hreedi)i() of the Orclund Finch. 
173 
kept til home, and, as has already been said, Denioisclle CraiR's 
must lie treated in the same way. 
As pets Cranes have their advantages, but also possess 
serious drawl)ack.s. Siiif^le birds become much attached to 
the person who feeds and attends to them and with him are 
gentle, playful and amusinj^, but with everybody else they are 
aggressive and with children are really dangerous. Paired 
birds arc not a success when allowed to become tame. The 
cock usually reserves all his affection foi- his mate and treats 
the rest of the woi'ld in a very hostile fashion. 
To he concluded. 
♦ 
Breeding of the Orchard Finch (Phrygilus fruticeti). 
Bv M.vrRicE Amsler, M.B., F.Z.S. 
In January, 1914, we pi'ofited by a visit to Iviverpool 
and inspected the old (piarters of Mr. AA'. Cross. Here we 
saw much that wa> interesting, but the only birds that really 
appealed to us were a i)air of Orchard Finrlie-^; they were 
steady, in good feather, and in their quiet way a most attrac- 
tive pair — also, for some reason which I can't explain, I 
felt sure I could breed them. 
All, however, was not to be plain sailiiifr; we got 
safely back to Eton, and the liirds were whitercd in a cage. 
In March I turned them out into one of )ny aviaries, and a 
few days later had the ehagrin of finding the cock dead in the 
outer flight. He had ajipeared in good healtli and was in 
perfect plumage. I can only conclude that he died from cold, 
although these birds appear to l)e quite hardy. 
I was somewhat surprised, therefore, hi .July to lind the 
hen sitting on four eggs, in a neatly constructed cup-nest. 
She sat for fourteen days, at the end of which time I gave her 
a clutch of Greenfinch's eggs. These she hatched out but did 
not feed, doubtless because, as I -have since found, the species 
feeds entirely on insects when rearing young, and these were 
not supplied in sullicient quantity. Thus ended my hopes not 
only for 1914, but for ever, as I had little expectation of ever 
obtaining a male of this somewhat rare species. 
