122 Mr. W. E. Teschemaker,


consult their note books or memories. Dr. Russ had one brood

(as quoted by Dr. Butler in " Foreign Finches ") but "they did

not survive the change of colour."


As a general rule this species seems quite disinclined to

nest at all. A friend of mine, however, who has spent seven

years in Australia, tells me that it is a mistake to assume that the

birds in many districts of that great continent breed regularly

every year. He maintains that nesting depends chiefly on the

question of rainfall, and that you may spend several seasons in

one district, in a time of drought, and see very few birds and still

fewer nests. Suddenly the rain comes. What was before an

arid desert quickly becomes a green oasis ; birds are seen in

numbers and nests everywhere. If this is correct, it perhaps

explains why Australian birds in captivity are so uncertain both

as to the time of year they may select for nesting and as to

whether they condescend to nest at all.


This has certainly been one of their nesting years in my

aviary. From three pairs of castaneithorax I have had five nests

and one pair are sitting now (December ioth). Number of eggs

in each clutch usually five. The result of all this nesting is one

fine youngster. So unsatisfactory a result cannot be called

breeding a species, it is mere bungling. My mistake has been

in not treating this as a purely insectivorous species — during its

breeding season. The first nest produced a strong brood of

three ; the second was wrecked by other birds ; the third ditto ;

the fourth, three young ; in the fifth the eggs are still unhatched.

Of the six adults I have lost three— entirely from an overtaxed

digestive system.


To ascertain the period of incubation I took two eggs from

one nest, which had only been sat on a few hours, and placed

them under a steady hen Canary with three equally fresh eggs of

her own. One of the two was infertile; the other hatched in

fifteen days and a few hours. Adding to this the above-

mentioned hours and allowing for the fact that incubation was

carried on in a warm room, I think we may estimate the normal

period of incubation at sixteen days — which, I need hardly say,

is quite exceptionally long for a Manuikin.


The newly hatched chick was a remarkable little object.



