55



On the Nesting of the Red- Whiskered Bulbul.


ADDITIONAL NOTES ON THE NESTING OF

THE RED-WHISKERED BULBUL.


Otocompsa jocosa.


By Maurice Amseer, M.B., F.Z.S.


I feel sure that Napoleon of aviculturists Mr. Teschemaker

will not resent my supplementing his notes on the breeding of

the Red-Whiskered Bulbul.


I obtained two birds—probably from the same importation

as Mr. Teschemaker’s—in 1909; they were much alike, but one

was longer and slimmer than the other and, moreover, much more

noisy. I labelled this bird a cock, the shorter and plumper bird I

thought was a female and marked with a ring.


It is owing to this precaution that I am able to publish

what I hope are a few unknown facts about the species. During

the whole of 1909 the birds spent their time together with a few

Cardinals and made no attempt at breeding; they spent the

winter out of doors without heat, and appeared to be as hardy

as Sparrows.


On the first of May this year I saw the cock trying to

build on a small feeding shelf, and as the aviary they were in

was at that time very crowded, I removed the Bulbuls to another

smaller enclosure, about 7ft. square ; here all attempts at nesting

ceased. On May iotli I transferred them to an aviary, 18ft. by

6ft., where they at once began to persecute a pair of Virginian

Cardinals, which I had to remove. On May 20th the cock

began building again, this time in a covered travelling cage

which I had fixed in a Poplar tree. Fibrous roots were the only

material employed at first, but on the 23rd the hen took matters

in hand, lined the nest with hair and laid her first egg on the

25th; she started sitting on three eggs, but laid a fourth 011 the

28th. At first things looked rather hopeless, as she came off at

the slightest alarm ; as time went on she became steadier, but

would never stay on when anyone passed the aviary.


On June 7th there was a heavy thunderstorm, and the hen

bird was off the nest most of the day. She behaved better on the

following day and hatched out her first and only chick on the

-9th of June. One egg had disappeared, one turned out to be



