Correspondence.


CORRESPONDENCE, NOTES, ETC.



341



NESTING OF BICHENOS.


Sir, —I do not know if it is of any interest to the members if I

mention that a pair of Bichenos have nested successfully in a large cage in

our dining room and four fine young ones have left the nest and are flying

about. This was the second attempt. They hatched out one young one

about five weeks ago but would not feed it, and immediately laid another

clutch. They brought up the young ones practically on Trowel’s “ Cecto ”

in addition to seed and lettuce. L. J. HE'iT.KY.



NESTING OF PRINCESS STEPHANIE’S BIRD OF PARADISE.


Aslrapia Stephanies.


Sir,—A hen Aslrapia stephanice has built a nest and laid an egg in

my aviary.


The egg is long and large, being larger than a Rook’s egg I should

say, and more oval in shape.


The ground colour is buff and is heavily marked with brown and

purple blotches.


The nest is a rough, rather loose structure and is built in the inner

part of the aviary and placed on a natural branch where that is fastened to

the wall. It is composed of a few birch twigs and a quantity of thin

bamboo shoots and leaves.


Very little moss has been used and the nest is practically unlined.

Unfortunately this egg will be useless for reproduction as the male was in

full moult when the lieu came into breeding condition, they had to be

separated to save the life of the male bird, the lieu was so vicious.


E. J. Brook.



BREEDING OF QUEEN ALEXANDRA PARRAKEETS.


Spathopterus alexandree.


Sir, —I have just had a very great disappointment ! There was one

beautiful young bird in a hollow log, hatched on or about the 25th of July,

and on the 9th of August I found it dead, nibbled by some Parrakeet;

perhaps one of its own species, jealous at not having succeeded as well as

the parents of the young bird. It was just beginning to feather, the bright

“sunny” green of the wing-coverts showing quite plainly, and it was a

finely-grown bird too.


All through the summer, the females have been desirous to breed, and

certainly four out of the five have laid eggs, and the two males have been

seen constantly to mate with more than one female ; so that I had every

reason for hoping. I can only console myself with the fact that I am the



