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P A R S O N FINCH 3.6.9.
fPoej^Aila, cinciccj
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T H E PARSON FINCH.
Poephila cincfa, GoULD.
N H A B I T S North-eastern and Southern Australia. It is a very beautiful but at
the same time inquisitive aud spiteful bird : its head is silver-grey ; a blackish
line from' the base of the beak to the eye ; the back fawn-colour, shading into
vandjdie brown on the wings aud lower back ; upper tail-coverts black, broadl)-
tipped with white, tail black ; the two central feathers pointed and terminating in
a short bristle; under parts of body light rufous-brown; the chin, throat and
fore-chest occupied b}- a large black patch ; vent and under tail-coverts white ;
under wing-coverts pale rufous-brown; flights dull-brown below, slightly rufous
along the inner edges: Length inches; beak black, legs sabnon-pink, iris
reddish brown.
The hen differs from the cock in its slightly narrower head, which is rather
less white in colour (the greyer tint being especially noticeable when the pair are
on the ground side by side ;) the black gorget on the throat aud fore-chest distinctly
smaller.
I have, from first to last, had about eight pairs of this species ; it is hardy
enough, but nevertheless all ni}- hens have died through incapacity to lay shelled
eggs; for although one or two of them did for a time lay eggs properly, and one
of them even brought up two 3-ouug ones, all eventually seemed to fail to deposit
lime aud thus met their fate in the same way : the cock-birds, on the other baud
killed one another; so that as I write only two are living to my knozMgc, one in
an aviary aud the other in a breeding cage; a third which I parted with to a
friend, may, or maj' not be alive.
Dr. Russ calls this the "Girdle-Grass-Finch," and says of it:—"At present
parti}- through importation, parti}' through breeding, a common sight in bird-rooms;
first imported into Germany in 1869, by Karl Hagetibeck, and then disappeared for
two years from the Bird-market. Nearly allied to the Diamond-Finch and resembling
it in figure and size, as also in its noticed peculiar water-drinking, &c., it is
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