on the Nesting of Serinus angolensis. 199


colour, one egg being freely spotted with small brown spots, the

second having one or two brown spots and the third no spots at

all. (I have offered our Editor a photograph of this clutch of

eggs in the nest).


Of course there is no reason why Serins' eggs should be

spotted but, at the same time, I never heard of any eggs of this

family not having spots, and generally the spots are black.


During incubation the male used to sing most charmingly.

The song is more varied and more sustained than that of his near

i-elative, the Grey Singing Finch, and not quite so shrill. I

understand that this little bird (called by the colonists the Black-

throated Singing Finch)has a high reputation in South Africa as

a songster and, personally, I place it first of all the African Serins

I have myself heard, the Grey Singing Finch second and the

Grey-necked Serin — the so-called "Cape Canary" — third.


I was prevented from ascertaining the exact period of in-

cubation owing to a temporary absence from home, but the nest

contained two young on the 21st. The young look very like

young Canaries in the nest, having the characteristic type of

down on the head, but they have a very dark skin.


Although the young had the advantage of a warm aviary

and fairly even temperature, and were carefully fed by the

parents, they lived only a few days.


In the meantime another pair, in the outdoor aviary, had

constructed a nest in a nest - box hanging on a wall, and

commenced to sit at the same time. This pair certainly

laboured under many disadvantages. They had to endure all the

rigours of an exceptionally severe winter, ten degrees of frost

being several times registered at night, and the hen was not only

very badly feathered but had to endure the most bitter persecu-

tion from the two hens who Were not nesting.


However, it is always the unexpected that happens in

aviary matters, and this pair succeeded where the others failed.

The explanation is, I think, a simple one, namely that they

could obtain insect food, whereas the pair in the covered aviary

could not. For this reason, I always wonder how any results at

all are obtained in indoor aviaries, and needless to say sugh_

results, when obtained, are exceedingly creditable.



