334 Freclij Imported Species and their Treaiment. 
managed to repair her nest (if she did?), lay five eggs, incu- 
bate and hatch them, and then rear the lot, feeding four well- 
grown young ones as well, and apparently only doing the 
latter, until the second family appeared. Unfortunately when 
I was away from England in September, and October, the old 
male killed four of his sons ,and harried one or two of his 
daughters, whilst the poor wiie succumbed during her moult, 
no doubt owing to the strain to which her system had been 
subjected. When she had her second nest, from which tlie four 
were reared, she was dangei-ously ill through egg-binding, 
so that I had to take her in to the house for a night. I.n 
the morning her egg (a soft-shelled one) was laid, and as she 
looked all right again, I returned her to the aviary. When she 
flew in, her mate flew to her, singing boisterously as he did 
so, ana mating immediately took place, a^ter which she pop- 
ped into her ne.it. Truly a wonderful bird! 
Freely Imported Species and Their Treatment. 
NESTING OF THE ORANGE-CHEEKED WAXBILL. 
(Sperceffinthus melpodus). 
Bi Wksley T. Page, F.Z.8., M.B.N.H.S. 
I do not know of any event that has given me greater 
(pleasure of recent years than the successful rearing of a l)rood 
of three young birds of this common, but beautiful and inter - 
teresting species. 
I have kept Orange-cheeks on and off for about thirty 
years, and though there have been numerous attempts and several 
times clutches of eggs have been laid, but till x\ugust of 
this year I have never come anywhere near success with this 
species, and my experience is not a solitary one, for there are 
only one or two recorded instances of young having been 
reared. 
Their demeanour is so well known, that I need not, 
enlarge upon their fascinating deportment and vivacity. I 
-know of no more fascinating sight than to watch a group of 
these birds flitting to and fro, butterfly -like, in a large natural 
aviary. So long as there is seeding grass or weeds, midges 
and blight they visit the food hoppers but little and the beauty 
and gracefulness of their movements, when clinging, in every 
