The 0 range-checked IVaxbill. 
47 
my .greatest success al X'illcrs-Bretoniieiix duriny the ten years 
that I kept birds tliere, was the breeding of Biiffon's Touraco 
to the second i^eneration (I bad tlu'ee breedini;- pairs, two of 
whicli were l)orn in my aviaries, when my collection was 
destroyed in the war in 191S). and tliat of the Red-crowned Fruit 
I'igeon ( Alectrocuas pulchcrUna ) , which. 1 think, is the first 
l'"ruit-Pigeon to have been reared in captivity in Europe. 
<^ 
The Orange-cheehed Waxbill. 
{Sporaeginthus me I pod us). 
By VVeslkv T. Page, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U. 
In normal times as plentiful and cheap as the general run 
of freely imported species, in fact. I have bought many at 3/O 
to 5/- per pair. Now the case is very different, but already a 
fair number of " small ornamental finches " from Africa are 
coming to hand, and prices are already becoming reasonable. 
This is a charming waxbill. perhaps not as showy as 
some, ne\ertheless, as beautiful as any. It has been known to 
aviculture for a long period, yet there are only two or three 
records of successfully rearing of young in (Ireat Britain. I 
kept the species on and off myself for about thirty years before 
breeding luck came my way. and this as late as the sunnner of 
1912. 
They are ideal birds either for cage or the mixed aviary, 
and as Miss R. Alderson has succeeded in rearing young in a 
cage there is no reason why others should not be similarly 
successful. 
While some may consider a description of its plumage 
superfluous, yet, as we have " the beginner '' with us always 
I am giving same. 
Adult male: The general colouration is a beautiful, 
soft-blending of greys and browns, variegated with bright 
orange ear-patches, and l)right red rump and upper tail-coverts. 
The beak is waxy-red; legs and feet brownish flesh-colour. 
Female : The distinctions are not great, and this is 
