73



Correspondence , Notes, etc.



securing any r that are offered for sale. I have not known of any being

offered by dealers for some years past. The few that are now in Europe

are in the possession of a handful of fortunate avicultulists. As to the

price, I think you would be fortunate if y r ou secured a good acclimatized

pair for anything under £5 at the present time. A newly imported pair

would be worth from £5 to £4.


As to how to distinguish the 'sexes, it is very difficult to give any rule

which will help you. I can nearly always distinguish them myself if there

are several together, but with a given bird it is most difficult. When in

perfect condition however the cocks are brighter coloured, the red on the

throat and forehead is rather more extensive and the legs and feet are

slightly darker in colour than in the hens; moreover the cocks have an

altogether bolder appearance than their wives.


Parrot Finches when acclimatized are moderately hardy, but must

have some warmth in the winter. You could not keep them all the year

round in an unlieated outdoor aviary", at least it would be, in my opinion,

extremely unwise to try the experiment. When newly imported they need

considerable care.


For the last three summers I have bred Parrot Finches in an aviary

which consists of a good-sized brick-built house and a large wire flight in

which shrubs etc. are planted. Curiously enough they have always

selected an old straw sailor hat for a nesting-site. I have nailed several

of these against the brick wall of their house, rather high up. They are

fastened with the brim flat against the wall, the longest axis being vertical,

and an entrance-hole cut out near the top. This the birds quickly fill up

with hay and moss. They are excellent sitters, and in every way more

certain breeders than the majority of the Grassfinclies.


The young birds have the sides of the mouth ornamented with four

brilliant blue beads which appear to be semi-luminous, at any rate they' are

visible in the darkness of the nest when all else seems blackness, and there

seems little doubt that they enable the parents to see where to place the

food, for when the old bird stands in the small entrance-hole the young

birds are practically in darkness. When they leave the nest the young

birds are a dull green with tail dull reddish, and a certain amount of red

on the face. The extent of this latter however varies very considerably,

some having practically none while in others the face is nearly as red as in

a poor adult specimen. The young birds have the lower mandible of ihe

bill bright yellow, while the whole bill is black in the adults.


Canary and millet seed forms the staple diet, but they should have

flowering grass whenever it can be obtained. Cliickweed is also excellent,

and they are very fond of green wheat in the ear.


In 1903 seven young birds were reared in my aviary from one pair

(3 nests); in 1904 the same pair reared five (2 nests); and this last summer

a brood of three was successfully reared, but I am not sure if the parents

are the same birds as before.



