1^2 Foreign Finches in Captivitv.
Mr. Davison says :—" I first met with this lovely species at tlie village of Bopyin,
where I found it associating with flocks of Mtinia aiuticandata and feeding in the ricefields
; they were ver^- shj^ and on being fired at immediately retreated to the dense
bamboo jungle surrounding the fields. Their note is very similar to that of Munias,
and is uttered both when seated and flying ; they have also a soft t\vittering note,
which they continually utter when roosting. At iVIalewoon and along the banks of
the Pakchan I again observed it. The bird is only a seasonal \usitant coming in
towards the end of No^-ember and departing before the end of January, as soon as
the rice crops have been all har\'ested. The Siamese capture the birds by placing
limed twigs about the rice, but the birds do not thrive in confinement."
Wiener says :—" In former times the Pin-tail Nonpareil arrived much more
frequently, and generally via Holland, but as the birds mostly died after a few weeks,
the}' acquired a bad reputation, became difficult of sale, and were rareh' imported. In
the verj- earliest da}'S of my keeping foreign birds, I purchased a Pin-tail Nonpareil,
and it died after a few weeks. Regretting the loss of the handsome bird, I consulted
one of the most celebrated autnorities on the subject of foreign birds, and received the
unsatisfactory replv that the bird " never lived in confinement." Not satisfied with
this negative information, I set myself the task of discovering ivhy this bird should
not live, and completely succeeded. It was easy to find out that the Nonpareil Pintail
lived chiefl}' on rice in his native Java. Cleaned table-rice the birds do not care
for; but rice with the husk on, the so-called paddy-rice, was accepted by them as
their natural food, and on that, with a little canary and millet seed the Pin-tail
Nonpareils, which were supposed never to live long, endured in my aviary- for six
or seven years in perfect health and unimpaired beauty of plumage."
That Paddy-rice is good for these, and all birds that feed upon it naturally,
cannot be doubted; but, unless a bird is received in good health, its natural food
will not save its life. In my opinion the death of these and man}- other imported
birds, must be attributed principally to the crowded and unhealth}- state of the
cages in ^\'hich they are brought to Europe, and subsequent neglect when they
arrive. It is easy to discover (to use Wiener's own words) that many of the
Mannikins feed chiefly on rice in their native country; nevertheless they will live
for many years in perfect health without a grain of it ; on the other hand, my
Pin-tails which had plenty of it, died quite as quickly as Wiener's first example
which had none. My advice is, therefore, give to this and to all birds, as far as
possible, the food to which they have been accustomed ; and, should they die,
open your birds and discover the real cause of death that way. As a rule birds
are fairly accommodating in the matter of food, but they object to defective sanitary
The Pin-tailed Nonpareil. 173
arrangements.
Illustration from a skin of a specimen formerly living in the author's
collection.
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