Identifier: birdnotes07fore (find matches)
Title: Bird notes
Year: 1902 (1900s)
Authors: Foreign Bird Club National British Bird and Mule Club
Subjects: Birds -- Periodicals Birds -- Great Britain Periodicals
Publisher: Brighton : Foreign Bird Club : National British Bird and Mule Club
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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with Blue and Grey Dutch Rabbits is stillcloser. The pure white Bengalese is sometimes spoken of as athird form, but it is really only an extreme development of oneof the others. This white form is seldom seen, at any rate inEurope, but there seems no reason why it should not, by carefulselection, become more or less fixed, and in time fairl) common,though it is to be expected that, as in the case of the White JavaSparrow, only a small proportion would be bred true to colour. The Bengalese is no songster, for though he expends a lotof energy on the production of his few notes, they are very faintand not at all musical. Nevertheless his quaint confiding waysare attractive. He is fairly easy to breed, and success is bestobtained hy placing one pair in a cage or small aviary withoutother occupants. The nest is built in a closed receptacle, suchas a cocoa nut husk or a cigar box. Soft hay, and a little hair
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from a Canary nest bag, or a few feathers, will suffice for nestingmaterial. The birds are very tame, and are at least as indifferentas Canaries are to observation or interference. The voting can be reared perfectly well on seed and greenfood, but crumbled sponge cake ma) be supplied, and crushedbiscuit. Egg food is undoubtedly dangerous, and I well remem-ber losing a fine nest of four or five young Bengalese from amysterious disease which I now believe to have been broughtabout by its use. There is no reliable means of distinguishing cocks fromhens except by the song of the males. In the absence of afemale, a cock Bengalese will often sing to another male,—so ifone has a couple and one sings to the other, it is not safe toassume that they are a pair. This bird readily interbreeds withnearly allied forms. I have bred several hybrids between itand the Silverbill, all of which resemble the Silverbill more thanthe other parent. There is usually little success in breeding Bengalese in a

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