7



far as I could and also placed some more branches of box upon

the thinner parts at the top, so as to hide the eggs from prying

eyes of unfriendly feathered fowl. But no! after the hen bird

had sat out more than half her time, the eggs disappeared, and—

disappointment No. 2.


The Virginian Cardinals themselves seemed to lose less

heart than I did, for they actually commenced another nest

the day after they had lost their second hope of a brood, and,

experientia docens, they built their third nest in a holly tree of a

somewhat weeping growth, placing it in the under side of an

overhanging branch about 9ft. from the ground. Four eggs were

again laid and hatched on the 5th of August of the same year

(1885) in which the parents had escaped : but when the young

birds, which grew apace, were about a week old once more two

disappeared, evidently taken by a Jay or a Squirrel, for the nest

was rather demolished, so in despair the other two were carried

into the shelter of the house. . One was considerably larger than

the other, and it was this one that succumbed in a day or two,

either to injuries or indigestion ; the other bird, an ugly uncouth

little creature, was fed upon sopped bread and plenty of fruit—

strawberries, grapes, etc. He throve, and he turned out luckily

to be a male bird. I had him for several years in his splendid

scarlet plumage, insolently tame, and a delightful pet. He

attained his red coat in the late autumn to a great degree,

though, perhaps owing to the vicissitudes of his early life, not

nearly so bright in colour as he became in his second year.

To any stranger approaching his cage with friendliness, he

would put up his crest and sing himself hoarse, and if allowed

to come out, he would fly to one’s shoulder and wdth grotesque

movements shout into one’s ear.


I must add that the parent birds, after having been decoyed

back again into the pheasantry, were once more released in the

following spring, much to their delight. They built again, but

the hen bird, after laying two eggs, was found dead.


This year (1898) I turned out a pair of Virginians in

April, which are still at large, and are to be seen, most days,

flitting about among the trees, or across the lawns. They built

a nest in June, but the heavy rains in the early part of the

month seemed to damp their ardour, and they forsook just

before the eggs, three in number, were due to hatch. Unlike

the former pair, they have not nested again.



