173



THE BREEDING SEASON OF 1896.


By J. Lewis Bonhote.


This year’s breeding season being completely over, one is

able to look back and refledt more calmly on one’s successes

and failures ; and to see the cause of the failures, and, perhaps,

h>y the experience gained to discover a remedy. Personally, my

failures have been far more numerous than my successes ; this

may, however, partly be accounted for by the fine weather which

we had at the beginning of the year causing many birds to pair

up, which, under ordinary conditions, would have made no

attempts to breed. I will, however, briefly run through the

events in rotation.


On the 21st of March, my Wild Ducks began to lay,

being a good fortnight earlier than last year. Ten eggs were

laid, 011 which the old duck sat well, her drake being in

constant attendance near her. The nest was a hollow in the

centre of a common rush, and was lined with hay, down being

subsequently added as incubation proceeded.


Two pairs of Black-headed Gulls paired up towards the

end of March. They were continually running round each

other holding their heads either high up in the air or near the

ground, and incessantly uttering a hoarse cry. The} 7 did not,

however, nest; nor did a Herring Gull, which paired up with a

Lesser Black-backed Gull.


Two Green Plovers also paired up about this time ; they

were both very pugnacious towards the other birds in the aviary,

jealously guarding a small mound. Whenever one was engaged

in a fight his (or her) mate would invariably come up and give

assistance. The cock would frequently go to the mound and call

the hen ; on her approach he would squat, spread out his wings

and tail, and pluck up the grass, throwing it over his back. The

hen would occasionally pick up the grass, and after toying with

it throw it away. What the result might have been I was not

destined to know, as the rats shortly afterwards killed the male

bird and the hen did not long survive him.


On the 1st of April, the Bearded Tits were observed to be

very busily carrying about the tops of the reeds which are in

their aviary. They hollowed out a cup-shaped hole in the

ground and lined it with reed-tops. The building was entirely

carried on by the hen, while materials were brought by the cock.

On the 14th the first egg was laid. The clutch contained seven

eggs, and as they refused to sit I removed the eggs and placed

them under a Canary. During April and May, they had two



