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248 Foreign Finches in Captivity.
times spiteful towards other birds which approach their nests, springing off their
eggs to attack them and that -*vith such eagerness that the eggs are frequently
kicked out of the saucer-shaped receptacle into the corners of the box, where
they are left to dry up. Probably the best chance of breeding the species of
typical Mannikins would be to keep each pair in a separate spacious breedingcage,
but with snch common and cheap birds it seems hardly worth while to
de\'ote a large cage to them, when it might be more profitably emplo3'ed for
breeding valuable species: nevertheless, in the case of the Three-coloured Mannikin,
the beauty of the bird might tempt one to do so.
Dr. Russ asserts that the Three-coloured Mannikin is a harmless, lovable
little bird : my experience is that in a cage with many other Mannikins it is
absolute^ innocent, but, when building or sitting, it is quarrelsome in the
extreme ; it will fight over a particular ha5'-stalk, when there is a heap to select
from, -ivill fly after some little Waxbill which is carr3'ing- a bent to its nest, seize
the free end and jerk it violently away: its fights with other Mannikins are
harmless, because thej^ consist entirely of blows delivered by each combatant on
its opponent's beak ; but, when an attack is made upon a Waxbill, the)' are
delivered on the crown of the head, a single blow sometimes sufficing to kill.
Illustration from living specimens and skins in the author's collection.
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