THE TUTI 279 



and uses it i»^henever available. In the 

 aviary of Dr. Russ, the Tuti once reared 

 a brood. The nest was placed tolerably 

 high up in a thick bush against the 

 wall, and was formed of flowering heads 

 of reeds, soft strips of paper and thread 

 with a lining of horse hair. Tho nests 

 are so slender as to be semi-transparent 

 when held up to light. 



The bird sometimes lays four eggs, 

 usually five, and occasionally an addition- 

 al egg goes to form the clutch. The eggs 

 hatch out in twelve days. They vary 

 a good deal in shape from regular to 

 broad ovals, but all are a good deal 

 pointed towards the small end and there 

 is little gloss on them. The ground- 

 colour is a pale clear blue — of a deeper 

 hue than the colour of the eggs of an 

 English Bull-Finch. The markings are 

 lew and wholly confined to the broad 

 end ; these are either good-sized spots 

 and specks or a few hair4ike lines, 

 their colour being either chocolate, inky 



