44 



ing her young, and the laborious and absolutely- 

 futile attempts of sundry lien Canaries to rear young 

 of various semi-insectivorous species (such as Chaf- 

 finches and Cirl Buntings) for me, I find it hard to 

 credit it. 



I transferred the Chingolos to a smaller aviary to 

 give them a better chance. 



Green Avadavats nested in the middle of April, 

 again rearing three young as in 1905. The young 

 have no stripes for the first two months: the stripes 

 then appear a few at a time, and generall}^ on one side 

 of the breast before the other. In this intermediate 

 plumage the young pass the winter, without further 

 change ; in the following spring they come into full 

 adult plumage. 



My old pair of Virginians were turned out by 

 themselves in a breeding pen (about 12 feet long by 8 

 feet high by 4^ feet deep) so that they might be sure 

 of getting enough insect food for the young. In 1905 

 they brought off three nests, and three young in each 

 nest, but only three young survived the moult owing, 

 as I thought, to insufficient live food. However, in 

 the breeding pen they did not do so well. In the first 

 place the)'' squabbled a good deal and, secondly, they 

 did not seem to be able to find a suitable site for the 

 nest. Finally the hen scraped a hollow in the ground 

 (surely an unique site for a Cardinal !), and there 

 hatched one youngster. As one would expect, it did 

 not thrive in such a situation, and quickly died of 

 cramp. I then put in an old Blackbird's nest for 

 them, on which foundation they built a superstructure 

 and hatched several more young, but only one sur- 

 vived (see plate). I have not been able to get any 

 results from breeding pens as yet, but am trying them 



