242



On Japanese Rose-Finches.



divostock the train carried them westward across the steppes of

North Manchuria and through the flower-studded plains of

Siberia, to Moscow. From Moscow they went to Berlin ; from

Berlin to Ostend, and, before the summer was out, they reached

the shores of England. And how many times, during those long,

dreary days in the Trans-Siberian train, did we feel grateful that

these little birds were with 11s, to keep us entertained by their

cheery ways and lively twitterings? When the train pulled up at

some countryside station (which, alas, it did only too frequently)

I would sometimes venture away to gather grasses and weeds for

them—and on more than one occasion I was nearly left behind !


Apart from the delicate colouring of the male’s plumage

—silvery white, pink, rose-red and fawn—these Finches were

very attractive to the eye, for they were extremely graceful in

form and their movements were both elegant and sprightl}’’. The

male in particular had a pretty habit of frequently erecting the

feathers on the crown of his head, and this was especially the

case when he was uttering his short melodious little ditty. This

song was certainly not striking, being hardly more than a

pleasant twittering or low warble, but at the same time it had

the merit of being a gay and cheerful sound. The female, of

course, was a more soberly-clad bird and lacked the beautiful

carmine tints that characterised her spouse.


After the autumn moult the male lost much of his beauty,

as is the case with so many of the Palsearctic Finches, and he

never regained the bright dress that he wore in the days of his

freedom. But when the spring came round he was nevertheless

inclined to court his mate and both birds kept toying with their

grass and carried bits of it round the cage, evidently seeking a

nesting-site. At the moment I had no suitable aviary to give

them, but I intended to have one made immediately, and even

went so far as to give the order. However, I was then called

away from home, and later, I went to Norway for a month’s

salmon fishing. So the summer slipped by and a golden oppor¬

tunity was lost, alas ! never to be repeated. During the winter

months the female died.


I think I have observed elsewhere that the Japanese are

fond of keeping birds, and during my two visits to their islands,



