on the Nesting of the Pectoral Finch. 69


011 the ground, with backs and thighs completely bare and quite

unable to fly.


The gardener said that they left the nest in twos, with about

two days interval between, and that they had all been as badly

covered at first, but while the four eldest soon improved and flew

up to the perches the three youngest had seemed to make no

progress. Perhaps the colder weather had something to do with

it, or perhaps the parents found it easier to feed the bigger

stronger ones, and kept the wretched three on short commons.

At night they crouched together in a corner till I put in a

travelling cage with a little hay in it, and after I had put them to

bed the first night they gladly found their way into it by them¬

selves, and sometimes stayed in it till late in the morning.


About two days after my return the hen was taken ill and

■died, and next day the youngest and most naked nestling was

found dead in the bath pan. Fortunately the cock had shared

the business of feeding with the hen, so that the young ones did

not starve, and they were able to feed themselves partly by that

time.


The remaining two helpless ones seemed very well and

chirped and hopped about a good deal. By degrees their feathers

improved, but it was not till the very end of September that one

of these managed to reach the perches. The other (October 9th)

is still on the floor, but tries hard to fly up. At present their

plumage does not change much. All the youngsters are dressed

in shades of brown, with light underparts, the two youngest being

rather sparrow-like in colour. Of the rest, one shows rather dark

•ear patches, another faint signs of them, and the upper part of

the breast is dark, but not one has a trace of the pretty mottled

breast of the adult bird, or the pinkish tint of the underparts.

There is a general likeness to the old bird in the head and beak,

and that is all that can be said at present.


The parents ate a good deal of soft food and a good many

mealworms while they were feeding their young, but though the

soft food is still put in it does not seem to be touched, and spray

millet is quite the favourite diet at present with the youugsters.

I am sorry not to give a fuller account, but being away from

home at the time makes it impossible, besides the eggs were



