50 F. Johnson—The Breeding of Jamieson Firefinches


THE BREEDING OF JAMIESON FIREFINCHES


By F. Johnson


I made no elaborate preparation for the breeding of the Jamieson

Firefinches.


The hen I received in a small consignment of Waxbills from

Marseilles eight months ago. The first cock I put her with was bought

from a well-known London store, and survived about twenty-four hours.

I tried another one from the Continent, but he was dead within twelve

hours of reaching England. I secured yet a third cock, he also coming

from the Continent, arriving only half-clothed. I was so disgusted with

such a poor specimen that I took both the cock and the hen and threw

them into a planted aviary along with a lot of Waxbills I was preparing

for shipment to New Zealand. At the end of eight weeks the cock was

looking something like, and I noticed him a few days after come out

of a roller travelling cage that I had filled up with hay and hung up

in the aviary some weeks previously. As this particular aviary contained

over 200 Waxbills of various species, I decided to catch the Jamiesons

up and try them in a secluded aviary in which I had previously tried

a pair of Royal Parrot Finches. Both inside the sleeping shelter and

round the wire netting of the flight I had already nailed a fair number of

hazel-nut branches and amongst the branches in the sleeping shelter,

near to the window, I had hung only one wire nesting box. The four

months the Royals had occupied the aviary I do not thick they had

even looked at it, although I had half-prepared the nest and scattered

about moss, hair, and feathers, in the hope of inducing them to make

home. I finally sent the Royals to South Africa.


However, except for the floor of the sleeper being brushed up, the

aviary was left just the same and the Jamiesons were turned into it.


The first morning of feeding in their new quarters, out of the nest

flew the pair of them, and I thought to myself the best thing to do is

to leave them to their private affairs. I dared myself to peep into the

nest once a week. Little by little the nest was elaborately prepared

with all the shortest pieces of hay procurable and mixed with a little

cow-hair. At the end of five weeks the nesting wire was full and I never

saw either bird for five days.



