08 Heer F. E. Blaauw on the 



female took her daily round in quest of food. In due course 

 five black-and-white chicks were hatched, which have all 

 reached maturity. 



Cereopsis chicks are very hardy and are well tended by 

 their parents. They feed chiefly on young grass, while 

 bread and, at a later period, buckwheat are welcome 

 additions. 



The first plumage of the young closely resembles that of 

 the adults. The grey, however, is of a still more delicate 

 shade and the round black marks on the wing-coverts are 

 more numerous and more conspicuous. The legs, which 

 are of a lead-colour at first, soon acquire the black-and-piuk 

 markings of the adult — after having passed through a greenish 

 stage. The young birds moult their first plumage when 

 about six months old. The flight- and tail-feathers, however, 

 are retained until the second moult in the following year. 



The next birds to lay eggs in 1903 were a pair of Sandwi'h- 

 Island Geese (Ncocliea sandvicensis), a specie- which lias 

 become extremely rare in 1 Europe of late years. These birds 

 are kept at Gooilust in a small grass-grown enclosure, with 

 plenty of shrubs and a wooden shed in it. As they arc 

 not happy in the frost and snow, I have them shut up in 

 the shed every night after winter has set in. One good 

 result of this arrangement is that the birds usually build a 

 nest in the hay which covers the floor, and this make- it 

 possible to protect them and their eggs from the cold 

 weather that often prevails at the early season -when they 

 are accustomed to lay. 



Last February five eggs were laid. These were all hatched, 

 aud during the whole time of incubation the male was 

 constantly on the watch beside the female, running with great 

 fury at everyone who came near. 



The chicks are of a dark olive-green, darker on the head 

 and back and whitish on the under parts. The tips of the 

 wings are nearly white, the hill and legs black. 



These birds grow very quickly, so that at the age of about 

 nine weeks the wings have to be cut to prevent them from 

 flying away. 



