t !(:
56 Foreign Finchcs in Captivify.
During the summer months the sontr of the Tndio-n 1 , ,iz -:: r= -1 ~=
f o l l o w s , c l . i c k ii — -
commencement. ^"unudn all m a lower tone than the
^ Ridgway sa.vs that "the eommon Indigo Bird of the Eistern qt.t. ' f 1
« . ¡ o „ , itself, i „ „."^J ' • ; ; f , — I' — " y
. . . . » g fro... .h. „ , „^ „ „ „ . ^ „„ t. 2 '
fe pe .ines. iiach ^ear the nest was repaired witli the same
The Indigo Bunting. ^^
material Once only they had two broods in one season. The second brood was
not hatched out until September, and the family was not ready to ungrate until
after nearly all its kmdred had assembled and gone. This nest, though principally
made of bare matting, was very neatly and thoroughly lined with hair. Other
i n T n n r ' ' ^
"Audubon and Wilson describe the eggs as blue, with purplish spots at the
larger end. All that I have ever seen were wdrite, with a slight tinge of greenish
or blue, and unspotted. I have never been able to meet with a spotted egg of thi
bird, he Identification of which was beyond suspicion. They are of a rounded
oval shape, one side is only a little more pointed than the other. They measure -7.
(4) of an inch in length by -58 (neariy 3) in breadth."
f 11 this Bunting: a joyous
nil warbling, similar to those of the European Wren and Hedge-Sparrow If un'
disturbed nests without difficulty. yV../ in a thick bush, near the fioor of ..rasslike
that of he hen, but the wing and tail feathers with blue-grey margii s; nude -
side streaked with bluish. Littie beak grey-brown with yellow base; fee br S t
horn-brown." -.ngiiL
"Has several broods, one after the other. The female rarely to be had •
nia es on the contiary yeariy imported in many hundreds. A migratory bird- in
Autumn and Spring he is restiess and occasions considerable disturbance in'the
Bird-room or aviary; at other times calm and peaceable, only a bully at breeding,
time. With proper care long-lived and regular in its change of colour "
Mr. Wiener says With proper treatment the bird is well able to live all the
year round in an English open-air aviary, displaying only a little restlessness at
tiae period of migration. Cross-breeding with Canaries has been attempted but
with very littie success. In the very rare cases where young cro!s-b eel
resulted their colours were disappointing."
I have twice tried the Indigo Finch in aviaries open to the air; on the first
occasion I turned the bird out, as a last chance, to lower its temperature. It was
111 a corner of my Bird-room on the ground, puffed up and with its face turned
o he wall evidently dying. On taking it in my hand and blowing aside the
feathers I found the abdomen red and inflamed; the bird was extremdy hot and
evidently suffering from rather acute enteritis.
It seemed rather rough treatment, but I took that bird outside, put him into
my coldest aviaiy; where, at the time, the thermometer registered several degrees
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