H. S. Sewell—Breeding Notes from Toorak , South Australia 269


along very well for a time, when one morning to my astonishment

I found two plump, half-grown youngsters dead on the floor of the

aviary, as were two others in the nest. Both nests were built on a

flat beam in their shelter, protected by bushes. The third nest was

built out in the flight directly on the ground, partly hidden by dried

grasses, oval in shape, and constructed of coco-nut fibre and fine

grasses, and was thickly lined with feathers. Four white eggs were

laid, incubation occupying fourteen days. Four young Peters left

the nest and were successfully reared. The old pair again surprised

me by nesting again in June (mid-winter) : after a lapse of several

months, three more youngsters left their nest, but one apparently

died of cold, and another broke its neck, leaving me with five young

birds for the season. They assumed full colour in two months from

leaving the nest in this climate. These finches are extremely nervous,

especially the young. They also appear to be semi-ground birds,

and with me usually decide to adopt this habit when on the show

bench. This species is very fond of live food.


Orange-cheeked Waxbill (Sporoeginthus melpodus ).—These little

Waxbills have proved harder to breed than the casual fancier might

imagine. They appear to be so very active that they cannot find

time to sit on their eggs. Several surprisingly well-built, oval-shaped

nests were constructed of fibres and fine grasses, directly on the ground.

The entrance is bottle-necked, sloping downwards, but most of these

nests were built just to occupy their time. I have a few pairs of these

Waxbills, and I found when one pair would lay, they would desert

their nest immediately. Eventually I induced a pair to nest amongst

some twigs within their shelter, and observed that when a pair decided

in earnest to incubate, the cock would build himself another very

small nest, directly on top of the main structure. This attic, so to

speak, then becomes his nightly sleeping quarters during incubation.

With reference to the brood that was successfully reared, four white

eggs were laid, incubation occupied twelve days, and later three young

birds left their nest. The body colouring of the young is similar to

the adult birds, excepting the orange ear patches, which are smaller

and very pale, beak black.


The South Australian Avicultural Society’s Medal was awarded



