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THE



Avicultural Magazine


THE JOURNAL OF THE

AVICULTURAL SOCIETY



Fourth Series .— Vol. XIII.— No. 1. —All rights reserved. JANUARY, 1935.



THE GENUS SPOROPHILA


By A. Morrison


The Sporophilse are a family of little Grosbeaks inhabiting the

warmer parts of Central and South America. Some twenty-one species

are known in captivity and, as they are hardy, pretty, and invariably

good songsters, they form very suitable subjects from an avicultural

point of view. For some reason they are not a very popular group in

captivity and but little is known about them. It is with a view to

stimulating interest in the genus that I have written this article and

I can but hope that it may arouse some interest.


No claim to originality is advanced. All descriptions have been

taken from the British Museum Catalogue , vol. xii, or Neunzig. I have

merely endeavoured to rearrange and simplify where possible. I am

indebted to Dr. Hopkinson for supplying me with the references which

may be of use, and for the loan of a manuscript translation of Neunzig.


References are as follows :—


“ Russ ” = Vol. i of Die Fremlandishe Stubenvogel, 1870.


“ Neunzig ” = Die Fremlandishe Stubenvogel , 1921 (a fifth edition

of Russ).


“ Butler ” = Yol. i of Foreign Birds for Cage and Aviary.


“ Foreign Finches ” = Butler’s Foreign Finches in Captivity, first

edition, 1894.


“ Records ” = Records of Birds Bred in Captivity, 1926, by Dr. E.

Hopkinson.



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