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but one thought—how best to increase and multiply the species;

and she pursued her self-appointed task with so much zeal and

perseverance that, if she had had a proper mate, my aviary would

have been well-nigh filled with Rosy-faces. She never now

carried nesting materials in her beak or amidst the feathers of

the thigh ; she never made use of any material for her nest but

the bark of living trees, so long as she had the run of the wilder¬

ness ; and when shut off from her chosen trees she fell upon

those in the other aviary as far as they would go, occasionally

taking tiny strips from the perches, but never touching hay or

straw, nor picking up any stuff of any kind from the ground.

Artificial nesting places of every kind—logs, barrels, cocoa-nut

husks—all were ignored ; and for many a day did the pair pursue

their hunt for a suitable spot in which to build, evidently attaching

the greatest importance to this point. The cracks and crevices

they squeezed themselves into and explored were marvellous ;

for a time a chink between two cages in the bird-room, where a

slight ledge afforded walking space for a mouse, seemed to be

the nearest approach to what they desired—but as there was not

anything to lay the eggs upon, just a clear drop of some three

feet to the floor, the place was reluctantly abandoned ; but not

until after the happy pair had passed several very uncomfortable

nights hanging on by their eyelids did they wholly desert it.

Eventually they found a spot in the garden, which in some

respects evidently pleased them. Between the ceiling and roof of

one of the sheds there was an empty space several feet in length

and breadth, and some three or four inches high along the

highest part. Into this they managed to force an entrance

through a hole barely large enough to admit a mouse or a Blue

Tit, and there during the summer the busy little lady gathered

together a large mass of prepared bark. During the colder

months, when confined to the house at night, they found a very

similar place in the bird-room, with an entrance hole no other

bird could make use of, and there, also, the lady piled up a

marvellous stock of material ; for on most days in the autumn

and spring they were let out into the garden for a fly, and also

during the winter on mild days ; but, of course, this second and

more permament nesting-place had not been sought out and

adopted until after I had closed up the entrance to the first.

They seemed to have a decided predilection in favour of making

use of the same nest time after time ; but as the female practi¬

cally never ceased working, even when sitting rarely failing to

carry home a load when returning from a fly, the size of the nest

was ever on the increase. I may mention that I never succeeded



