Dr. E. Hopkinson—The Greenfinch in Captivity



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active, tame, and amusing in their way of walking on the water-lily

leaves or running on the rocks, they often display their wings and tails

and utter a loud but not unpleasant call. They have no real song.

The size of a Robin, they are high on the legs, with a slender bill and

moderate tail and wings. Their plumage is white and rather fluffy

((they are often called “ cotton birds ”). A stripe through the eye at the

back is cinerious, slightly brownish ; tail black, tipped with white ;

bill and feet black. The species is common in Eastern Brazil, even

in towns.



THE GREENFINCH IN CAPTIVITY


By Dr. E. Hopkinson


Although of no great interest as a cage-bird apart from the ease

with which it can be kept and even bred under suitable circumstances,

the Greenfinch would seem from the records to be the chief hope of

those who hope to provide a supply of aviary- or cage-bred British

birds to take the place of those whose capture is now illegal. I am

.afraid, however, that it will be found that what artificially reared birds

nre obtained will not turn out to have the stamina or long life of

wild-bred ones and that breeding to several generations will not be

the easy matter some seem to expect. However, in everything optimism

is a good thing, and this is a suitable opportunity to collect in one place

the records of what has been done in the way of keeping and breeding

these birds.


The Common Greenfinch (Chloris chloris (Linn.)) has been a well-

known cage-bird from the earliest times, but not much valued except

.as a possible father of mules. There are many records of their having

been bred both in cage and aviary; among British ones are A.M., i, 124,

and B.N., 1913, 43, while for abroad Neunzig ( Einh ., p. 363) says that

they are easily bred and gives an account of their being reared in

numbers by Professor Liebe in Germany. He appears to have given

most of those he reared their liberty, and this raises the question of

what can be done except this, if one does succeed in rearing generations

of unsaleable birds. The advertisements which appear nowadays of



