A Retrospect. 
all. With the tirst two the difficulty is to get a cock, at least 
I always found it so, but, when once a true pair is obtained, the 
Grey, at any rate, breeds well — or did so with me, and I believe 
that the Yellow-rumped nested but failed to produce young; 
still it is very like the Grey except for the Yellow-rump, and 
would probably prove a free breeder in a garden aviary. 
Personally, I prefer it to the Grey. 
I never found any of this trio pugnacious with other species, 
and I would always trust them till I was proved wrong, which is 
more than I would do with the Green Singing-Finch. 
The Zebra Finxh (Tacniopygia castanotis) is, according 
to many people, a free breeding bird; it may be, but I never 
found it so. Certainly it reared a few young in my aviaries, 
but the numbers always grew less instead of increasing, as they 
are not long-lived species. 
As a builder of nests it has no equal in zeal, but is certainly 
untidy; as a layer of eggs it has few equals. One pair deposited 
over twenty for me in one nest and then got bored with the job, 
and decided to sit, but as the eggs were two or three deep in the 
nest the result was not satisfactory; in fact it was a very bad 
hatch ! I believe that finally two were reared, which was, I 
think, more good luck than good management on their part. 
But where the Zebra Finch does excel is building a nest, 
laying up a few eggs therein, and then deciding that it is quarter 
day and that they must move, which they do. then come back 
for the old house, and put it up a yard or so away. Periodically 
I used to go round and remove the stale eggs and try and tidy 
up after them. 
Despite all this they are nice birds, and I shall have them 
again. I once had a male with a white head, and I had hopes of 
breeding a pure albino in time, but as the Irishman said, " he 
died on me." 
To take a rarer species next I think that the Indian 
White-Eye (Zosterops palpebrosa) is about as cheery a little 
bird as one can wish for. Mr. Page was the first to breed this 
species, and I believe that I w-as the second; certainly, with me. 
they were prolific; each year I would rear one or two; that there 
