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182 Forcion Finc/ics in Capiivitx.
uot help them after the manner of so many birds. Before the nest was examined,
I had often pondered inquiringh' upon the state in which I should eventnalh"
find it. As it was, however, owing to the excellent sanitary arrangements of the
house, and its general loose and air}- construction—more suited to a Queensland
than to a British climate,—the droppings were dr^- and inodorous ; and the jroung
canie out as clean as pinks and as lustj- as 3'ouug Eagles. The}-- were of a dull
olive green colour, -H'ith horn-coloured beaks, and were fed b}- their mother until
well able to take care of themselves.
During the last j^ear or two, the minds of some of us have been disturbed b}-
statements \\diich have been made that the Red, Black, and Yellow-faced Gouldian
Finches are all of the same variety, the different colourings being simply the
colourings of the same bird at different periods of its life. I am greatly behind
the times, for I have never seen a freslilj' imported Gotildian Finch with a vellow
face, although I have seen inan3- badh' moulted specimens bearing mauj' funn)-
colours, or no colours at all to speak of. So far as the Reds and the Blacks are
concerned, I do not mj'self see any reason for supposing that they are other than
distinct varieties.*
I cannot do better than close this brief accottnt of these birds by quotiug
portions of a letter with which I ha^'e been most kindl}' furnished by Mr.
Norman B. Roberts, of The Knowle, Sheffield, the gentleman who has had my
t\\'0 young Red-faced Gouldian Finches since the 5th September, 1891. Here the
slow coming into colour may have been caused by the comparatively cold climate,
and the want of the brilliant Qtieensland sun just at the season when it was
most needed. In a former communication, written in 1892, Mr. Roberts had
s a i d : — " I have them oitt of doors, and the average temperatitre for Sheffield
during the first six months of this year has only reached the low rate of 44.71
degrees ; we have in fact, had no summer weather, with the exception of one
week at the commencement of June. They have not attempted to breed since last
Christmas, when I had them in the' house, and they commenced to build, when of
course I discouraged them." Any way, some red did appear on their faces at the
first moult, and much more at the second, which does not quite fit in with the
theory that the young commence with black faces—for neither of these two young
birds has ever had a wholly black face—and graduallj- assume the red faces as
they advance in years. It must be remembered that the faces of even newly
imported hens are blackish, though not black.
* The suggestion was not tliat these differently coloured birds were of the same "variety," but of tlie
same species; the other view was abandoned when the true explanation was made evident. A.G.B.
The Gouldian Finch. 183
The letter referred to, dated the 24th of April, 1894, runs as follows :—
" The birds are both quite well and happy, never having ailed anything
since I had them. They are very great pets, and are more prized
than any of our other birds. They have moulted each year from April to June
they Iiave just commenced; and I am hoping that their colors ^^'ill be
brighter than they have hitherto been. The first moult (May, 1892) gave them
all their adttlt plumage with the exception of the red on the heads; the hen's
face became black with a brick red sort of tinge, and the cock's face remaiued
the same as it was when in his nest feathers, viz; dull greyish green, except a
few red feathers dotted here and there, \vhieh gave him a most extraordinaryappearance.
The centre feathers of his tail also did not grow to their full length
until the second moult last year, when both cock and hen assumed the scarlet on
their faces ; but the colors, all through, are not so bright, as yd, as an imported
specimen's ; and the hen's face is largely covered still with black Last
August they paired, and the hen built a slovenlj' sort of nest in a branch of
furze which I placed in their cage, and laid five eggs during the first week of
September; but the nest was, nnfortunatel}', so badly constructed that two of the
eggs fell throtigli the bottom and were broken. She never attempted to incubate
the others, so I removed them, and placed them under a canary, which had at
the time her 4th nest in the season, but she forsook the eggs before the time
was up, so I was not successful in hatching any young ones. I broke one of the
three eggs and found it fertile Th e y spend the winter indoors in an
ordinary canary's breeding cage ; bttt in the sttmmer they have to themselves a
large cage, made purposely for them, about 5 ft. x 4 ft., which is in an outdoor
bird-room, where they can get plenty of fresh air. Their food has been entirely
millet and a little canary, millet spra3's, and daily, when I cottld get it, a bunch
of the flowering heads of ordinary lawn grass, of which they are particularly
fond. Last year when they seemed inclined to breed, I gave them some of the
fresh eggs of the small red ant, and they seemed to enjoy them thoroughly,
searching for them most diligently amongst the sand of their cage. I have had
to give up most of my birds owing to want of time to look after them, but these
I shall never part with." On the 27th April, 1894, Mr. Roberts writes further;—
" It occitrs to me that in a wild state it is possible that the young male may get
the red on his face at the first moult. In the case of the one I got from you,
some of his feathers came that colour; and it is my opinion that the remaining
feathers of the face were not moulted at all until the second year, and that, had
they been changed, they would all have come of the adult colour."
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