more highly esteemed if we were a little less narrow-

minded in the choice of our subjects than we sometimes appear

±0 be.



