228 TliP Nesting of the Indian White-eye. 



the nest when eleven days old, and are competent to fend for 

 themselves when about twenty-six days old. 



I had a look at the fledgelings twice daily, and even 

 with this regularity there was a jialpable increase in 3ize 

 on each occasion. The newly hatched fledgelings were pink- 

 ish flesh colour, quite naked, without a trace of hair or 

 down, and very minute. For the first four days they were 

 fed entirely on flies, midges, Might, moths, and the like, which 

 the 'J)arent birds captured for them in the aviary, and for which 

 they were on the forage from sunrise to sunset, on the fifth 

 day they commenced to feed with small mealworms; alwut 

 every two hours I went into the aviary and gave each bird 

 three, which were first killed and then taken to their babies. 

 On the morning of the tenth day I observed them for the 

 first time taking fruit (banana and orange) to their chicks, 

 but they still fed with as much live food as they could capture 

 or I cared to supply. The parent birds carried the foeces 

 of the young several times round the aviary dropping it only 

 when their movements were obscured by the foliage. 



On the evening of July 17 (7 p.m.) I went across 

 to the nest to have my look and see how matters were pro- 

 gressing, when to my horror I found the nest empty, yet 

 at 6-30 I had seen the three gaping bills stretched above the 

 top of the ne5t " yelling blue-murder for grub." I searched 

 the long grass and the whole aviary but could not find a 

 ti-ace of, nor hear them, and it was a very anxious aviculturist 

 who locked up the aviary for the night and also wended his 

 way thitherward at 6 a.m. on the following morning. Anxiety 

 was soon stilled for three fine and apparently robust young 

 Indian Zosterops were disporting themselves for the first time 

 in an English aviary. 



In plumage the young resemble their parents, but are 

 a little greyer, and lack the white eye -ring — in other words the 

 juveniles do not wear spectacles.* I have omitted to say their 

 eyes were open on the morning of the fifth day. 



Adults : I have not handled the birds yet and have failed 

 to discover any dis-similarity in plumage between the sexes from my 

 aviary observations, yet the one which I take to be the male is 



*The eye ring- appeared very faint on the twenty-second 

 day and was as distinct ^nd clear as tliat of the adults three 

 days later, ^ • ' 



