6a Fon-io-u Finchis in Captivity.
77/Í' Red-crcstcd Finch.
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tlie first time I put my hand over tlie Red-crested Fincli; even though he was ill,
he managed to slide through luv fingers; and, being in moult at the time, left all
his tail feathers on the sand: the second time, n y bird was Avell up the wire and
just turning to leap on to the perch when I got fairlj- hold of him.
In December the second of my specimens, already adverted to at the commencement
of the present article, became decidedly ill; his difficulty of breathino"
ceased to yield to remedies, this was followed b_\' cramp and ended fatall\- on
Christmas morning: the third bird also showed symptoms of pneumonia which
eventually terminated in death on the loth January- 1894, and one of the Pileated
Finch hens became dull and listless, in consequence probably of the damp cold
nights, although the temperature of their cage up to the middle of December can
rarely have been far under 60 degrees Fahr., it died at the end of the month.
Coryphospinous crisfafus is a very wasteful bird, he will jump right into a
saucer of seed and scatter it far and wide, after the manner of a Goldfinch or
Siskin: then having thrown the whole over on to the sand, he will hop about at
his leisure and select his favourite seeds: doubtless it is more natural to him to
pick up his food upon the sand, but it is not conducive to his health to do so in
a confined area. Even the use of seed-hoppei's will not avail, for a wasteful
bird will stir away at these until they are empty, as I have repeatedly observed in
my a\-iaries.
It has been suggested by some fanciers that, if each kind of seed is given in
a separate receptacle, the birds \vill eat steadily \\'ithout waste. Ibrfortunately
birds are like babies, they are not greatly given to reflection; therefore they do
not recognize the fact that each dish is distinct from 'the other. Let these
plausible theorisers tr}- the experiment and they will discover the fact, that a
wasteful bird will always scatter his seed; whereas, such birds as the Bluish-Finch
and its near allies ; the Cow^-birds, and manv* Parrakeets, not only eat without waste,
but drop all the husks into the food pan; until the seed is so completely hidden,
that they are compelled to stir it over in order to feed at all.
Dr. Rnss mentions the fact that several pairs of this species have been
imported since 1880 and states that "according to Dr. Frenzel, it is strong and
long-lived, quiet and tranquil, the song sounds like 'tsjic iviciü' often repeated."
I make it "we tivo", not fsce vicio-, but perhaps there may be little variations in
the initial sounds of the soft notes uttered by different individuals of the species;
moreover the song is so low that, in the vicinity of other louder-voiced birds, it
must be listened for to be noticed at all: it is rather plaintive in tone and would
give one the impression that the bird was unhappy; but so would that of the
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Parson-Finch, one of the most self-satisfied and jolliest little rascals in the whole
feathered world.
Mr. Horatio R. Fillmer wrote in January 1894 respecting a .specimen of
C. iV'/.vA,/,« which he obtained in 1893, as follows:—"I bought my bird from Mr.
Dash wood of Beccles last Ma_y; Mr. Dashwood disposed of him because he was
too quarrelson,e to keep with his other birds, and at his age (86 or 87) he cannot
be troubled with more than one or two cages to attend to."
" T h e bird \\-as purchased from A^ro^vsmith, of Blackwall Pier, in the Autumn
of^ 1892, in wretched condition, and was called by him a 'South American
Crimson Finch.'"
"Mr. Dashwood got him through the moult with great difficulty and fed him
too liberallj. on soft food. He told me that he fed him on 'millet and canary
seed, and a teaspoonful of Abrahams' "Food for Insectivorous birds in a little tin,
besides two or three mealworms daily.' But I found that he would scarcely touch
canary or white millet and onl}- a very little spraj' millet; and, rather than let him
star\'e, I had to feed him chiefly on preserved egg and mealworms. I did all I
could to get him to take more seed, but he would not; and the too liberal supply
of animal food of course disagreed with him and he died of inflammation of the
bowels."
" I t was a very tame bird and would take mealworms or flies from the fingers;
we never ga\-e flies in any other ^^-ay; it was prodigiously fond of them. It was
certainl3- less li^-el3- than the Pileated Finch; it seldom displayed its crest. I was
very fond of it and its death much distressed me."
It was a ne^\- fact to me that the Red-crested Finch was quarrelsome; in the
cage with my three, when imported, there were three Bluish-Finches, a Siskin and
an Argentine Safl-ron-Finch; the exception of the last mentioned, I kept all
together for a da3- or two; but noticed nothing in the nature of a dispute: subsequently,
however, the Red-erested Finches only had Pileated Finches as companions;
and with tliese they agreed perfectly.
The above noted quarrelsome behaviour may have been due to t^vo causes,
either an individual of a species maj- be exceptionally bad tempered; or there may
be some particular species to whieli it has a deep-seated inborn aversion; as, for
instance,^ the American Nonpareil has to the Indigo Finch. Probably, in the'case
of Mr. Fillmer's bird, the ill-temper was in part due to a disordered liver, sinee it
refused its natural seed diet.
The male is illustrated from living .specimens formerly in the author's possession
and the details filled in from their skins after death.
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