2i2 
Tlic U C(ca/i I'an ak ccl . 
two wlik'h cuine iulu his possession on Fvh. 12tli 1<S'.J7, us 
follows : — 
"1 ol)t;uiied a jKiir on Feb. 12— but the male (whicli w.us 
".sick wlieii I received it) died' in a few days. Tlie female is 
"stiDiii,' and clover on the wing-, runs actively about, has beccme 
"iaiily (comparatively) tiglit in plumage, and seems preKy well 
"establishetl. She is tann.' as a kitten; Hies on our lie, ids, arms 
"anywhere, and calls out to me if she hears my voice in the bouse." 
"For standard food slie has canary, heniii, crumbled iiiseuit 
"(dry), and date or lig cut into small pieces; she; luis also i:ad 
"millet, and oats, bul took them only occasionally. Now and tlieii 
"she is ti'eated to a sound banana {not peeled), and sometimes 
"she will attack half an orange. The great dilFiculty witli her 
"has been to relieve her great craving for grit, and. to get her 
"digestive arrangements into order without having a block or 
"stoppage of any kind. With wheatmeal biscuit, the hardest bits of 
"toast-crust, etc. she seems to have got into a fairly liealthy 
"state, and ought to do now. Sometimes I have gi\en lhii(i 
"magnesia in the drinking water, and sometimes sulphate of iron." 
"She is ill the dining room, and at breakfast iier cage 
"door is opened and she at once makes for the bread — I never 
"let her fiave crumb, only the hard crust. Soft things like 
"buttoi' and mamalade she does not like. I encourage her to drink 
"and 1 think it is good for her. She likes to go for the plants 
"in th(! window .... so possibly a taste of green food 
"might be beneficial." 
Canon Button continues his remarks and states that 
he has come to the conclusion that they are seedeaters, but 
arrived with impaired digestions and that if he had treated 
them as a person recovering from starvation they might have 
been saved. They ought to have been kej)! chiefly on sop, and 
allowed to have seed only very gradually. 
Canon Button has had other specimens, some of which 
have soon dieil and others which have lived for about ,12 
nio;itlis. a:id the London Zoo have kept one or more specinien;i 
lor the same pci'iod. There is a very fine; specimen in the 
;.o(> Parioi llou^e at the present time. This binl is diiHed 
Oil a seed mi.xtui'c of hemp, oats, canary and Indian corn; 
boiled mai<.e, lettuce, banana, apple and grapes, of tlic twt) 
lattei' fruits it is very fond. 
On the Continent both iV. uvaensis and A', cumntus have 
been kept, and Baron von Comely succeeded first in breeding 
three hybrids between the two species, and later successfully 
reared young of iV. U7iceensis. 
