334 PET BIRDS OF BENGAL 



time in hurling loud abuses at each other. When- 

 ever the first cock bird flew to the wire-nettings 

 the bolder female would fly up to its side and 

 whistle, as if to attract it away from its rival 

 hen. At last the persistent attentions of the 

 bolder female overcame the cock's dislike for 

 her. The shy hen in the adjacent cc)m{)artment 

 responded, in the meantime, to the second cock's- 

 wooing and made up a good match. In a short 

 while both pairs began to build nurseries for 

 their coming offspring. 



The first cock chose an aperture in the wall 

 and began to enter it frequently on the 22nd 

 April 1923. On the 3rd May the hen was 

 noticed to follow suit. On the 14th she began 

 to carry cocoanut fibres. A semi-circular wall 

 of these fibres was built up around a corner of 

 the selected aperture, leaving some space in the 

 middle. The eggs were laid here on bare floor^ 

 no padding being used. 



The cock used to indulge in frequent displays 

 about this time. He would crane his neck forward 

 and sing with all his might after swelling him- 

 self out. On the 13th June the hen laid the first 

 egg. In the next two days she completed a 

 clutch of three. I left her two eggs to hatch. 

 On the 27th the first young came out and the 



