St. Quiniin : So))ic AviciiUitral Notes 167 



the covered part of the aviary, in which \vc llxcd iij) a large 

 hollow log. Without going into details now. which \ have 

 elsewhere recorded, I will onl}^ <,i\.y that in due course the birds 

 paired and took to the log, eggs were laid, and linally, to my 

 great satisfaction, young birds were heard clamouring for food. 

 And here a failure nearly occurred with the young, and a tragedy 

 between the parents could not be prevented. Whether we 

 showed too much interest in the event or not, suddenlj^ the hen 

 bird was seized with a blind fit of jealousy against her mate, 

 who w^as peaceable enough, poor fellow, and only too anxious 

 to do his duty by his family. But the excited \irago forgot her 

 nestlings, and thought of nothing but of bufteting and fighting 

 with her mate, who never oft'ered any resistance. The young 

 were in danger, so I removed the cock, and the mother instantly 

 went back to her duties. But it was the end of the beautiful 

 male. In another aviary he passed the greater part of two 

 ■days ceaselessly flying from perch to perch with food in his 

 beak, calling to the J^oung which were not there, and then 

 taking no food himself, pined and died. 



Pine-grosbeak. Of all the smaller hardy birds that one 

 can keep in a garden aviary, I think there is none more desirable 

 than the Pine-grosbeak. It is utterh- impervious to the 

 worst weather as one would expect, and is from the first ex- 

 tremely tame. Although, of course, it is always best, if one 

 can, to keep one breeding pair apart from others of the same 

 species. I have never known the Pine-grosbeak interfere with 

 any other kind of bird, even of the smallest. Another merit is 

 that the cocks, so far as my experience goes, retain their bright 

 colour, while, as is well known, males of Crossbills, Linnets 

 and Redpoles are apt to lose it at the first moult, and do not 

 regain it. Mr. Hugh Wormald, however, says that since he 

 has fed his Redpolls on the seeds of the Reed, they have kept 

 their colour. It probably is a question of health produced by 

 correct food, with fresh air and space for exercise. I have rpore 

 than once bred the Pine-grosbeak, though it had not been 

 previously done in this country. They made a substantial 

 and neat nest of dry spruce twigs, and lined it mostly with 

 •dead grass, and a little moss. 



The tameness of the brooding hen was very remarkable. 

 Of course we have all noticed how bold the sitting Bullfir^ch, 

 a very near ally of the Pine-grosbeak, often is. When the 

 nestlings were hatched, the female parent very sensibly availed 



1910 Apl. 1. 



