354 
Farrot-Finches. 
THREE COMMON SPECIES OF PARROT-FINCH. 
Bv Dk. M. Amsler. 
The Editor has asked mo to contiilmte my experiences 
of the Pin-tail Nonpariel, the Three-coloured Pari'ot- Finch, and 
the Common Pariot Finch in captivity. 
Although my aviaries have at one time or another 
contained all these species, Mr. Page would have done l>etter 
to apply to other aviculturists for notes on these birds -for 
aught I know he may have done so. 
Mr. Seth Smith for instance was at one time eminently 
successful, and Mr. Temple has bred numljei's of Common 
Parrot Finches and also some of the Thi-ee-coloured variety. 
As I frequently visit Mr. Temple's aviaries I shall 
latei- make several references to my observations there. 
Of the Pin-tail Nonpareil (lately re-named Pin-tail Par- 
rot-Finch) I have had more specimens than I care to mention, 
but have never had any success with them as breeders until 
this year. 
In September of last yeai' I received five pairs from 
a dealer in exchange--oi these nine wei'e dead in a week and 
the tenth is still, at the end of a year, fit and well. 
A few weeks later I received six more pairs fi'om the 
same importation but fiom a different dealer— these with one 
exception are, as far as I know, alive and well. 
My intention was to obtain two or three pairs, but in 
this I wa-- fiustrated, as the vast majority of " hens " always 
turn out to be immature cocks, and as time went on I found 
I was possessed of only one hen. I kept the hen and two 
cocks and disposed of the rest. 
I find that the males attain their full colour at the first 
moult, and I am inclined to think there are two varieties in 
the males as well as in the females— the latter variation has 
already been described. 
In the inales the difference of colour is to be found in 
the breast and under parts— in some the colour being ver- 
milion, while in others it is merely a reddish-orange. This 
difference is fixed and not due to lack of vigour— as it re- 
appears at successive moults. We have already had a few 
notes on the delicacy of this bird. 
