1902.] F. Finn — General Notes on Variation in Birds. 161 



The peculiar Teal of the Andamans {Nettium alhigulare) is now 

 frequently white all over the face, whereas in Hume's time it was 

 exceptional for the white eye-iin^ and white loral patch to join, and 

 nothing is said by Count Salvador! in the British Museum Catalogue 

 (Vol. XXVII., p. 257) about any extension of tlie white. The heads of 

 a normal (Reg. No. 18671) and a white-faced (Reg. No. 18671) bird are 

 figured, from a photograph, in Plate IX. The white-faced specimen 

 was one procured as many as twelve years ago, so that the variety existed 

 then ; but it is now quite frequent, though not always so white in 

 face as the bird figured ; this specimen is a male, as also is the normal 

 bird shown with it. 



F. Variation directly induced by Confinement. 



This is not nearly so common as currently believed among ornitho- 

 logists, and most of the variations wifich do occur among birds kept in 

 captivity are well-known and recorded. 



In' male birds of tlie Finch family which have a carmine or pink 

 colour in their plumage, this hue is not stable, but usnallj^ disappears 

 after the first moult in a cage, as I have often seen. 



In the Linnet (Acanthis cannahina) the red on head and breast 

 leaves no trace at all ; the same is the case with the Eastern race when 

 kept in India {A. cannahina fringillir ostris) . 



The Redpoll {A. rufescens) loses the red on the breast and rump 

 entirely ; that on the crown changes to greenish-gold. 



The Rose-finch (Garpodacus erythrinus) changes the general carmine 

 hue of its plumage to dull ochreous yellow. 



The Sepoy-finch (Haematospiza sipahi) offers a curious case; it is 

 allied to the Rose-finch, but is a brilliant scarlet, not carmine at all ; yet 

 a bird which died half through the moult in Calcutta, had changed, where 

 the feathers had come out newly, to bright yellow. 



The Bull-finch {Pyrrhula pyrrhula) is very liable to become dull in 

 the red colour; and sometimes turns completely black, usually owing to 

 a too free use of hemp-seed. But this may occur without the bird 

 having tasted any, and also in a wild bird {see above p. 158). 



Melanism is also common in captive Bulbuls ; 1 have seen it in the 

 Bengal Red-vented species (Molpastes hengalensis) the white-cheeked 

 (Otocompsa leucogenys) and the white-eared (Molpustes leucotis) in which 

 last I have seen it combined with albinism in the same individual. 



The Gold-finch (Carduelis cardtielis) kept under unfavourable 

 conditions, is liable to have its red face become dull orange. 



The Red Cardinal ( Cardinalis cardinalis) becomes dull red if not 

 kept out of doors in a good light ; this has happened in Calcutta. 

 J. II. 21 



