one a year, sometimes not even that; and consequently they

command high prices, and when their great delicacy on landing

is taken into account, they are literally, when acclimatised,

worth their weight in gold.


I should say that of the few pairs that come over nearly all

die within a few days of reaching their new homes, unless their

new owners are more than usually skilful in the difficult art of

hardening off. A friend of mine this spring bought two pairs,

and they were all dead but one within forty-eight hours. I

cannot, therefore, recommend Bichenos to everyone ; but if a

man really loves his birds and understands them, I would say,

try Bichenos. The nuisance is that Bichenos always come over

at the very coldest season of the year, usually about January ; so

this adds to the risks, as a cold journey will finish off these

tender little things.


Bichenos are marvellously active and pop about like little

mice, and it is no easy matter to catch an escaped one. I have

at the present moment quite a little flock of them, and they are

certainly great favourites of mine. They are very tame and

friendly (at least mine are), and will let me go quite close to

them in their big aviary without showing the least fear, and they

will feed all round my feet.


They are gregarious and keep together all day ; frequently

uttering their call-note to keep their mates apprised of their

positions. In an aviary they always sleep in a box warmly lined

with hay, and, when hardened, do not mind the cold a bit. My

oldest pair have been in a cold aviary all the year round, and are

always the first to take a cold bath, winter or summer.


The cock bird has a pretty little song — diddy dee , diddy dee,

diddy — repeated at intervals.


Their favourite food I find to be Indian millet, and some¬

times they will take a little canary.


Bichenos are beautifully marked, especially on the wings,

where the black and white pencilling is exquisite. The front of

the head is black in the cock, and brownish rusty in the hen ; the

back snuff-brown ; the tail black ; the breast of the cock and the

cheeks dazzling snow-white, but the belly and underparts of the

hen are buffy-white.


I can pick out the sexes with tolerable certainty, but I

doubt if a beginner could. The surest test is the song, but then

I doubt if a cock newly come over would sing. I do not think

that the double band on the chest is any mark of sex. The

beak is bluish, and the legs and feet slate colour.



