182 Brerdinq Tlc.fvlfs at Pari' Lnrlr^r Aviaries. 
They set u'? humans a very liii^-h oxamplo. To the wedded 
\Vaxl)ills life is one long honoymoou. Her motto is " My 
king can do no wrong and his is " A good wife Is like a 
pearl without ])rire " and they both live up to their mottoes. 
I can't l)ear to go into the aviary when there has been a 
death. I know it in a!i instant. The little widow or widower 
calls as if his little heart Avould break. Their distress would 
soften the heart of Pluto or bring remorse to that of Nero. 
And none are more tender hcai'ted than the Waxbills md 
Grass- finches. That is why I love them so. They bring 
home to me the inner meaning of these words: 
"What Bweet sorrow parting i.s,' but alas to them that part- 
ing generally means for aye! 
Green Avadavats are very pi-ono to egg-binding and 
cannot stand a cold N.E. wind. The little hen I now possess 
was egg-bound three times this spring. Each time the dry 
heat cured her, and she lived to raise a family of three healthy 
and beautiful children. Wisely they decided to nest in a 
rush basket in the shelter, which no dnul)t contributed to 
their success. 
The young birds have very dark beaks, are not a bit 
like their parents, but a very beautiful harmony of grey greens 
with broad jellow bands on the wings. There is not a trace 
of barring along the sides or Hanks and the l)eak is not in the 
least red. Contrary to what one wouid expecc, the full-grown, 
joung birds appear larger tli;Mi their parents. They grow 
very much after they leave the nest, but that is not a peculiar- 
ity of Waxbills. I have never moulted out young Green 
Avadavats, but it is obvious that some of those that I have 
lx)ught have been very young birds, and in them the barring 
is nuich less distinct and llic y^-llow not nearly so brilliant. 
In a well coloured adult the yellow is almost a cadmium yellow. 
The tail, as in all Waxbills, is never at rest, and i; much used 
m courting. 
All the Waxl)ilh in coui'ting hold a long piece of grass 
in their beaks, and thcii, tii)-toeing to their fullest extent, 
jump seriously and methodically up and down. This sounds 
very ridiculous, but in reality is not a bit more so than the 
modern " c/a6«/r dannciise " who enacts Salome or other ques- 
tionable denizens of the East. 
