Breeding Notes from New Zealand and Australia 109



thistle. This latter was consumed in extraordinary quantity. I was

rather worried over soft food for them when they were feeding the

young, and tried boiled maize, wheat, peas, rice, etc. They would have

nothing to do with it, but did use a small quantity of the honey mixture

as used for Rainbow Lories.


It is interesting to note that, before nesting, the Galahs very seldom

touched maize, yet it was used in large quantities for feeding the

young, only the soft or germ end of the grain being eaten. White

millet was well-favoured, but other millets were left untouched. I was

puzzled for some time on seeing the birds digging up the earth in their

flight, and could not make out for what they were searching. I thought

it might be grass roots, and was surprised to see the hen Galah take

up an ordinary earth-worm. I then tried them with mealworms, but

they would have nothing to do with them. I then kept up their supply

of earth-worms from clean, cultivated soil.


I think the young Galahs for the first two weeks are about the

ugliest chicks one could see and their nest about the dirtiest, requiring

cleaning out almost daily. Possibly the nest condition was due to the

large amount of thistle head eaten.


The young birds are slow in feathering, pin feathers appearing on

wings and head at fourteen days. The pin feathers break at twenty-

two days and develop quickly after this. The eyes start to open at

ten days, and are full open at fourteen days. The parent birds did

not appear to resent the interference with their nests.


J. Smith.



SUMMARY OF BREEDING RESULTS IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA


Having read with pleasure some very interesting breed summaries

by two or three enthusiastic English fanciers on foreign Finches and

Waxbills, I decided to record some of my successes for the breeding

season ending 30th June last.


I first opened up my account by breeding the common African

Fire Finch (Lagonostica senegala). Although these are quite common,

I know of many birds easier to breed. These tiny Finches had the

nasty habit (at least the cock bird had) of gathering up the offspring



