Correspondence



149



people ideally situated for breeding, who find themselves quite prohibited

from keeping these birds. I suggest that a society to encourage the breeding

of Parakeets, Doves, and Finches on the lines of the newly formed and most

useful Pheasant Society (of which I am a member) should be speedily formed.


D. Kingsford Venner.



JAMIESON’S FIREFINCR


Mr. F. Johnson’s article in the Avicultural Magazine prompts me to

relate my own experience of the beautiful Jamieson’s Firefinch, even though

my own ended much less successfully.


In the middle of last summer I purchased from Messrs. De Von & Co.

a very beautiful pair of Jamieson’s Firefinches, brought them straight home,

and liberated them at once in an aviary occupied by nearly a score of common

African Firefinches, Cordon Bleus, and other small Waxbills. The aviary is

one-third section of a multiple wooden structure, having a flight of 14 feet

in length with a shelter shed 7 feet long. Both shed and flight are 4 feet in

width. The floor throughout is of wood, so that there is no possibility of having

growing shrubs of any size. As a substitute a large bundle of green branches

and twigs was placed in the shelter and branches of yew both in the shed and

in the flight. Nest-boxes of many types, coco-nut husks, and other types of

nesting receptacle occupied the corners of the shed, and every other

convenient place.


I found the Jamieson’s Firefinches very shy, inclined to hide amongst the

branches, or if searched for, to fly close to the ground until they reached a

place as far as possible from the intruder when they perched on the highest

available twig. The cock has a most delightful little trilling song, and few

birds can look more attractive than a cock Jamieson’s sitting on a lofty twig

in bright sunshine, chest out, and throat pulsating, trifling his sweet song and

looking like a glistening ball of fiery red. Despite their gorgeous red colour

they can make themselves really inconspicuous, especially the hen, although

she is only little less red than the cock.


During the succeeding weeks I was astonished at the number of cock

common Firefinches which I found dead, most of them with skull injuries.

Every two or three mornings I would find one or occasionally two, and almost

always in the shed. Reluctant to blame the Jamieson’s, I was inclined to put

it down to fighting, or to connect it with the unreasonable hatred and jealousy

of the cock of a pair of Virginian Cardinals occupying the adjoining flight.

After losing some half-dozen or more—all cocks—I decided to catch up the

few remaining ones and transfer them elsewhere. I was aware that various

nests had been built and were occupied, and was particularly interested in a

roughly built flat nest built on a small branch of yew and shielded from view

by overhanging greenery. The hen Jamieson’s had been repeatedly startled

out of the vicinity of this nest, but as she invariably dropped to the floor

before flying out it was difficult to determine exactly where she came from.

It had latterly become obvious that she was more and more reluctant to take

flight, and finally I saw her actually sitting on this nest. My hopes ran high,

although I refrained from investigating further.


One sunny day in mid-September, shortly afterwards, I caught up all

the common Firefinches that could be found, and transferred them to an



