Acciunatisat'wn In the Isle of Maiintiiis. 241 
tall and bushy tree. The eggs niiiiiber from 6 to 10. They 
are white, and longer and bigger than those of the Astrild. 
After leaving the nest, the young remain the whole 
winter with their parents. They form small bands of about a 
dozen, and rarely mix with the other ( irosbeaks. They have a 
fondness for the cultivated helds; on the roads bordering these 
they find the grasses whose seeds constitute their principal food. 
28. Hstrilda asirilda. Linne. 
The graceful, red-cheeked Astrild is one of the widest- 
spread inhabitants of our fields and forests. Its introduction 
must be of very ancient date. These little birds, except at the 
breeding season, always live in big flocks. In the evening they 
collect in hundreds and shelter for the night in the clumps of 
bamboo or in heavily foliaged trees, just as the garden sparrows 
do in the ivy-tods of some old wall or tree. 
Laying takes place twice a year — September-October, and 
February-March. The second brood is almost always destroyed 
by the tempests which are so frequent during these summer 
months. The nest, of which the accompanying photograph 
gives an exact idea, is a marvellous construction. The base is 
horn-shaped, with a rather short and very narrow neck. Above 
this bottle is a shelter for the male ; the wdiole is carpeted and 
wrapped with the finest stalks and leaves. The material is 
generally grass stalks, but I have one nest made of acacia leaves, 
and another of the leafy stalks of the asparagus. 
The eggs number from 10 to 16; they are white, rounded, 
and transparent. Incubation lasts from 12 to 13 days, and the 
young leave the nest on the 14th day. 
If one removes the birds from the nest without destroying 
it, it often happens that a second laying takes place immediately. 
Even if the nest is removed, the birds will, if they are particularly 
attached to the tree, begin to build once more. 
<H-f^ 
Some Birds I have hept. 
Bv Weslky T. Page, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U. 
Though I may, if need arise, write further instalments 
under above title, each one will be complete in itself; I am 
