All rights reserred. September, 1911 



BIRD NOTES: 



THE 



JOURNAL OF THE FOREIGN BIRD CLUB. 



The Aviaries and Birds at Hoddam Castle. 



By Wesley T. Page, F.Z.S., etc. 

 Continued from page 234. 

 I cannot leave the Paradiseidce without quoting from 

 two letters recently received from Mr. Brook, referring to 

 the Rifle Bird and Princess Stephanie's Birds of Paradise. 

 The Rifle Bikd : 



' The Eifle Birds laid three times in all, two eggs each 

 " time and all were broken. They then built two nests, one in 

 " the inner house, and the other in the lliglit. I shall leave 

 " the. nests where they are in tlie hoi>e that they nuiy use 

 "one of them next year." 



The Princess Stephanie's B. of P. : 



" One hen Asimcfna sicpJuamcB had to be ])laced in an 

 " aviary by herself, as she would not permit the cocit to feed. 

 " She seemed to be in breeding condition, while the male was 

 " coming into moult. She has buUt a firm nest in her compart- 

 " ment, but has not laid." 



Three days later Mr. Brook writes as follows : 



" The hen stepJianue has laid an egg. The egg is long 

 " and large, larger tiian a rook's egg I should say and more 

 "oval in shape; the ground colour is buff and it is heavily 

 " marked with brown and purple blotches. The nest is a rough 

 "rather loose structure, and is hnilt in the inner part of the 

 " aviaiy. It is placed on a natur;d branch at the end, where 

 " that is fastened to the wall. It is composed of a (ew birch 

 "twigs and a quantity of the bamboo twigs and leaves; ;a 

 " very little moss has been used but, the nest is practically 

 " unlined." 



" Unfortunately this egg will be useless for reproduction, 

 '' as the male was in full moult when the hen came into breeding 

 "condition; they had to be separated about six weeks ago, 

 "to save the life of the male. The hen was so vicious."' 



Disappointing as these abortive attempts have been, 



they are full of promise for next season, and it is distinctly 



