The Waxbills’ 
Christmas. 
(167) THE BIRD WORLD. 
into the cage; but here I did not put 
them warm water, as I feared that might 
tempt them to take baths. 
The Avadavats and the orange Cheek 
all sat together. The Firefinch pair 
kept apart by themselves, as did also the 
Orange-breasted Waxbills. The latter 
spent most of their time in a nest place 
I had constructed out of the crown of 
an old straw hat. The cock flew in first, 
then rang out his faint song, like a far¬ 
away bell ringing; the note by which 
he called the hen up into the warm 
seclusion of the nest. Orange-breasted 
Waxbills are kind-hearted little birds, 
albeit, quite capable of self-defence, but 
they will share their nest with any lonely 
Waxbill, and I saw the young Firefinch 
received by them as a guest and allowed 
to go or come as he pleased; he never 
seemed to amalgamate with the Ava¬ 
davats. 
Heat Not Needed . 
When one reads in bird books of 
heated aviaries and the necessity of a 
high temperature to keep so-called 
delicate foreign birds alive, I think this 
Christmas experience of my nine little 
pets will surprise many people who read 
it, and that it goes far to convince the 
observant that wrong feeding and 
sanitation are accountable for more 
deaths than climatic conditions. I 
ought to specially mention that the bird 
cage is placed as far as possible away 
from the windows, and out of draught, 
and that the plushette cover is thrown 
across the cage to keep out draught, so 
that with a wooden back and one side, 
the light enters at the side , and by as 
much of the front as is uncovered by the 
plushette wrap. 
The Firefinches Song. 
The Firefinches sing a good deal every¬ 
day a feeble song, but strangely re¬ 
sembling that of the English Robin; 
occasionally an Avadavat lifts up its 
pretty voice. Considering that these 
birds come from very hot countries, it is 
surprising that they can stand the cold 
below temperature, i.e., 55 degs., but, 
curiously, during last year’s hot summer 
I noticed that when it was over 70 degs. 
they seemed to feel the heat; the cock 
Avadavat used to sit and gasp for 
breath after 75 degs. was reached, and 
all avoided the direct rays of summer 
sunshine. Moisture cools air, and Wax- 
bills frequent the water-holes, possibly 
spending their days among dense foliage 
bathing more or less all day in very hot 
weather. I love the Firefinches—they 
are such fearless little things, coming to 
the side of the cage, chirping back in 
answer if you talk to them, and when let 
out of the cage flying on or near those 
who minister to their daily wants, for 
they discriminate between friends and 
strangers. I wish I could afford to im¬ 
port Firefinches, or that my readers would 
send me featherless, sickly specimens to 
experiment upon; it is a delight to see 
the new feathers quickly coming; to see 
the dishevelled, miserable bird daily im¬ 
proving into a resemblance of its beauti¬ 
ful self; but these delights are reserved 
for those with long purses and large 
aviaries. If birds look out of condi¬ 
tion, it is their owner’s fault. This I 
have proved conclusively. 
Not Friends. 
