50 Breedina of Uubrids. 



credit to the genus, as it is one of tiie few species in wliich 

 the plumage of the sexes is practically alike. 



,A full account of the successiul bi^eeding of the Grey- 

 winged Ouzel was written by our Editor, who was the firsti 

 to breed this interesting species, in " Bix'd Notes," Vol. VIII. 

 Hybrids between the 3 rey- winged Ouzel -j- Common 

 Blackbird, were bred by Dr. A. O. Butler, in 1905, " Avi- 

 cullural Magazine," Vol. II., N.S., and in \'ol. I. (Third 

 Series) of the same journal Mr. Thorniley gives tlie particu- 

 lars of his success with the Argentine Blackbird. 



Mr. W. E. Teschemaker also successfully bred the 

 Argentine Blackbird about the same time, and kindly pre- 

 sented me with his breeding hen, in 1911, and I determined 

 to try my luck at hybrids between her and the Grey -wing. 

 She was turned into an aviary for the winter with three males 

 and two females of the latter species, and they all agreed well 

 together until January, 1912, when she cliose one of the cock 

 Grey-wmgs for a mate and commenced to clear the aviary of pos- 

 sible rivals m the shape of the hen Grey -wings. She killed 

 one of them and would have killed the other if she had not 

 been promptly removed. 1 put her and one of the Grey-wings 

 into another aviary in Aijril 1912, but, I evidently had not 

 given her the mate of her choice, for at iirst she thrashed 

 him soundly and he often had to fly for his lifel She after- 

 wards appeared to become indifferent, g,nd as the weeks went 

 by I gave up hope of any hybrids. It was not until the 

 middle of June that she commenced to carry nesting material 

 about, finally selecting as a nesting site, a shallow 

 open box, nailed on the side of the shelter. A nest, of the 

 ordmary Blackbird type, was completed in three days, the 

 first egg was laid on June 19th, and with the third and last 

 one incubation commenced. The eggs were greenish -blue in 

 gjround colour, spotted rather sparingly over the whole sur- 

 face with reddish-brown and pale purple. All the eggs proved 

 fertile and hatched out on July 3rd; the naked nestlings wei'e 

 very similar to those of the Grey-winged Ouzel, having deep 

 flesh coloured skins, with yellowish down. The Arj;;entine 

 Blackbird proved to be a splendid mother. In spite of the 

 fact that she was rather excitable and very jealous of the 

 Grey -wing's attention to the nestlings, she herself was most 



