166 Birds I Have Kept. 



The food of these birds consists of seeds of various kinds, 

 canary, millet, grass seeds, plantain, etc., some of which had 

 better be soaked before being given to the birds, especially when 

 these have young ones in the nest. 



They are sufficiently hardy to live all the year round in an 

 unwarmed room, but I doubt whether they would successfully 

 brave the severity of one of our winters out of doors. 



CHAPTER LVIII. 



THE AVAIAVAT. 



THIS pretty and very old favourite is der Tigerflnk of the 

 Germans, h Bengali piquete of the French, and Fringilla 

 amandava of scientific writers. 



It is almost superfluous to attempt the description of so well 

 known a bird, which measures some three and a half inches in 

 length, one and a quarter of which belong to the tail. "When in 

 his full summer dress the male Avadavat is a very fine fellow, 

 of a deep reddish brown colour, spotted all oVer with small 

 white Spots. 



The female is brown, darker above than on the under parts 

 of the body. 



Some Avadavats which I kept for several years in a con- 

 servatory, invariably made their nest on the ground, at the root 

 of a vine that grew there: they domed their little abode and 

 lined it with wool and feathers, leaving only a very small hole 

 on one side for entrance and exit. 



The eggs are white, and five or six in number: but I never 

 succeeded in obtaining any young birds; probably the temper- 

 ature of their abode was not sufficiently high. 



The food of the Avadavat consists chiefly of white millet;, 

 it will, however, eat a little canary and grass seed now and 



