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224 Foreign Fuichcs in Captivity.
exactly doubling tlieir numbers. The following year only one Bengalee left the nest
and was almost immediatelj. killed by Zebra Finches. Althongli many eo-o-s were
laid, these were all that I reared ; and some months afterwards the Bengalees" be-an
to drop off one by one, until I only had a pair of the dark, and a cock of the lio-ht
form living. ^
From Wiener's aud Russ' statements one would haye expected unusual
productiveness from these birds, and the want of it puzzled me considerably •
eycntuallJ^ however, I concluded that, as Bengalees had for many generations been
bred in cages, it was hardly fair to turn them in with a number of rough wild birds
which doubtless often disturbed them during incubation. I therefore tried my pair in
a large breeding-cage, where thej- built and laid eggs from time to time, but without
hatching them. I next purchased from Mr. Abrahams a pair of the white ^^ariety
with the result that about three days later I found the cock bird dead. I then took
my net and entered the bird-room to catch my sole remaining cock of the fa.^^n aud
white variety. I could not help smiling as I thought of Wiener's " almost unable to
fly; " for so quick was that bird in avoiding me, that I was obliged to call my son in
to catch It, whilst I stood with a long cane at the other end of the aviary and
repeatedly drove it towards him. Even thus, it took about twenty minutes to capture
It. I now paired this bird with the white hen, which died egg-bound, on February
26th, 1894. After the death of my white heii, I transferred my last remaining pair of
dark pies to the breeding-cage ; the hen laid numerous eggs, aud on October 21st
1894, one young bird left the nest , it was reared chiefly on millet seed ; another was'
reared towards the end of the year.
Bengalees always seem to be well and sprightly; therefore, each time that I
found one dead it came as a suri^rise; the bird in every case having appeared to be in
excellent condition the day before. Possibly they may have been dispatched by a
blow on the head from the heavy beak . of some ill-tempered Black-headed or
Three-coloured Maunikin ; for to my certain knowledge, one blow delivered (from the
opening to a nest box) upon a smaller intruder is instantly fatal; the Black-head
leans over and brings his pointed mandibles down like a pick on the skull of the
smaller bird as it flutters up towards the opening, and it drops to the ground like a
stone.
Bengalees are particularly fond of spray millet and grass seed ; and when
breeding they will consume a quantity of Abrahams' food, sponge-cake, or any sweet
cake or biscuit; they are also delighted with seedling lettuce and rape.
Illustrations from living examples and skins in the author's collection.
7
T H E STRIATED FINCH.
tjrolouclia striata, I^INN.
'J^^HIS is an inhabitant of Central aud Southern India and Ceylon; it is rather a
pretty bird, though modestly coloured.
The adult male is smoky brown above, streaked with white shaft lines ; the
feathers of the back with dusky subterminal bars and pale tips ; wing-coverts
slightly darker; quills, blackish-brown, the inner ones with white shaft-lines ; croup
white ; upper tail-coverts blackish, edged with brown ; tail feathers black ; forehead,
lores, cheeks, throat and chest black, the last mentioned with barely visible pale
shaft-lines ; breast and abdomen white ; lower flanks, thighs and under-tail coverts
dark reddish brown, with pale shaft-lines, whitish on the flanks; axillaries and
under tail-coverts buffish-white; edge of wing mottled with black ; flight feathers
below blackish, whitish along the inner webs ; length five inches ; upper mandible
dark leaden grey, the lower one bluish with dark tip ; legs leaden grey; iris
reddish brown.
The native names for this species are Shakari Mania and Tau-tsa, according
to Blyth.
Jerdon says: " I observed this species in the Malabar coast and the Wynaad,
frequenting grainflelds, open spaces in the jungle, and occasionally on the road-sides,
and even in stable-yards, feeding on the various kinds of grain and seeds. It lives in
small communities of six or eight, or more."
I n his "Birds of India" he says: "This species is most abundant in the
Malabar coast, where it is occasionally to be seen in vast flocks feeding in the
rice-fields. It also occurs sparingly in other parts of India, in the Northern Circars,
in lower Bengal, Arrakan, and Ceylon; but is replaced in the lower Himalayas, and
throughout the Burmese province, by the next species. It is also stated to occur in
Java.
" In Malabar it is a familiar bird, being constantly seen on the road-side, about
houses, and in stable yards; builds in gardens and orchards, making a large, loosely
constructed nest of grass, and laying four or five white eggs during the rains."