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THE XATIOXAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



FOR NOVELTY, WINGED WARICS CAN T MATCH THE "BIRDIE 



ilii^i i|ih l.\ \Ilir I 1 r;ilnier 

 IN THE CAMERA 



With a troupial on his left hand, a veteran dealer (left center) in the outdoor bird marl;et in 

 Caracas. \'enezuela, stands protectively beside his feathered stock in trade. Wicker and wire cages 

 contain gaudy tanagers, honey creepers, native meadowlarks. siskins, mockingbirds, hummingbirds, 

 and the ever-present canaries. "Every home that I entered in the city," the author says, "had little 

 aviaries standing in the patio, or small cages with birds hung in a window" {page 791). 



screen it seemed to feel secure, hut was fright- 

 ened when it was removed. 



Its clear. warbUng song was given only when 

 the room was quiet. Its plumage changes were 

 most interesting, as for several months it 

 would be in clear black feather, then would 

 molt into a plain, streaked dress, and change 

 after a period to black again. 



Zebra Finch 



Australia, as well as Africa and Asia, has 

 interesting species of weavers that for >'ears 

 have been reared in abundance in captivity, in 

 addition to being trapped wild for the aviary 

 trade. The zebra finch ( Tacniopyt^ia casta- 

 notis), named from the narrow black bands on 

 the upper breast and throat of the male, is one 

 of the best known of these, as it is easily 

 handled both in cages and in aviaries (Color 

 Plate \'\ I. It is one of the species that nest 

 readily in captivity if given a suitable cavity 



and some dried grass with which to line it. 



At freedom zebra finches construct a small 

 bottle-shaped or domed nest, with an entrance 

 at one side, which is suspended in bushes or 

 trees or may be placed beneath the large 

 stick nest of a hawk or eagle. They also build 

 in holes in trees. The eggs are white with a 

 pale bluish tinge. Five or six is the usual num- 

 ber, but 16 or IS eggs, probably laid by several 

 females, may be found in a single nest. 



The birds range in flocks that frequently 

 contain hundreds of thousands. At watering 

 tanks in dry seasons it is sometimes expedient 

 to build little ladders on which birds that fall 

 in may climb out : otherwise so man\' are 

 drowned that their bodies pollute the water. 



Diamond Finch 



The diamond finch ^ Stae,oiioplciira guttata) 

 is less often found but is highly regarded and 

 does well in captivity. It is decidedly heavier 



