S. McGredy—Hybrid Grassfinches and Others



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the nest found she had already laid two eggs, which looked extremely

nice, but made me very bad-tempered when I realized that young

Gouldians would not be mine this year.


I am afraid these notes are a little long-winded, but perhaps they

may serve some good purpose if any of our members are thinking of

breeding this very interesting Seed-eater in captivity, and in conclusion

would just point out two rather interesting and unusual peculiarities

in connection with this species. Firstly, that the hen sings practically

incessantly during incubation—a subdued form of the cock’s song, and

secondly, the extreme animosity shown by the cock towards the hen

during incubation, and to the young after hatching.



HYBRID GRASSFINCHES AND OTHERS


By S. McGredy


In the early spring of 1931 one of a pair of Masked Grassfinches

died off and the survivor must have paired with a Long-tailed Grassfinch.

As I had quite a small flock of the latter in this particular aviary I

presume this to be quite a natural result, both these species being so

closely related.


The sexes of the parents I am unable to state definitely, but I believe

the Masked Finch to be a hen. My supposition is strengthened by

the fact that “ she ” has disappeared for the past ten days and, though

I searched carefully to-day, I could find no trace of a carcass. As the

aviary in which these Finches are confined is rather a large one with

a flight 36 by 24 feet thickly planted with a shelter in proportion,

I came naturally to the conclusion that the “ Masked ” was again

nesting.


The hybrids, of which I must have quite a dozen from two nests,

are pretty birds and clearly indicate their parentage. Their plumage

is a very even mixture of the colours of the “ Masked ” and “ Longtail ”,

and the same remark applies to their beaks. They have the “ mask ”

of the Masked Finch above the upper mandible, but instead of the

mask below the lower mandible they have a round black bib about

half the size of that of the “ Longtail ”. They have a broad black

band forming a girdle in the middle of the belly as in the parents.



