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domestication have so upset and altered their natural 

 habits that one never precisely knows what in any 

 given case is going to happen. Very often two of 

 these eccentric ladies will build together in one 

 basket or box — not that this would matter very much 

 if they would but take turns in incubation, but un- 

 fortunately they always sit together, which results in 

 the cup shape of the nest being destroyed, and of 

 course leads to the rolling of the eggs to the outside 

 edge and the consequent death of the embryons. 

 Once I possessed a hen which, in spite of her being 

 an excellent breeder, never managed to rear a single 

 young one to maturity, owing to her habit of feeding 

 them principally on mortar rather than on seed. 

 Many times I have watched her make journey after 

 journey from the nest to a bush nailed on the wall, 

 get her load of lime from between the bricks, and 

 then give it to her hungry youngsters ; and yet the 

 seed box was close to the bush, and (at that period of 

 my avicultural life) there was always fresh egg food 

 in the saucer. Three nests in one season did she 

 attempt to bring up on these novel lines : then I 

 constituted myself first coroner, and then judge, and 

 in the second capacity sentenced her to transportation 

 for the rest of her natural life as a punishment for her 

 infanticidal crimes. 



Polygyny among birds is well known ; only 

 occasionally is polyandry practised. It once hap- 

 pened that towards the end of the season for some 

 reason or other I put a hen Canary into an empty 

 aviary together with a couple of cocks, a Siskin and a 

 Redpoll. She went through the routine of nesting 

 and finally hatched two young birds, which turned 

 out to be respectively the progeny of both males. 

 The Siskin hybrid, unfortunately a hen, was one of 

 the best in both colour and style that I have ever 

 bred, although, as would be expected from its sex. 



