Abstract
TEE Bengalese Finch is a domesticated form of the Sharptailed Finch, Lonchura striata (Estrildidae), which has been kept in captivity for at least 200 years. The original stock probably came from southeast China and appears to have been domesticated by the Japanese, there being no apparent connection with Bengal (see Eisner, 1957). It is, I believe, a potentially most useful aboratory animal for it is extremely easy to keep, requires comparatively little space, and breeds freely and reliably all the year round. The present account is based on four years' work with the Bengalese in the Department of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy, Oxford, these results being obtained incidentally to a study of parental behavior in this species. I wish to acknowledge my debt to Professor Sir Alister Hardy and Dr. Niko Tinbergen for affording me the opportunity of working in Oxford, to the Nuffield Foundation for the purchase of apparatus and birds, and to Newnham College, Cambridge, and the Ford Foundation for personal grants.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
