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evening the young lien (now 75 days old) was seen on the nest

and the following morning it contained two eggs. This nest was

was, however, deserted before the eggs were due to batch but one

contained a young bird. Surely it is most unusual for a bird so

young to breed? I have taken care not to let her nest again.

The old pair of Diamond Doves hatched and reared a third

young one in September.


A pair of Redrump Parrakeets have only reared one

young bird—a male—now a very tine fellow. The} 7 were quite

ready to commence breeding in February, but their present

abode could not be got ready for them before May. They should

do better next year if all goes well.


The Chinese Quails made a nest in the grass—a slight

hollow in the ground scantily lined with hay—and the hen

laid six eggs, all of which hatched on August 1st, incubation

having lasted 19 or 20 days. The chicks when first hatched were

remarkably pretty little things, striped dark brown and buff, and

so tiny were they, and so fast did they run that they really

reminded one more of large insects than of birds; indeed so

small were they that I deemed it advisable to promptly remove a

pair of Sacred Kingfishers (Halcyon sanctaj to another compart¬

ment in case they should take them for some new kind of beetle,

and swallow them whole. They were all successfully reared,

chiefly upon fresh ants’ cocoons and the large winged ants that

are found in ants’ nests, and of which they seemed particularly

fond ; they seemed rather afraid of the ordinary “worker” ants.

Curiously enough these six little Quails which are now in full

plumage have all turned out to be cocks. The old pair went to

nest again, laying as before six eggs, two of which were

accidently broken before I had any idea of a second nest. Four

chicks appeared on September 14th, but one of these somehow

choked itself with a feather (I have it now, stuffed). The other

three are now a nice size, but I cannot yet tell for certain to

which sex they belong, but I believe they are hens.(a) Can it be

that two clutches of eggs are usually produced in the season by

this species, the first producing mostly males and the second

females? It does not seem to be known for certain whether, in

a wild state, the common Painted Quail breeds twice a year or

only once. Mr. Hume, quoted in Mr. Ogilvie-Grant’s “Handbook

to the Game-birds,” writes of this species : “I have reason to

suspect that they may breed twice a year, but the matter is still

doubtful, as the different periods at which we have found the



(«). They have turned out to be two hens and a cock.



