Gerald de Pass—Breeding of Bullfinches 105


No further young have been seen, and our one consolation in

this most unfortunate occurrence, is the certain knowledge that we

now possess a true pair. Further, that if an earlier clutch of

eggs should prove fertile in 1934, there are reasonable grounds for

hoping that, with luck, the young may be successfully reared.



SOME NOTES ON THE BREEDING OF

BULLFINCHES IN CAPTIVITY


By Gerald de Pass


It is now a good many years since I commenced to keep Bull¬

finches, but I have had them on and off ever since I was a boy. It

is, however, only during the last few years that I have been in a

position to keep them in outdoor aviaries. It was not long before

I decided I must try an.d breed them, and I was told that it was

practically impossible to breed and rear them with the hen Bullie

herself, and that to do so I must put the eggs under Canaries to

hatch and rear, if I wanted any results. All this made me still

keener to try and to succeed, if possible. My first season was not

very successful; I got as far as getting eggs, but they did not hatch.

I commenced with two pairs, both in the same aviary, as at that

time I only had the one aviary. This is where I made my first

mistake, as, although the aviary had both indoor and outside

flights, the two cocks did nothing but chase each other about. My

two pairs of Bullies consisted of one wild-caught cock, ar>d one

hand-reared cock that was caught as a baby in the fruit nets the

year before by my gardener, and I hand-reared him myself. Both

hens were wild-caught. The wdld-caught cock and his wife lived

and built in the outside flight, but the hen was such a bad

nest-builder that all her eggs fell straight on to the ground and

were smashed. The other pair lived more or less in the inside

part of the aviary, and, finally, the hen built in a Canary travelling

cage with the top and side removed. She made a much better job



