154 Birds I Have Kept. 



has very little orange on her head, and none to speak of on 

 her throat. 



The young, on leaving the nest, are very much like a hen 

 Sparrow, and they do not attain to their fuU plumage until 

 they are two years old, at which time also they first evince 

 a desire to breed: I do not assert this to be their universal 

 custom, but in my experience of them it is so. 



The nest is made in a cocoa-nut husk with a largish opening, 

 or a shell, or small box, of hay, fibre, etc., and lined with 

 hair and feathers; the eggs, which are from four to six in 

 number, vary greatly in colour, some being as light as those 

 of a Canary, and others so dark as to be almost black. It 

 is a curious fact that, although barren, the eggs laid by my 

 hen Iforwich Canary that was paired with a Saffron Pinch 

 greatly resembled those of the latter bird in colour. The 

 period of incubation lasts about thirteen or fourteen days, and 

 I have not observed that the male took any part in it, though 

 he was most attentive in feeding the young, which are easily 

 reared on soaked bread, insects and soaked seed. 



The song of the male Saffron Finch is sweet, but he in- 

 troduces some harsh notes into it that somewhat mar its effect. 



I have not found these birds quite as hardy as most of 

 the other Brazilians, for they do not seem able to stand our 

 winters without a good deal of protection out of doors : though 

 at the same time they are certainly not as delicate as Mr. 

 Gedney says they are; for I have kept them for eight or 

 nine years in perfect health and increasing beauty, while he 

 says he has lost upwards of twenty pairs in the same time, 

 which is, surely, a most unfortunate experience. 



During the breeding season these birds will eat insect food, 

 on which they chiefly feed their nestlings, but at other times 

 they are quite content with seed. 



The Saffron Finch will soon become very tame, and indeed 

 I know of few more desirable birds : some writers assert them 

 to be quarrelsome, but I have not found them so. 



