148 
Pirdroo))! Notes. 
Birdroom Notes. 
Bv ISABKLLA VVlLSON. 
Rcpriiiltui froiji " li.N.," vol. /., pogc ^2j. 
It may interest nienil)er.s of tlie F.B.C. to hear of my 
varied luck witli foreign Ijirds this season (1903). 
\\ ith regard to Budyeriyars, I find the Yellow variety 
by far the more difficult to breed : though when reared they are 
quite hardy. The Green and Yellow tlying together in an aviary 
make a tine contrast. All my Budgerigars are extremely fond 
of egg-food, and 1 always keep a saucerful on the bird-room 
floor. 
I have bred this season, some curious hybrids — the father 
a Spice Bird and the mother a Bengalese. The young ones, five 
in number, are more like the father than the mother. 
My pair of ( )range-cheeked Waxbills spent most of the 
summer in building nests and laying eggs, but were apparently 
too shy to sit. 
I was lucky in having a fine nest of five young Zebri 
Finches, but the last nest contained only one young bird— a 
poor crop. 
To-day, I see. rather to my surprise, in the nest of a hen 
Yellow Budgerigar ,a young one apparently greenish-yellow in 
colour: having kept the (ireen and Yellow varieties together 
for two years, and never having had a hybrid, I thought there 
was no fear of a cross. Can anyone tell me if the Yellow are a 
se])arate variety ? 
\)'clloiv Ihids^crli^ar.'; arc a (li.<;fiiict I'aricty, and generally 
breed true to colour, luit they are not a different species from the 
Green. They are an artiiicial variety like White Java Sparrows 
or the different breeds of Canaries, and no doubt originated in 
an accidental sport, perpetuated h\ careful selection. We have 
heard of BLUE Budgerigars, but have never seen them. — Ed.^ 
It may be argued that a Cireen hen may have laid in the 
Yellow hen's nest; but this is not likely to be the case, as, fo*- 
some months past the only hen Green Budgerigar in the room 
has suffered from an injured wing, and cannot rise from the 
floor, 
(To be concluded) . 
