E. F. C.—New Zealand Successes



51



NEW ZEALAND SUCCESSES


By E. F. C.


The Avicultural Society of New Zealand has sent us their seventh

Annual Report which contains so much of interest to all aviculturists

that I have made copious selections from it.


The following have been successfully bred : The Blue-faced Parrot

Finch (Chloromunia trichoa), by Mr. George Reid, who notes as follows :

“ They built the usual type of finch nest in a ti-tree at the extreme

end of their shelter, but from the time they went to nest until the

young appeared I never went near the nest, nor did I hear any sounds

of life from within. On 19th April one young appeared, and on the

following day three more. They were extremely active and well

matured and within two days were picking over the seed pots and

flying about as strongly as their parents.


“ The young have luminous nodules on the beak—their green bodies

and carmine tails are like the old birds but the blue face is hardly

discernible. The upper mandibles are black as in the adult bird,

the lower ones were bright orange, but they soon lost their lustre and

gradually darkened. The old birds were given soaked millet spray

daily and green food as available, though owing to the drought seeding

grasses did not exist. They had access to insect food: it is doubtful

whether they availed themselves of it.”


The same gentleman also bred the Orange-breasted Waxbill

(Sporwginthus subflavus). Five eggs produced two young which were

reared on insects obtained from blighted cabbages, fresh cut turf;

and the small shellfish and creatures contained in fresh-cut watercress.


Again Mr. Reid is to the fore with young Gouldians, concerning

some of which he relates a curious story. He had in his aviary a Chestnut¬

breasted Finch paired with a hen Black-headed Nun, which had made

several attempts to breed but the eggs were always infertile. At la&t

he saw them feeding young and hoped for some very unusual hybrids,

but to his astonishment three young Gouldians flew from the nest.

The Finch and the Nun fed their foster children most assiduoiisly,

and Mr. Reid particularly noticed that whereas young Gouldians with

their own parents are continually calling for food, those reared by -the



