47 



times, but not one egg hatched. The eggs were blue 

 with black spots, very like a Canary's. 



At the end of June a cock Blackcap, which had 

 passed three years in the aviary and never molested 

 any other inmate, suddenly seemed to take leave of 

 his senses. He had two young hens with him, which 

 I caught in my garden in September, 1905, and one of 

 these he began to attack in the most furious manner. 

 In a few days he killed this hen outright and then 

 began to construct a nest in a low privet bush, in con- 

 junction with the other hen. The nest was one of the 

 frailest structures I ever saw, resembling the frame 

 work of a nest just commenced. 



Unfortunately the Chingolos (which I had removed 

 to the same division of the aviary) selected the same 

 time for nesting again, and the most furious conflicts 

 took place. As I had set my heart on breeding the 

 Chingolos I removed the cock Blackcap. The hen 

 sat very steadily on three eggs and I thought it quite 

 possible that she might rear the young single-handed 

 if well supplied with insect food. The day after she 

 hatched I went out, soon after daybreak, to see how 

 matters were progressing. A glance was sufficient to 

 show me that success was not to be mine. The bird 

 absolutely refused to feed with any insects I supplied 

 and was busily engaged in searching every leaf. As 

 soon as she found anything she took it at once to the 

 young birds ; in the meantime the young were getting 

 completely chilled. In two days they were all dead. * 



* If sprays of foliage infested with green fly and other bugs had been 

 stuck in the ground, and also in the bushes near at hand, they would 

 possibly have been reared. Maggots and smooth caterpillars, small beetles 

 etc., scattered over the foliage would also have helped towards a successful 

 result. Ed. 



