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204 Foreign Finclics in Captivity.
\vitli the species of Aidcmosyne, aberrant Grass-Finches. Unfortunately, nature has
fixed no sharp dividing lines between her productions, in order to assist the
sj-stematist; she has behaved like the missionar}-, who has taken out an inadequate
supply of clothing for his savage converts,—distributed her favours as equally as
possible; nevertheless, as from a dozen complete and similar suits, hardly two men of
a tribe will be similarly equipped, though many will have characters in common; so
it is with the children of nature.
Dr. Ru s s thus writes of the Bicheno's Finch : " A t the Paris World's Exhibition
of 1867, I saw Ringed Astrilds for the first time, Mliich it was asserted had been bred
there; price 100 francs. Ringed Astrilds first reached the Zoological Gardens of
London in 1861, and since then several pairs have arrived yea r ly; particularly in
Loudon and Hamb u r g ; at times it may be found in all the more important
bird-rooms."
In the bird-room particularlj- beautiful, graceful, livel3' and confiding, it also
nests readily and with good results, if not allowed to be disturbed. It is one of the
birds whose manner of breeding and development had to be discovered by breeding ;
the wild life is unknown.* A'cst usually built high up near the ceiling and by choice
in that of others, AVeaver-birds or Ornamental Finches ; lined round with blades of
grass, cotton-wool and feathers. A pair in my bird-room, however, wove a
purse-shaped nest with long entrance tube, principally of Agave fibre; a pair
belonging to Mr. ^'on Beust built low down, bnt in a dense prickly bush.
Laying four to seven e g g s ; development of the brood in other respects
resembling that of other Ornamental Finches. Nestling doivn pure white. Young
plumage above dirty mouse-grey, below whitish-grey; the markings already faintly
indicated. Increase of colour begins early by the stronger development of the
ringed-stripes and lattice spots, it is, however, slowly modified ; the clear black upper
and under tail-coverts, and pure white croup are first visible in the second year.
Sociable, enduring, and is one of the most loveable inhabitants of the bird-room.
Iramediatel3- after their arrival, the older Ringed Astrilds particularly, are for the
most part exceedingly tempestuous ; must be carefully looked after. Song, according
to Mr. A. Bargheer, something approaching to the cackle of a little hen; I only heard
a .slight whispering, with single, clear-sounding cries.
Th e song, as above described, is essentially that of a Grass-Finch, not of an
Astrild, and strongly tends to confirm my opinion as to the natural affinities of the
species.
* Since the publicatiou of Mr. North's work on Australian Birds, this has ceased to be the case. A.G.B.
Bicheno's Finch. 20=;
' Wiener says : " Thejr have been constant inmates of my aviary for 3'ears, and
lived from April to the end of October in the open air. A temperature of 50 degrees
to 55 degrees sufficed in winter. Bnt it grieved me a long time that I could not
induce these birds to bui ld; they left every kind of nest-box and nest material
unnoticed. At last I obtained some very hard aloe fibre, and this seemed to please
the Double-banded Finches, for they busied themselves at once with it, and soon built
a large ball in the crest of an Arbor Vita;. The ball was nearly as cleverly
constructed as a Weaver-bird's nest, had a very small entrance at the side, and
formed a capital nest, in which four or five pure white eggs were laid and hatched in
the usual time of thirteen to fifteen daj-s. The young brood is not at all difficult to
rear. Millet and maw seed soaked in hot water and strained, a little egg-food, some
soaked ants' eggs , and a few mealworms are ample."
Wiener usually recommends scalded seeds and ants' eggs for rearing the
Ornamental Finches. When I first began to breed the Dwarf Finches I frequently
introduced a saucer of both into the aviary in addition to the usual seeds, canary,
white millet, millet in the ear, and grass-seed. On no single occasion did any
species, whether breeding or not, touch any of the scalded seed or ants' eggs , they one
and all utterly ignored it, as though it had been dirt. On the other hand, when
breeding, they greedily devour any kind of egg-food, chickweed, and unripe grass-seed.
As for mealworms, very few of the Ornamental Finches in niy Bird-room ever ate
them; but small spiders, flies killed and thrown on the sand, or the small white larva;
of one of the meal-moths fEphestia kuhniellaj, they devoured eagerly. I do not
believe that insect-food is essential to the successful rearing of these tiny Finches ;
many of them are able to bring up their young on seed alone ; and, with the addition
of gras s in seed, and Abrahams' " Food for Insectivorous Bi rds , " I believe that any
of them may be bred in a suitable temperature. Perhaps the best means of providing
a little uatural insect food is, to lla^'e a good patch of fresh turf always in the aviary
when breeding is going on : it is marvellous to see how a square yard of turf placed
in one corner, is instantly covered by a host of tiny foragers. The minute spiders,
beetles, flies, and many other li^dng things which abound in a growing turf, are far
more natural food for a Waxbill or a Gras s -Fiuch than the great fat-producing
meal-worm, or boiled ants' pupa;, even if the birds can be persuaded to devour these
dainties.
On April 2nd, 1894, I purchased from Mr. Abrahams a pair of this little Finch,
and soon discovered that, like Taeniopygia, its call-note is a weak toy-trumpet-like
sound : in other respects, and especially in its confiding nature, it resembles
Aidcmosyne; its actions are not those of a Waxbill, they much more nearly resemble
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