330 Hif(<iU}<y of ilie Lesser Sal I ran tiiielt. 
The Common Saffron I'inc li Ijcai's a very pugnacious 
rcpiilalion anJd I have given it a wide berth, and personally 
consider it has little beyond its rich colouration to rcconi- 
niend it So. when 1 was ortcred a pair of " Lesser Satirons 
last auUunn it sounded so attractive, I was tempted and fell, 
and iri due course they arrived and fully met my expectations. 
Deseri ptioii : in size they about equal a Linnet, which 
llie her] bird closely resembles in colour; tlie co.k, however, 
IS mucli more shapefy being quite a " reachy " bird, remind- 
ing one of a Yorkshire Canary. He is I'ong, slim, and e'.egant, 
with yellow head and underparts, and olive-green back and 
nights. 
'J'hey sp( 111 the winter in cages and were not particu- 
larly inleresting under these conditions. Towards the end of 
January I turned them into the shelter of one of my aviaries, 
but withheld access to (he outer flight; a month later I al- 
lowed them to revel amid the growing bushes and green 
sprouting grass. Their delight was unbounded, and their 
demeiuujui lull of interest. The cock did rot mean to be done out 
of his courting season, nor the joys and experiences of married 
life — soon all was in trim for the rearing of a family; the 
principal features of which 1 give as under: 
The cock courted his mate with outspread wings and 
distended throat, following her in all her movements. His 
song was a very pleasing trill, very soft, and sometimes rising 
so high in the scale as to be almost inaudible, entirely lacking 
the disagreeable " scroopy " notes, which "jar" one's ears 
when listening to the common Sati'ron Finch. 
In April 1 llrst notic ed them carrying nesting material, 
and on May 23rd I discovered a huge circular nest — a loot 
in diameter — high up among the twiggy branches in the shelter. 
It was outwardly constructed of straw and wood wool, but in- 
ternally there was a cup, about three inches diameter, neatly 
and solidly woven of roots and other hbres; it contained rhreo 
eggs, no larger than those of a Zebra Linch_, but of a very 
pale grey-blue colour, and spotted especially at the blunt end 
with reddish-brown. Owing to the instability of the straw 
