278 Experiences of Foreign Finches and Softbills. 
alone remain. Still if the life of the subject;, of the experi- 
ment was too '>ftcn short. \v was, I irust, generally a merry 
one, and during llic brief periods of success I have witnessed 
many delightful and interesting scenes, which to a certain ex- 
tent made up for the final losses : - 
A wild Kingfisher and a cock Orange Weaver in full 
colour, sitting a few feet apart on a willow by a small pool. 
A little dock of Gouldian Finches and Diamond Spar- 
rows feeding along a garden path. 
Scarlet and Blue Tanagers chasing each other through 
a laburnimi tree. 
Sights such as these are worth seeing and not easily 
forgotten. 
Not the least charmitig to watch were the oddly as- 
sorted groups, which fed on the trap-trays, in comparative har- 
mony. British as well as foreign profited by the abundant 
fare, only the more spiteful and greedy species receiving a 
chilly welcome and short shrift if they were found alone. 
Sometimes the birds of hve continents might all be repre- 
sentea at one time— a pair of Cardinals, a pair of Saffron 
Finches, some Wcawrs, an Indian Chukar Partridge, .\va- 
davats. a Robin, and some Tits, Zebra Finches, and a 
pair of Bulbuls, all iii perfect condition and splendid colour. 
.-V Greater Spotted Woodpecker might even join the group for 
a moment to snatch a monkey nut or a beakful of sunflower 
seed, and, so bold have these interesting visitors become, 
that in the early morning when all is quiet they will even 
venture right into a courtyard surrounded by high buildings 
m search of their favourite dainties. 
♦ 
My Pond and its Occupants. 
By W. Shork B.aily. 
To the average Briton, water, whether for bathing or 
boating on his summer holidays at the sea, for hshing jut 
Easter, or even for his morning batli, has alway- had a grjar 
attraction. In my boyhood days either a pond or a stream 
had always a great fascination for us boys. There was so 
much life to be seen either in or on the uaier. With the 
microscope in the evening the Roiifera, Amebaor, Water-fleas, 
