Thirty-two Years of Aviculture.



247



upon which Shelley founded the Sub-family: fortunately, if we

restrict the group to the Waxbills alone, other features exist. The

Gold-breasted Waxbill, of which I have also had many examples, is

almost equally hardy, although my earliest specimens gave me the

impression that it was delicate ; it is one of the smallest and prettiest

of the Sub-family.


The Orange-checked Waxbill, another hardy favourite, has

often inhabited my aviaries ; as pointed out by Russ, it is an

extremely nervous bird, scared by the least sound or any sudden

movement, thus sometimes creating a causeless panic amongst its

tiny associates. Ridgway describes the females of specimens intro¬

duced into Porto Rico as having “ no orange on side of head ” (Birds

of North and Middle America, vol. iv., p. 288), a curious change to

have been effected by transference from the Old to the New World !

The Green Amaduvade I found the hardiest and longest-lived of all the

Waxbills ; it is beautiful in colouring : I have had nine examples in

all. It has a mischievous habit of attacking and partly denuding of

feathers fresh examples of its own species introduced into its aviary.

I believe it to be the easiest to breed of all the Waxbills ; indeed I

almost succeeded in breeding it myself in indoor aviaries.


Contrary to Dr. Russ’ experience, I found the Australian

Red-browed Waxbill very hardy, and I have had a fair number of

specimens : as usual, in indoor aviaries the hens were liable to die

from egg-binding, but most of the small Ploceid finches suffer in this

way if they attempt to go to nest indoors ; at any rate that is what

happened to my birds. The St. Helena Waxbill, which many bird-

lovers consider tolerably hardy, I found distinctly delicate; about

eighteen months being the limit of its life with me, and I have tried

to keep it many times. Though even more delicate w T hen first

imported, I found the Grey Waxbill, when acclimatized, tolerably

long-lived and easy to keep.


I have had four Crimson-winged Waxbills, three males and a

female, the latter only lived with me for four months and the male

of my first pair died after ten months, the second male lived a

little over a year ; the fourth bird (apparently of the Northern type)

was sent to me anonymously early in 1906, and it died after two

years and seven months in my aviaries. This and the other species



