2?-


November the lien was i;a gain sitting, but not rsteadiiy and tlrer


cold, nights soon drove her from the nest. : •:.■}?,


This species ;has been bred by at least two avieiilturists'M "


Germany:-' ■■ ''■■n.: v- .■•-.: . ■ ^::':;


/SEMI-DOMESTICATED MOORHENS.


By Chas. lyOUis Hett. ..;."„


■ I have a small pond very near to. ni}^ house, so near tha^;

the Moorhens, from neighbouring water would never have taken-;

possession of it of their own accord. With the view of establish- :>

ing them, three years since I obtained some half-dozen pinioned-;

young ones, and kept them in a fruit cage'" not far from the water,,

until the ensuing spring. While in the cage, I accustomed;

them to take wheat from a Pheasant feeder, weighted so as to lift

easily. After they;were set at libertj^, the presence of some men,)

who were working close to, the pond, frightened them all away;.;

En passant, I may remark thatj in my opinion, they would have.:

remained if some faggots had been immersed, close to the bank,>

Under which they could have concealed^ themselves ,wi:thont;)

leaving the water. I afterwards had two refuge? ' made of;;

branches, etc., so that the birds are never far from cover. ; ;:

;..... The next autumn I obtahied another consignment of

5^oung ones, and kept them in the cage until the spring. During--

the severe weather one of the previous batch returned, and'^

remained about, with an absence of five days in the spring,,

until the new-comers were liberated. It had made friends;

through the wires, and quickly mated when the cage-door was.-

left.open. During 1896 the. couple reared two broods. About^

the first week in October great commotions were heard in the"

pond, and all but one of the young disappeared, apparently,

driven away by the old ones. The remaining young one left this-,

spring. This year I took regular notes of the nesting operations, ,

a resimie oi which may, I think, interest the members. .■ ■: ■


• On the i6th of February my favourites were flirting. The^

next morning, although frosty, one of them was seen carrying ;

building material in its beak from the little island to the nearest'

covert. The next day the rudiments of a nest were seen on,

the island. The male-bird had, for the past fortnight, been very;

tame. From this time until the i8th of March the weather Was ;

very raw and disagreeable,, and the construdtion of the nest:

proceeded-;:in a very desultory manner. The first egg appeared-

on- the 19th ;of March, and others followed dailj'i until the seventh ';


* • A large cag-e-like a'rra'ngenlent in which fruit is growil to protect it from the birds.— Ed, "



