on the Origin of Bengalee. 183


Finches, but they did not chum up with the Bengalese, nor did

they make up to the odd hens. One pair of U. striata did attempt

to nest, but got no further than eggs. A chocolate cock and a

fawn hen Bengalee — (please take " and white " as understood

after the words fawn or chocolate throughout when applied to

Bengalese) — had three young ready to leave the nest in early

February 1906. One was chocolate, one fawn, and the third

looked exactly like U. acuticauda.


In April 1906 I got some more examples of U. acuticauda

and some more U. striata in mistake for Bronze-winged Manui-

kins. By that time the " wild" Bengalee was quite indistinguish-

able from U. acuticaiida. The Sharptails at once chummed up

with the Bengalese, but the Striated Finches had nothing to do

with either of them. I kept careful watch. The latter are now

three less than in April, while the Sharptails apparently number

nine more ; the increase is accounted for as follows : three from

pure U. acuticauda, two (more) from Bengalese, and four from

Bengalese-Sharptail.


The wild type is on the increase, and I have no doubt that,

left to themselves, the Bengalese proper would become extinct in

my aviary. There are now in the aviary eggs or young in five

nests, of which the part or whole proprietors are Sharptails, at

any rate to look at. Of course this tendency to throw back to

the wild type may be only temporary owing to the birds being

rather exhausted with previous efforts. In each case the wild

type has appeared in the third or fourth nest in rapid succession.

I do not know that the theory that exhausted parents are liable

to throw back is correct, but I have noticed a similar thing with

White Java Sparrows, with three pairs last season (October to

March). The first round produced very white young with only

one or two badly pied. The second round produced only a few

white, a good many badly pied and a few almost grey. The

third round produced nearly all grey birds, which, when young,

were like the wild type, but, after the moult, nearly all were

lightly marked with white. As I am shortly going into camp for

over a couple of months I regret I shall not be able to watch

them this breeding; season.



