295 



The parent birds never seemed to trouble themselves about a few stray 

 chicks, two or three seemed to content them. 



By Sept. 7th the two young were nearly full grown, not being quite 

 as large as the old cock bird. The two young figured in this issue died, 

 one upon the 6th, and the other on the morning of the Sth was found dead- 



The hen started laying again on August 25th, and sat until the eggs 

 became addled, although one egg was cracked in a circle by the chick 

 inside. 



Rain Quait, (Co/umix coromandelica). Finding that my hen Rain 

 Quail always left her eggs after a few days of incubation, probably owing to 

 the presence of the cock bird, I bought a bantam hen and put the clutch of 

 eggs, seven in number, under her on August 7th, 1904. 



On the morning of the 23rd, before 10 a.m., two chicks were hatched, 

 but one had completely disappeared, only leaving the egg shell behind. 

 This makes the period of incubation only 15 days and some odd hours. 



The next morning, the 14th, at about the same hour I found the 

 remaining chick dead in a very draughty passage between the nesting place 

 and the outside run. 



It seemed to have died from cold sometime during the night ; its age 

 cannot be greater than twenty-four hours. None of the other eggs hatched. 



This is written from notes taken at the time. 



I may as well add, that previously a friend gave me a bantam, under 

 which I placed four Rain Ouail eggs, these were more than six weeks old, 

 but I do not remember now how much older. None of these hatched, 

 each contained a more or less developed bird; the last one died about 

 three or four days before hatching. This amply demonstrates that the 

 germ can live for at least six weeks without incubation. 



Jgfcitorial. 



AN INTERESTING HYBRID. ST. Hki.Kna Shedkatkr X 

 Canary. As already noted in this Journal {page 46 of anient vol.) Captain- 

 J. S. Reeve has reared this uncommon cross in his aviary, unfortunately the 

 bird recently died and has been set up by Rowland Ward, Ltd. ; Captain 

 Reeve kindly instructing them to send it on to me for inspection. It is a 

 handsome hybrid, in shape it is a typical Canary, and its plumage has been 

 but little modified by its mixed parentage, it is more by indications than by 

 actual similarity, that the Seedeater parentage is recognised. The upper 

 surface on which most of the traces of the Seedeater are to be found is 

 much browner than is the case with its male parent; these however are not 

 the only traces, others are to be found in the deeper yellow bases (almost 

 obscured) of the feathers of the undersurface, nape, mantle and lower back, 

 which portions are pale yellow, almost buff. The markings of the plumage 



