P. B. Webb—Cuban Finches



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with egg-binding, this is not a great problem. The nest is a very neat

one. The hen does the sitting, the cock joining her at night. In an

aviary with other small Finches and Waxbills they stand a good chance

of breeding. They are quite capable of defending their house and home

and usually will not worry other birds. Beware, however, of putting

two pairs in the same aviary, or even two odd birds of the same sex ;

if you make this mistake it is more than likely that the stock of these

birds therein will be reduced to half. This is their one failing—so far

as I have discovered. In Butler’s Foreign Finches it is stated that these

birds are fond of mealworms, but they are probably better without

them. I took this advice, but when the eggs were hatched I thought

a few would help matters, so about four were given daily. The three

young birds died one by one, the last being almost feathered. Much

the same thing took place with a second pair. Thinking perhaps that

they were not getting enough live food, the quantity was doubled next

time and insectile mixture was used. They did not eat much of the

latter, but in a short time finished up the mealworms. The results were

no better. With one or two more failures ended 1931.


During last winter there was plenty of time to think things over.

I resolved, therefore, to try breeding in 1932 without any additional

live food to that picked up by the birds in the aviary. On reflection,

it had come to my mind that several winters ago I kept a pair of Cubans

in a cage. This pair hatched and reared one young bird during the

months of January and February. I had no mealworms at the time.

The pair, which were later involved in an accident causing their death,

were considered an abnormal pair. Why this opinion was formed is

of interest. The birds were purchased from the continent. Part of their

journey to Randalstown was in an aeroplane ; nevertheless, for some

reason they were held up somewhere and the complete trip took them

four and a half days. When they arrived I was surprised to find that

they had built a nest in the corner of their travelling box which was

only about 8 by 8 by 4 in. It was not much of a nest, it is true,

but “ one cannot make bricks without straw ”. It was, however,

typical in form though rather flimsy. The only materials at their disposal

were the sponge from their water-pot, bits of millet sprays, and pieces

of a sticky paper label which was attached to the inside of the box, and



