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176 Foreign Finches in Captivity.
Finch is abundantly bred in aviaries by the Queenslanders, and that iu Sydney
she saw red, yellow and black-headed Gonldians, all the produce of the same
parents. It would thus seem that we have, iu this case, to deal with a trimorphic
species; aud, that the difference of colouring in the head, is actually of no
more specific importance than it is in members of one human family ; but of this
matter I will speak again presently.
Two cocks of the Red-faced variety and a pair of the black-faced form were
given to me early in 1891, by the Hon. Walter de Rothschild. Curiously enough
I had purchased a pair of the form F. goiildim oulj' a day or two previouslj'; so that
I commenced four cocks and two hens; the four first mentioned I turned into
my Ornamental-Finch Aviary indoors and the other pair into my coolest aviary, later
in the year (August) ; iu the Bird-room all three cocks incessantly persecuted the
oue hen and she (instead of selecting as a husband a black-faced bird like herself)
paired up with a typical P. mirabilu. This bird built a nest for her, in a box with
two entrance holes constructed out of a fig-dnim; but, unhappily, through failure to
eat shell-makiug material, she produced nnshelled eggs, the second of which killed
her. I thus recorded the first of a series of failures, which unhappily have been
shared by most of those who have attempted to breed this lovely bird.
My second pair of black-faced birds (or strictly speaking my first acquired
pair) began to build iu a hollow oak stump soon after they were turned out and
completed a very nice little nest; but the result was the same as before, the hen died
with a soft egg. A third hen given to me by Mr. Rothschild, to replace the loss
of the first, followed suite and two others subsequently purchased did likewise.
Earlj- in 1892 the last cock bird died, those indoors having commenced to
drop off at the approach of winter, whereas that out in the frost survived until
the Spring; thus distinctively proving that fresh air is more important than
warmth, even to these most delicate of Australian Finches.
Later iu 1892 I purchased pairs of both varieties from Mr. Abrahams and
began over again, but it was of no use ; nests were built in bush or box until
one b}- one all had died ; the last sui-vivor being a hen Red-faced bird which
lived for some months, paired with a Parson-Finch, and from time to time laid
ridiculous little eggs, which she never succeeded in hatching; her natural husband
had died from disease of the brain, a painful and slow disorder, common both to
Gouldian, Zebra and Chestnut-breasted Finches.
All the aviculturists with whom I have communicated, with the exception of
Mr. Phillipps, have had similar experiences to my own, in their attempts to breed
Gouldian Finches; but I believe if these birds could be turned loose in a large^
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The (joitldiaii I'uicli. Ill
airy, well heated saloon : loft}-, aud ventilated near the ceiling, the}' might both
be easih- bred aud kept. A room fifteen feet b}- sixteen, and eleven feet six inches
iu height, seems to be not large enough when other birds are associated with
them, for that is the size of my Bird-room ; the cage in which I kept them being
twelve feet in length and seven feet six inches iu width.
Mr. Gould writing of the Black-headed variet)- fP. gouldiosj saj's that it
"was discovered by Gilbert on Greeuhill Island at the head of Van Diemeu's
Gulf, where it inhabited the edges of the mangroves aud thickets : when disturl)ed
it invariabl}' flew to the topmost branches of the loftiest gums, a habit I ha\-e
not before observed in any other members of the genus. Its note is a very
mournful sound added to a double twit. Those I observed were feeding among
the high grass iu small families of from four to se\'eu iu number, aud were \'ery
shy. The stomach is tolerabl}- muscular, and the food consists of grass aud
other seeds."
Mr. North says of P. mirabilis:—"The nest of this species, like other
members of the genus, is a dome-shaped structure, composed entirel)- of dried
grasses. It is usually placed iu a low tree or bush not far from the ground.
Eggs white, five in number for a sitting, varj'ing from oval to pyriform iu shape."
Of P. goiildios he says :—" In its nidifiction this variet}- is precisely similar ; in
fact it has been lately proved that it is onty a black-headed phase of P. mirabilis,
the females of both being very similar to the males of P. gouldice, aud can only
be distinguished externally b}' their duller colours. Eggs of the black-headed
phase are white."
" I t ma-\- be interesting to know that several of the Gouldian Finches ha^•e
bred in Dr. Ramsaj-'s Aviary. A pair male and female of the black-headed phase
hatched out on May 13th last (1888), three young ones, one of which, although
having a dull coloured breast, has developed the crimson head of P. mirabilis.
there can be uo doubt whatever, that P. goiddice, the black-headed phase and
P. a-rmitiana, the yellow-headed phase, are merely varieties of P. mirabilis origiually
described b}- Hombron and Jacquinot in the ' Voy. au Pole Sud." Many specimens
recently brought to Sydney show the various stages of plumage above mentioned,
bearing out Dr. Ramsay's statement respecting the various phases of plumage
exhibited in this species."
In a conversation which I had early iu 1894 with Mr. Abrahams respecting
the variation of this species, I asked him how he reconciled his vievif of the
distinctness of the varieties of this species with the statement of Mr. Thompson,
Mr. Ramsay and Mrs. Eraser. He replied that to anyone who had studied
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