4 NESTING OF THE EAGLE OWL AT CROYDON. 



about, and I was then obliged to remove them to 

 another aviary. The nestlings proved to be male 

 and female, but unluckily the female choked herself 

 in November, 1870, with a rabbit-bone while feeding. 

 She measured sixty-five inches in extent of wing, 

 and weighed seven pounds and a half. The male, I 

 am glad to state, is now in perfect health and 

 plumage. The old pair went to nest very early in 

 the spring of 1872, laying their first egg on the 20th 

 of January., The second egg was laid on the 24th, 

 and the third was dropped in the outer compart- 

 ment of the aviary on the morning of the 27th. 

 This last, unfortunately, was slightly cracked and 

 useless. The other eggs also proved to be addled, 

 but the female continued to sit on them until the 

 12th of the present month, when she broke them, 

 apparently convinced that they were worthless. To 

 induce birds of this genus to breed in confinement, 

 it is always necessary to have the cage or aviary 

 adapted to the habits of the species kept, and on 

 no account must the birds be disturbed in any way 

 during the period of incubation. The aviary in 

 which my eagle owls are confined consists of a large 

 outer space, covered with wirework, containing 

 some tree-stumps and branches as perches, with a 

 small wooden building attached, closely roofed in, 

 furnished with a door that can be shut in two parts, 

 so that when the lower half is fastened the hen 



