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Bicheno and Binged Finches



a conservatory. They took their share of the various foods, Indian

spray and white millet, ants’ eggs, preserved egg, canary seed and,

most important, chickweed, which their owner grew specially for her

birds in a frame during the winter and which she found less coarse

and rank than that grown in the open. Flowering grass was supplied

when available, also soaked canary and millet.


“ We did not pay any very special attention to them for some time,

being much interested in some Long-tails and Gouldians which were all

nesting, but at last I noticed that a hen Ringed Finch was sitting in a

very old rush basket with a hole in the back, which was hanging on

the wire front of the aviary, about the level of my eye. I could plainly

see the hen sitting through this hole, but foreign birds being shy we

scarcely looked at her at all lest she should desert.”


On 29th May the young left the nest. “ There were three of them,

one rather larger than the others. In appearance they were very much

like their parents but much lighter, especially the wings and tail,

and the dark shading at the top of the beak was hardly noticeable.

In one important point, however, they were entirely different. Seen

full face they were absolutely ringless, and their breasts were pure

white. In profile, they showed the beginning of the upper ring which

encircled the face. In a few days there was a faint indication of the

lower ring in the two smaller ones, but the eldest kept his pure white

breast some time longer. They were very small, but scrambled about

vigorously, and managed to get back to their nest whenever they were

tired and always at night.


“It is interesting to notice the difference between these and the

ordinary Bicheno’s Finch, which has bred with us several times.

We think they leave the nest about the same time, at three weeks old,

but whereas the Ringed Finch emerges ringless, his relative has both

rings quite as clearly marked on leaving the nest as the Ringed Finches

have now at nine weeks old.”


Whether the difference noted by Mrs. Williams would be found

to be constant could only be proved by further breeding experiments.

It would be strange if the two were to differ thus, seeing that they

are nothing more than local races of the same species.



D. S-S.



