236 
Nesting of the YclloiK) Sccd-fincl\. 
these feathers are the most bri^^ht of any in the Yellow Seed- 
finch. 
1 turned niy first pair of these birds into an outdoor 
aviary early in April, and they promptly went to nest in the 
centre of a dense box bush. The nest, which was a rather deep 
cup, was built of fine grasses and was unlined. Five pretty 
eggs, white with a rather wide zone of reddish-purple spots and 
blotches, were laid; but, as the weather at the time was bitterly 
cold, with keen easterly winds, 1 decided not to let her incubate, 
and removed the eggs. These I sent to a friend, a keen 
oologist, who was very glad to receive them, and reckoned them 
a great prize, as the eggs apparently have not been previously 
described. 
A few weeks later she again went to nest in the same 
bush, and, after an incubation period of eleven days, five young 
were hatched. The weather was very fine at the time, and 
had every hope that they would be successfully reared, as the 
hen was very active catching flies and other small insects, but 
to my disgust, on examining the nest three days later, I found 
it empty. 
CJnce more she went to nest on the same site. This time 
I removed two of the eggs, placing one in a Hedge Sparrow's 
nest, and the other in the nest of a (iolden-breasted Bunting. 
The Hedge Sparrows promptly ejected their egg, as another 
pair had done on previous occasions with Diuca Finches' eggs ; 
I don't know why, as this species apparently suffers gladly the 
intrusion of her egg by the Cuckoo, and many of the latter bird's 
eggs would be indistinguishable from those of the Diuca Finch. 
The egg in the Bunting's nest duly hatched, and the little 
bird Ived for nearly a week, although it never made any growth. 
The Bunting was a very good mother and came to me for meal- 
worms, but apparently they were not just what the young one 
required. Probably very small insects would be the right food 
at this stage, or possibly live ants' eggs. In the meantime the 
eggs in the seed-finch's nest had disappeared. I rather suspected 
fieldmice. 
About a month later the hen again went to nest (for the 
fourth time) on this occasion in the centre of a thick clump of 
grass, about an inch off the ground. This time only two eggs 
