502 Mr. J. I. S. Whitaker on the Breeding 



XLII. — On the Breeding of the Purple GaUinule in Captivity. 

 By Joseph I. S, Whitaker. 



The following account of the breeding in captivity of the 

 Purple Gallinule [Porphyria cceruleus Vandelli) may be of 

 interest to some of the readers of ' The Ibis/ being, so far as 

 I am aware, the first recorded instance of such an occurrence ; 

 notwithstanding that the species is easily domesticated, and 

 in fact may be occasionally seen in a Sicilian poultry-yard, 

 living in perfect harmony with the common barn-door fowl. 



For some years past I have been in the habit of keeping 

 several of these birds in an enclosure in my garden near 

 Palermo, but until last year no attempt at nesting had taken 

 place among them ; and I was beginning to give up all hope 

 of the birds breeding, when one day in April last I discovered 

 a nest with three eggs in it. After a fortnight's incubation, 

 however, for some reason or other unknown to me, this nest 

 was deserted, and I found but one of the eggs remaining, 

 the other two having probably been destroyed by the birds 

 themselves. 



A second attempt at nesting occurred in the early summer 

 of last year, during my absence from Sicily, and this time 

 with a satisfactory result, three young birds being hatched 

 and successfully brought up. According to my gardener, 

 who had the charge of these birds, incubation in this instance 

 commenced about the beginning of July, and lasted between 

 three and four weeks. The young birds, which are now 

 about eight months old, are scarcely distinguishable from the 

 adults. 



A third case of nidification has but recently occurred in 

 my little colony of Purple Gallinules, and, having taken place 

 in mid-winter, is for that reason all the more remarkable. 

 As I have myself been able personally to observe and follow 

 the different phases of this case from beginning to end, 

 I think it worth while to describe them in detail, hoping 

 that the interest attaching to the facts may be sufficient 

 justification for my prolixity. Before proceeding further, 

 however, I may mention that the enclosure in which the 



