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P. B. Webb—Parrot Finches



PARROT FINCHES (ERTTHRURA PS ITT ACE A)


By P. B. Webb


In the late Autumn of 1930, I was lucky enough to get five newly-

imported Red-headed Parrot Finches all in the pink of condition.

Having heard that the number of cocks imported greatly exceeded

the hens, I thought it wise to buy six more which were offered to me

about a month later. When these six arrived, three were rather sick

looking, and though they bucked up a bit in a few days time, I eventually

lost all three during the winter. When they were opened, all three

proved to be cocks.


During the last week in June the remaining birds were turned out

by themselves into one of my aviaries, which was 12 by 16 feet,

and 7 feet high. It was planted with a hedge of box about 4

or 5 feet high, and one or two other bushes. There were several

Hartz cages, a few small nesting boxes of usual type, four coco-nut

husks, a rush nest, and two straw hats, these we placed in suitable

places both in the flight and the shed.


For two days the whole family enjoyed themselves chasing each

other, evidently delighted to be outside again. On the third day I found

a Hartz cage almost half-full of beech leaves, dried grass, and moss

when I inspected at lunch time. Next day the nest was complete as

far as I could see, and one of the birds sat looking out and chasing

his friends if they dared to come too close. I did not dare to go near

it, so I did not know for almost a week that no eggs were laid.


The nest had been abandoned at this time, and another one had

been started also in a Hartz cage. The first was situated about 18

inches from the ground in the box hedge, and was well concealed, but

the second was in the most conspicuous place possible, about 5 feet

from the ground against the wall of the house. It had absolutely not

a leaf within 4 feet of it. This nest was treated in the same way as

the first, and in four or five days I noticed that work had begun in a

straw hat. It was 6 feet from the ground and inside the house. Three

days of building and then at early morning roll I was a Parrot Finch

short. I did not see it for three days, so a search was made for it

everywhere, keeping away from the nest. No dead bird could be



