108 Virginian Nightingales 



I again experimented with a pair of Virginian nightin- 

 gales, by letting them have their freedom in the garden, 

 and again, as in the former case, their behaviour was 

 the same. 



The nest which was built — which is now in the 

 Rothschild Museum at Tring Park, with its three 

 e gg S — W as placed in a box hedge bordering one of the 

 shrubbery paths. 



Unfortunately a tremendous June thunderstorm,with 

 buckets of rain, seems to have been too much for the 

 poor hen bird ; and on the following morning I found 

 the nest deserted and soaked through, with the eggs 

 quite cold. 



The whole structure was carefully removed, and the 

 eggs equally carefully blown. 



In one there was a young bird, which ought to have 

 hatched in another two or three days. By dint of 

 leaving it out of doors where a colony of ants could 

 get to it, the egg-shell was finally cleared of its contents, 

 and the clutch of three safely preserved. 



As far as I know, these instances are the only ones 

 of Virginian nightingales nesting and breeding in full 

 freedom in England. 



Such experiments are most interesting, and might 

 possibly be successful with birds such as blue American 

 robins, and perhaps Pekin robins — the leiothrix of India 

 and the Himalayan mountains — green cardinals and 

 red-crested, as well as certain kinds of parakeets. 



