THE



163



Hvicultural ^agasine,


BEING THE JOURNAL OF THE


AV1CULTURAL SOCI ETY.



New Series —VOL. VI. — NO. 6 .—All rights reserved. APRIL, 1908.



THE OLIVE FINCH,


Phonipara lepida ,


WITH SIDE GLANCES AT PHONIPARA

GENERALLY, &c.


By Reginald Phieeipps.


It is not in a wholly cheerful frame of mind that I take up

my pen, by request, to write about the Olive Finch, for much

water has flowed under Hammersmith Bridge since I parted with

my last specimens and the bird is no longer fresh in my mind •

and its place in the aviary and in my thoughts has for long

been occupied by its cousin the very much rarer Cuba Finch,

Phonipara canora, the “Melodious” Finch, the “ Clianteur de

Cuba,” so called because its “song” is most frequently, and

sometimes very frequently, only a noise, and, at the best, is but a

poor performance. Moreover, so many people have written about

the Olive Finch ; and, moreover once more, in July and Septem¬

ber, 1900, at pp. 191 and 237 of vol. VI. of our Old Series, I wrote

about its very near relative P. pusilla, so nearly related that what

is said of the one applies equally to the other; so those of our

members who are interested in the genus Phonipara —a very in¬

teresting genus, by the way—should read the writings of former

times as well as those of the present day.


Before proceeding further, it will be well to clear the air

by saying a few words about other members of the genus, as

there are not a few persons who are or have been happily preen¬

ing their avicultural feathers under the idea that they have, or

have had, “ Cuba” or “Melodious” Finches, when all the while



