Morning journal and courier., 1881-04-04
The Fire Finch.
A Bird of Beautifui PIumage.

[Translated from Brehms Animal Life.l The fire weaver, fire finch, or orange bird, ! is distinguished chiefly by it's plumage 1 which, in the breeding season, is peculiarly l soft and yelvsty, and, with the exception of 1 the wings and tail feathers, is black and | vivid red. The other characteristics are a ! short cenical bill, whose edges are slightly l curved toward the point, feet provided with strong claws, the wings reaching down to 1 the middle of the tail, the first quill feathers being very small and short, while the four following ones are nearly equal, and short I slightly rounded tail.
 Aside from the breeding season the male and female wear modest sparrow-colored garment Toward the breeding season the plumage of the male changes completely, not only in respect to the coloring, but also in respect to the quality of the feathers. Only the wing and tail feathers retain their
 usual character. At this time the male bird
 is of a velyety black upon the upper part of
 the head and breast, dark brown upon the
 wings with pale brown marking, tho other
 parts being n brilliant scarlet. The new
 tail feathers grow to such length to
 nearly conceal the old ones. The pupil of
 the eye is brown, the bill black, the feet vel
 Jewish brown. The female is the color of a
 sparrow upon the upper side, yellowish
 brown underneath, the throat being lighter.
 There is Q yellow stripe over the eye; the
 bill and feet are the color of horn The
 length of this bird is nearly inches; length
 of the wings, 21 inches; and of the tail, little
 more than l ] inches.
 The fire finch inhabits the durra fields In
 regions abounding in water from Central
 Nubia to the depths of inner Africa. It
 prefers cultivated regions under all circum-
 stances to uncultivated. durra field is it's
 paradise. from which it can only be driven away with difficulty. It's habits are more like the reed bird than like the other
 weaver birds. Like them it climbs dexter ously. up and down the grass like stalks, slides upon the rush grass to the ground, and when in danger like the reed bird, conceals itself among the thickest of the stalks. After the fields which have given it shelter during the breeding season are harvested, this bird, with others of it's species makes raids about the country. The fire finch is notable for it's sociability AL though the males are excited to sing at the same time, they seldom come into contest. There exists among them the most harmless kind of rivalry, and they appear to enjoy each others society. Their nests are skillfully woven together, but are built more simply than those of the other weaver birds. They are held up by the grass stalks, but not suspended from them, and are par tially, sometimes wholly, concealed by the high tufts of grass between the stalks of the durra. In form and size they differ from each other; some are round and some elongated. OpOu da average LuSlr l0uBtu 1b IEOm s6NSu to eight inches The walls are lattice-ike, and so loosely joined together that the beau tfful blue eggs may be seen through them. There are from three to six eggs in 8 nest. Often from ten to twelve of these nests are found near together. It is thought that the female alone sets upon the eggs, but it can not be asserted with certainty The young fly before the durra is harvested, and after the birds have left their nest they collect themselves into large focks and become plague to the country In order to protect their grain the poor Nubians are obliged to keep constant watch over their crops dur ing the whole day.
 The fire finch is often found in our bird market, but is often passed by by those not familiar with it, because it has on it's beautiful plumage only few months in the year. In cages it is kept upon the custom ary food, and with proper care will breed in ihem.