174 
Breeding of ihc Orchard Finch. 
Thanks, however, to the vigilance of Mr. Frost, I 
obtained a male in immature plumage, which arrived last Oct- 
ober with a small consignment of this species. Needless to say, 
I nursed him carefully through the winter, and kept him during 
the early spring in an aviary where the door into the outer 
flight was kept closed; he spent most of his time sitting close to 
the netting which separated him from his would-be spouse, to 
whom I finally introduced him on April 15th. 
The two birds had apparently made friends and be- 
come a little tired of each other through the wire partition, 
for they showed neither excitement nor gratitude when I placed 
them together, but they may, of course, have kept their courting 
for such times as they were unobserved; anyhow, five days 
later I found a completed nest in a j^rivet bush, built externally 
of hay and green grass, and lined with coco -nut fibre and 
tow. As far as I was able to judge all the building was done 
by the hen. 
On April 26th, 27th, and 28th, three eggs were 
laid. These were of a grey -blue ground colour, with stone - 
grey spots. The hen only performed the irksome duties of 
incubation the cock meantime being somewhat quarrelsome, 
particularly towards my Siberian BulUinches and Orange - 
headed Ground Thrushes. 
On May 9th (twelve days) I found two chicks in the 
nest, and the third made its appearance on the evening of the 
same day; all appeared very vigorous, were almost black and 
profusely covered with leaden -grey down. Through the kind- 
ness of my friend, Mr. Temple, Iliad no dillicully in pi'oviding 
insects, as he had made me a present of a large sack of 
maize meal and " melox," which w^as infested with a white 
maggot about half-inch long. I should be grateful if any 
reader could give me the life history of this, which finally 
becomes a small grey moth. The meal was put in a large 
tub and occasionally turned over, and the parent birds (and 
others) helped themselves. 
I supplemented this menu with a few mealworms and 
small earthworms; the hen only used the latter, the cock having 
an obvious dislike to anything slimy. All insect food was 
well chewed, swallowed, and regurgitated. 
0)1 Maj r2th, the glass fell rapidly and I took the 
