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Dr. Maurice Amsler,



obviously did not want, so making the best of a bad job, two more

eggs were laid in the old nest on July 20th and 21st. The hen sat as

before, and again I found a half shell in the shelter on August 3rd.

On this occasion both birds, but especially the hen, fed the only

youngster hatched, and they used mealworms, gentles, small cock¬

roaches, ants’ eggs, and undiluted honey. The insects used were

swallowed after much ado and then regurgitated, and their method

of feeding was different to any that I have ever witnessed: it was

suggestive of a baby and a feeding-bottle. The masticated insect,

after having presumably been partly digested, was brought up and

offered to the chick, who gaped lustily, but instead of being crammed

in the usual way, the insect was repeatedly withdrawn from the

chick’s bill, from which I infer that he merely sucked the morsel and

obtained from it what liquid nourishment he could. It is possible

that the parents did not approve of the tough covering of the insects

I supplied, and that in their wild state they are able to find some less

pachydermatous insect than a mealworm or gentle; certain I am

that the young bird in my presence never received the outer covering

of any insect. On August 17th the chick was very restless, and

possibly committed suicide by jumping out of the nest. I found him

on the ground, and again a small bruise could be seen near the left

ear. He was a fortnight old and well quilled, with the green colour

quite evident on the back.


August 29th: Again two eggs, one of which disappeared

before September 8th, when another chick was hatched, which only

survived until the 17th. This last youngster showed no sign of

violence—in fact the male, who I feel sure killed the first two, was

twice found brooding the third chick, which the hen bathed and

dried herself. This may have been the result of remorse, but 1 rather

think it was due to the lateness of the season, and the fact that he

was no longer anxious to send his hen to nest again. I can therefore

bear him no ill-will, and must look upon the loss of the third chick as

a piece of ill-luck and nothing more.


The summer of 1911 was exceptionally hot, and to this was

due my partial success. The following year I moved to a new house

and aviaries and nothing happened. In July, 1913, two more eggs

were laid, which both proved to be clear, and thus ended another



