!!
Foreign Finchcs in Captivity.
attention, however, tliey live for many years, especially in tlie Bird-room, but also in
fancy cages. Almost alwaj'S to be had from the dealers."
" Male and female warble a melodious bar; love dance comical accompanied by
loud, piercing, not unpleasant, whistling sounds ; a connoisseur and lover of singing"
would indeed not be enraptured. Mules reared with the little Helena-pheasant."
Mjr first pair of Crimson-eared Waxbills, as these little Finches are sometimes
called, was given to me bjr mjr friend Mr. J. Johnston, (brother of the well-known
African traveller). I had previously never seen living examples and, noting their
remarkable beauty, was afraid that mj- good friend had been obliged to pay an
enormous price for them. However, on this head, he soon reassured me.
Although, at that period of my Bird-keeping, I had but poor accommodation for
m3r feathered favourites, I succeeded in keeping that first pair of Crimson-ears for
eighteen months and with a winter temperature which often fell as low as 40 degrees
Fahr. Of course they eventually died of a pulmonary disease.
In my present Bird-room I have, from time to time, had a good many pairs, none
of which until 1893 lived verj- long; most of them, indeed, dying within from two to
three weeks. Undeterred bj? the warnings of A. F. Wiener, who incorrectly states
that this species will not live without a winter temperature of from 60 to 70 degrees
Fahr. ; I determined, in 1891, to trj ' the effect of cool treatment. During the Autumn,
therefore, I turned out a pair of the Cordon-bleu into my most exposed cold aviary.
The hen bird soon after was frightened to death by a cat springing at the wire-work,
in the attempt to catch it as it clung there; but the cock bird lived on, flying briskly
about, -svitli his shrill key-whistle going from morning to night, he stood six and even
eight degrees of frost and positively seemed to enjoy the cold; but late in December
eight degrees accompanied by fog killed him.
Now, there is a great discrepanc3- between 24 and ,70 degrees ; so that I am
convinced that a bird strong enough to enjoy the former (until accompanied by fog) if
it had been in my Bird-room with a temp)erature not falling below 50 degrees, might
have been living at the present time.
Early in 1893 I purchased two pairs, turning one pair into a breeding-cage with
a box in the corner and the other into my Bird-room, the hen of the second pair
died within a few weeks, but that in the breeding-cage lived for several months. Both
cock birds are alive as I write and that in the Bird-room,* instead of retiring to a
warm box to pass the night generally roosts in a corner on a ledge. I am therefore
certain that, with patience and caix, hardy individuals of this delicate little Waxbill
* This is otie of the liveliest iiiliabitants of the Bird-room, and its s'onji fTe::ier, tezit, iezil, tezee) is
constantly heard, whilst its plumage is simplj- perfect.
The Cordon Bleu. 137
might graduall}' be accjuired and strong offspring reared from them.
The two principal objections to breeding Crimson-eared Waxbills are :—the
difficulty of getting hold of sufficiently vigorous hen-birds and the unremunerative
nature of the occupation. The female Cordon-bleu is so much more sensitive to
atmospheric changes than the male, and so rarely lives, excepting in a decidedly hot
and dry temperature, for more than a few weeks ; that, in order to select reall}'
vigorous specimens to breed with, it would be necessary to purchase your hens b}'
dozens. But, supposing that from a dozen hens, two should be obtained strong enough
to pair, sit, and rear four yoimgsters apiece, what then ? There is the satisfaction of
having accomplished a difficult feat; but the Bird-room is no richer :—ten hen birds
have died and eight young birds have been reared, the fullest value of which, apiece,
is half-a-crown. Meanwhile the time and anxiety devoted to the object of rearing
Crimson-eared Waxbills, might have been far more profitably given to the multiplication
of Gouldian Finches, Cherr}-, Diamond, Bicheno or Parson Finches ; or, perhaps
more successfully, in the production of some of the interesting mules between common
species, which have at times been bred.
A nearly allied species, Estrilda angolcusis, occurs in South-eastern Africa, and
(according to Dr. Sharpe) apparently ranges to Mozambique on the east, and to Daniara-
Land on the west. It differs from E. phanicotis in that the male has no red ear-patch,
but resembles the female: according to Mr. Ayres its beak is "lilac, blackish at the
tip ; tarsi and feet pale ; iris reddish hazel." It does not appear to have been imported
as a cage bird ; but, on account of its close relationship to E. phcenicotis the following
account respecting its habits by Messrs. Sharpe and Layard may be of interest:—
" The present species was procured by Sir Andrew Smith, between Knrrichane
and the tropic of Capricorn." Mr. Barratt says :—" I shot this Finch round about the
gardens at Rustenberg, I did not see many of them in flocks, and they appear to be
rather local birds."
"Mr. Ayres writes :—"In November 1864, I found this pretty species in some
numbers amongst the bush on the banks of the Tugela in Natal, and my brother has
recently met with it on the Limpopo." Mr. Buckley met with it in the Transvaal,
and in the Matabele country ; and the late Mr. Frank collected several specimens at
Tati. Further north it appears to be common, for Mr. Ayres says that during Mr.
Jameson's expedition they found it one of the most plentiful of the small Finches,
and very widely distributed. Mr. Anderson has the following note:—"This pretty
little Finch is common at Lake N'gami and in the neighbourhood of the Okavango
River ; but I do not think that it is found either in Damara or Great Namaqua Land.
I have heard occasionally of immense gatherings of these birds ; but usually they are
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