372



Mr. W. E. Teschemaker,



observed that some of the fine spray was falling on the nest, and

at once returned to the latter though I was only a few yards

away. On the 14th, we had a night frost of sufficient severity to

blacken the potatoes.


By the 16th, the young seemed to have cast a good deal of

down and on the following day some small feathers were showing

on the wings which, as in the case of D. luscinia, were greyish ;

on other parts of the body they were bare. On the 18th, they

were showing some feathers on the dorsal tract, and on Coronation

Day the first young Sprosser left the nest.


The old birds showed great anxiety for its safety and upon

the smallest indication of danger continuously uttered a very

shrill, high-pitched whistle which might be rendered “ tseet-

tseet.” Their anxiety, however, seemed to me singularly un¬

necessary, for the young Sprossers were adepts in the art of

taking cover. Their dark brown plumage, mottled with yellowish

spots, harmonised remarkably well with some bay shrubs in

which they generally perched and, if dislodged from this strong¬

hold, one would hear a scuttling among the dead leaves and

would perhaps catch a fleeting glimpse of some brown shadows

streaking away in the direction of the bamboo jungle. When

asking for food they would utter a subdued “ chik-chik,” and

their parents would respond with a resonant “ cur-r-r.”


O11 the 26th, I succeeded in cornering one and examined it.

The wings and tail were a very dark brown, darker than the

immature plumage of D. luscinia and without any trace of red;

the yellowish spots were also more symmetrically arranged—the

lower back and flanks having almost the appearance of barring—

and the upper breast showing distinct striations.


On the 27th the adult male, who had ceased singing after

the j^oung left the nest, piped up again and both parents sunned

themselves lazily, evidently feeling that their anxieties were over

and success in sight. It is remarkable what heat the Sprosser

can stand ; the old birds could be seen sunning and apparently

enjoying themselves when the thermometer registered 120° Falir.

(in the sun) and other birds were gasping in the shade. Still, as

we have seen, many of them winter under or near the Equator.


In the early days of July—the week of the great heat wave



